Learn English with this travel English lesson

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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• pros
• cons
• unwind
• carbon footprint

• vehicle
• light rail
• status symbol
• pollution

• outweigh
• fuel efficient

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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In a world with so many types of vehicles… buses, trains, light rail, airplanes, even bicycles… it’s strange that so many people prefer to travel by car. Cars cost a lot of money to drive, and they use a lot of space on the road. When everyone is trying to get to work, being in a car can be quite stressful. So why are they so popular?

Cars are certainly a status symbol in most parts of the world. And this is unfortunate. Buses and trains create less pollution, and they’re much more fuel efficient. Also, if you can sit on a bus and look out the window, your day will be far more relaxing!

Rafael and Lily talk about the pros and cons of public transportation in today’s English lesson about getting around.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Lily

Rafael

Lily:  Sorry I’m late. I had to ride the bus here, and it took forever.

Rafael:  You don’t have a car?

Lily:  No. Why? Do you?

Rafael:  I have to tell you. I think buses just make things slower.

Lily:  They can be slow sometimes, but actually I really like taking public transportation. The extra time kind of gives you a little bit of time to unwind. It’s also a lot more fuel efficient than driving a car around. It lowers pollution, reduces your carbon footprint, that kind of thing. It’s nice.

Rafael:  That’s true. But don’t you ever get tired of having to wait so long to get places?

Lily:  I think that, in this case, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. Do you take buses? Do you do public transportation, like light rail, or anything like that?

Rafael:  I haven’t in a long time. What’s your favorite form of public transportation?

Lily:  Well, I really like light rail. I think that that’s definitely the fastest and the easiest form. I think it’s important to do one’s part, and just take the train every once in a while. It can’t hurt. Right?

Rafael:  Maybe I’ll give it a try sometime.

Lily:  Yeah.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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