0006 The Commute to Work

[Start of story]

I open my car door and throw my briefcase in the back seat, and get comfortable for my drive. I put my coffee mug into the cup holder, put the keys in the ignition, find the gas pedal, and start the car. My wife drove the car last night, so I have to re-adjust the rear view mirror and the side mirrors. I turn on the radio to listen to the drive time traffic report. I take the transmission out of park and into reverse, back out into the driveway into the street, close the garage door, and put the car into drive. I used to drive a stick shift, but as I get older, I like my automatic transmission more and more.

I usually take the freeway to the office, so I get on the onramp for the freeway and drive to where I have to get off. My office is only a few miles from the exit. I pull into the parking garage, swiping my key card to get in. I park, grab my briefcase and coffee, and head toward the elevator. And that only took 40 minutes!

[End of story]

Part five is called “The Commute to Work.” “Commute” (commute) can be both a noun and a verb. It means to go from your house to your work. Usually, if you live a long distance from your work, you would say, “I have a long commute.” Or, if you live close to work, you would have a short commute. If it's a very long commute with lots of traffic, you might say, “I have a terrible commute” - a very bad commute.

The story begins by me saying that “I open my car door and throw my briefcase in the back seat.” So, I open my “front door” - the door that we would call the driver's side, where the driver gets in, and in an American car, that is on the left side. Cars in Britain are on the right side, is the driver's side. So, I get into the left side in the front door. If you have a car that has a back seat, you could have a two-door car or a four-door car. “Four doors” means that you have separate doors for the back seat.

The “seat” (seat) is what you sit in. So, the back seat is where people can sit behind you - behind the driver and behind the person next to the driver. We call the seats the passenger seats and the driver's seat. The right side of the car is usually called the passenger side of the car.

I “get comfortable for my drive” - for my commute - notice we use drive there as a noun; it can be a verb and a noun. “I put my coffee mug into the cup holder.” A “mug” (mug) is just a big cup. We talk about coffee mugs, they're big cups that you put your coffee into. In many cars, there is a special place for a cup or a bottle, and that's called a “cup holder” (holder). It holds the cup so you can have your coffee in your car.

I “put the keys in the ignition.” The “keys” are, of course, what starts your car. It's the piece of metal that you open your car door with - you unlock it. Well, you also start the car with your keys, and you put them into something called the “ignition.” And, the “ignition” (ignition) is the part of the car that starts the engine. Usually it makes a certain sound - a certain noise, and once the engine starts, then you don't have to put the key forward, you just leave the key there, you take your hand off of it. The word ignition comes from the verb “to ignite” (ignite) which means to start a fire - to start something burning, and of course, a car burns gasoline, that's what the engine does in order to make the car move.

After I put the keys into the ignition, I “find the gas pedal.” A “pedal” (pedal) is something you use to control with your feet usually the speed of something. So the gas pedal is the pedal that you press down to go faster, it gives the engine more gas. That word, pedal, can also be used as a verb. If you are on a bicycle, in order to make the bicycle move, you have to pedal because the things that your feet are on, on a bike, or a bicycle, are called pedals. Well, you don't pedal your car, but you do have a gas pedal.

I “start the car,” and because “My wife drove the car last night, I have to re-adjust the rear view mirror.” “To re-adjust” means to adjust again. That prefix (re) means again in English, usually. “To adjust means” to-to move them so that I can see properly - I can see into the mirror. There are two types of mirrors on your car: there's the “rear (rear) view (view) mirror” and that is in the front of the car, on the front window of the car. The front window of your car is called your “windshield” (windshield) – the windshield. So, on your windshield, on the top in the middle, is your rear view mirror, and that allows you to see cars behind you. There are also mirrors on the side of the car, usually on both sides, and those are called the side mirrors.

“I turn on the radio to listen to the drive time traffic report.” “Drive time” is the time of day when most people are either going to work or coming back from work. So, in the morning the drive time in Los Angeles, for example, is 7:30 to 9:30. Most people are going to work during those hours. In other cities it could be different; in some cities, it's earlier than that. There's also a drive time at the end of the day, between 5:00 and 7:00 here in Los Angeles, that's when people are coming home from work.

So, the drive time traffic report is an announcement on the radio telling you if there are any accidents on the roads, if there is any “construction” - that is the government is fixing the road and it may be closed. And, it tells you if you are going to take a long time or not a long time. So, traffic reports tell you how fast the cars are moving on different, usually, freeways in American cities.

“I take the transmission out of park and into reverse.” The “transmission” (transmission) is the part of the car that determines how fast you go. It also determines if you go forward or backwards - if you're going straight ahead or behind; that's the transmission. Sometimes it's called a “transmission box” (box) and inside of that box there are little wheels called “gears” (gears) and depending on the gear you are in, we would say, depending on the gear you are using, you will either go very fast or not very fast, or you will go in “reverse” (reverse). To go into reverse means to go backwards - the car moves backwards.

Well, before I go anywhere, I have to “take the transmission out of park,” (park). “Park” is when the car is not going forward or going backwards. We say you put the transmission into park, and you take it out of park. And when you take it out of park, you either go forward or backwards. Well, here I'm going in reverse, and I “back out into the driveway.” “To back out” means to go backwards. Usually that verb, to back out, is used when you are talking about a car or a truck that is leaving a garage, and it's going in reverse - you back out of the garage. “I back out into the driveway” onto the street, or “into the street.” The “driveway” (driveway) is what connects the garage to the street. It's the space that is in between your street and where your car is parked, your garage.

Some people actually don't have a garage, and so they park in their driveway. They drive off the street and they park their car in the driveway, that piece of land where you can put your car. I like to park my car on my neighbor's driveway so I have more room on my driveway. He doesn't like it though. So, I back out of the garage, and then I “close the garage door, and put the car into drive.” Here's another use of that word, drive. In this case, it means I'm putting it in a gear that will take me forward. So, to put a car into drive means that you change the position of the transmission so that your car will go forward and not backwards.

“I used to drive a stick shift, but as I get older, I like my automatic transmission more and more.” There are two kinds of transmissions - two kinds of cars. One is what we call an automatic transmission, where you put your car either into reverse or into drive, and that's it. You don't have to change anything.

Another kind of car is called a stick shift, or a manual transmission. “Manual” (manual) is the opposite of automatic; it means by hand. So, if you have a manual transmission, or a stick shift, you have to move the transmission each time you want to go faster or slower. The word “stick (stick) shift (shift)” (two words) is the same as a manual transmission. Some people say, “I drive a stick,” they mean, “I drive a stick shift.”

The word “shift” is also a verb, “to shift,” and that means to change. So, if you have a manual transmission - a stick shift - you shift from one gear to another. If you want to go faster, you have to shift into a higher gear. Well, if you don't have a manual transmission, you don't have to worry about it.

If you have a stick shift, you have an extra pedal in the car. Remember, we said that a pedal can be a gas pedal - something that makes you go faster. You also have a brake pedal that will slow or stop your car. And, if you have a stick shift, you have a third pedal, which we call the “clutch” (clutch). And in order to change from one gear to another, to go faster or slower or to go into reverse, if you have a stick shift, you have to press on or put your foot on the clutch so that you can change, or shift, gears.

“I usually take the freeway to the office, so I get on the onramp for the freeway.” The “onramp” (onramp) is what connects the street to the freeway. So, just like a driveway connects the street to your garage, an onramp connects the street to the freeway. The opposite of an onramp would be, of course, an off ramp, and that's where you go off of the freeway and back to the street.

Well, I get onto the onramp, or “I get on the onramp and I drive to where I have to get off. My office is only a few miles from the exit.” The “exit” (exit) is where you leave the freeway. It can be a noun or it can be a verb. “To exit” means to leave, and normally, in a public building, a hotel or other areas, they have a sign that says, “exit,” so you know in case there is an emergency how to leave the room or leave the building. On an airplane, we have something called the emergency exits, and those are doors that you use if the plane is having problems. I hope you never have to use the emergency exits.

Well, this is an exit from the freeway, and “my office is only a few miles” after I get off of the freeway. “I pull into the parking garage,” the place at my work where you park or keep your car, and I swipe my key card to get in. A “key card” (key card) – two words – is like a credit card. It's an electronic card that the company gives you that allows you to get in and out of a garage, in and out of the building, maybe even in and out of your office, and it's an electronic card, like a credit card. To swipe is the verb we use when we talk about credit cards or key cards. “To swipe,” (swipe) means to take the card and put it into what we would call a reader very quickly. So, for a credit card, the clerk will swipe the card - will put it through the machine very quickly. For a key card, you put it through the machine so you can get into somewhere. It's a key - an electronic key.

I “park my car,” I “grab my briefcase and my coffee” - very important, my coffee - and I “head toward the elevator.” “To head toward something” means to walk in that direction or move in that direction. So, I walk toward the elevator, and my whole trip “only took 40 minutes.”

Americans love to complain about how terrible their commutes are. In some cities, 30 or 40 minutes is considered a long commute, and in some cities, like Los Angeles, it's considered an average commute. In other countries, some people commute an hour or an hour and a half in order to get to their work.

Now let's listen to the story, this time at a regular speed.

That concludes part five of “A Day in the Life of Jeff: The Commute to Work.” In part six, we actually get to work and go to lunch.

This course has been a production of the Center for Educational Development, in beautiful Los Angeles, California. Visit our website at eslpod.com.

This course was produced by Dr. Jeff McQuillan and Dr. Lucy Tse. Copyright 2006.

Glossary
back seat – the rear (second row) seats in a car, where passengers (not the driver) sit

• On the long drive across the country, they took turns driving. While one person drove, the other slept in the back seat.

cup holder – a round hole on the inside of a car for holding cups or cans of soda

• He tried to put his can of soda in the cup holder while he was driving and ended up spilling it all over the floor.

ignition – a small opening near a steering wheel into which one puts a key to start the car

• They accidentally locked their car while the keys were still in the ignition!

gas pedal – a piece of metal that a driver pushes with his or her foot to give the car more gas and to make it go faster

• She pushed the gas pedal to the floor because she was in a big hurry.

rearview mirror – a rectangular mirror near the driver’s head that allows the driver to see behind the car

• I stopped my car when I saw the police car in my rearview mirror.

side mirror – a small mirror outside the car near the front windows that allows the driver to see the side of the car and behind the car

• Grandma drove too close to the building and hit her side mirror against the wall.

drive-time traffic report – a radio announcement during rush hour (times of heavy traffic) that tells drivers where there are accidents and slow traffic

• According to the drive-time traffic report, there were three accidents on the freeway, so we drove home using Main Street instead.

transmission – the system that passes energy from the car’s engine to its wheels

• I couldn’t believe it when the mechanic said that I needed to replace my car’s transmission and that it would cost more than $2,000!

out of park – to take the car out of an unmoving position into a moving position

• I took the transmission out of park, but nothing happened because there wasn’t any gas in the car.

reverse – backward motion; going back

• Driving in reverse is always more difficult than driving forward.

driveway – a short length of road leading from the main road to the entrance or garage of a house or office building

• When she gets home from work everyday, she walks down the driveway to pick up the mail from her mailbox.

drive – forward motion; going forward

• He put the car into drive and started to leave, but then he stopped because he remembered that he had left some important papers at home.

stick shift – manual transmission; a car in which the driver uses a lever to put the car in gears 1 through 5 or in reverse

• Driving a stick shift requires a lot of concentration for me because I’m always worried that I’ll shift into reverse by accident.

automatic transmission – a car in which gears 1 through 5 change automatically without the driver needing to do anything

• Many people prefer driving automatic transmissions because it leaves them with one hand available to change radio stations or to hold a cell phone.

onramp – a short road for cars to speed up and enter a highway or freeway

• The first onramp was closed due to an accident so we had to drive to the next onramp to get on the freeway.

exit – a short road for cars to leave a highway or freeway and connect to other roads

• Do you know which exit we need to take to get to the beach?

parking garage – a large building with many floors for cars to park

• This parking garage only charges $5 for three hours, so let’s park here.

to swipe – to quickly pass a card through a machine that reads it

• I tried to swipe my credit card several times before realizing that it was broken.

key card – a plastic card that tells a machine whether a person has permission to enter a building

• When he lost his key card, he had to talk to security for two hours before they would let him into the building.

Culture Note
High School Teachers

High school teachers help prepare students for life after “graduation” (completion of their degree). They teach “academic” (related to reading, math, science and other traditional school subjects) lessons and various skills that students will need to attend college and to enter the “job market” (group of people available and looking for work).

High school teachers generally teach students from the ninth through twelfth (9-12) grades to students between 13 and 19 years of age. They usually teach one or two of the subjects or classes a student has throughout the day. For example, they may teach U.S. government and history.

Most high school teachers work in either public or private schools. All states require teachers in public schools to be licensed, which is frequently referred to as a “certification.” Those who teach in private schools are not required to be licensed.

Requirements for certification vary by state. All states require public high school teachers to have at least a bachelor’s degree. Most states require high school teachers to have “majored in” (had as the focus of their university study) a content area, such as chemistry, English, or history. While majoring in a content area, future teachers typically also “enroll in” (register for) a teacher preparation program and take classes in education while in college.

[故事开始]

我打开车门，把我的公文包扔在后座上，然后舒服地准备开车。我把咖啡杯放进杯架，把钥匙放进点火器，找到油门踏板，然后启动汽车。我妻子昨晚开的车，所以我必须重新调整后视镜和侧镜。我打开收音机，听开车时间的交通报告。我把变速器从停车位拿出来，转到倒档，退到车道上，进入街道，关上车库门，然后把车放到驾驶位。我以前开的是手动挡，但随着年龄的增长，我越来越喜欢我的自动变速器。

我通常走高速公路去办公室，所以我上了高速公路的匝道，开到我要下车的地方。我的办公室离出口只有几英里。我把车开进停车场，刷了钥匙卡进去。我停好车，拿起我的公文包和咖啡，朝电梯走去。而这只花了40分钟!

[故事结束]

第五部分被称为 "上班的通勤"。"通勤"（commute）既可以是一个名词，也可以是一个动词。它意味着从你的家到你的工作。通常，如果你住在离工作地点很远的地方，你会说，"我有一个很长的通勤时间"。或者，如果你住得离工作地点很近，你会有一个短的通勤时间。如果是非常长的通勤时间，而且交通繁忙，你可能会说，"我有一个可怕的通勤"--一个非常糟糕的通勤时间。

故事开始时，我说 "我打开车门，把我的公文包扔在后座上"。因此，我打开了我的 "前门"--我们称之为驾驶员一侧的门，即驾驶员上车的地方，在美国的汽车中，那是在左边。在英国，汽车是在右侧，也就是司机的一侧。因此，我在前门的左侧进入。如果你有一辆有后座的车，你可能有一辆两门的车或四门的车。"四门 "意味着你的后座有单独的门。

"座位"（seat）是你坐的地方。因此，后座是人们可以坐在你身后的地方--司机后面和司机旁边的人后面。我们称这些座位为乘客座位和司机座位。汽车的右侧通常被称为汽车的乘客侧。

我 "为我的驾驶而感到舒适"--为我的通勤而感到舒适--注意我们在那里把驾驶作为一个名词；它可以是一个动词和一个名词。"我把我的咖啡杯放进杯架。" 一个 "杯子"（mug）只是一个大杯子。我们谈论咖啡杯，它们是大杯子，你把咖啡放进去。在许多汽车中，有一个专门放置杯子或瓶子的地方，那被称为 "杯架"（支架）。它可以容纳杯子，所以你可以在车里喝咖啡。

我 "把钥匙放在点火器上"。当然，"钥匙 "是启动你的汽车的东西。它是你打开车门的那块金属--你解锁它。那么，你也用你的钥匙启动汽车，你把它们放入一个叫做 "点火器 "的东西。而且，"点火器"（ignition）是汽车启动发动机的部分。通常它会发出某种声音--某种噪音，一旦发动机启动，那么你就不必把钥匙往前放，你只需把钥匙放在那里，你的手就可以离开它。点火这个词来自于动词 "点燃"（ignite），意思是起火--让东西开始燃烧，当然，汽车燃烧汽油，这就是发动机的作用，以使汽车移动。

我把钥匙放进点火器后，我 "找到油门踏板"。"踏板"（pedal）是你用来用脚控制的东西，通常是指某物的速度。因此，油门踏板是你踩下的踏板，可以让你走得更快，它给发动机更多的油。这个词，踏板，也可以作为一个动词使用。如果你骑自行车，为了使自行车移动，你必须踩踏板，因为你的脚在自行车上的东西，或自行车，被称为踏板。那么，你不踩你的车，但你有一个油门踏板。

我 "启动汽车"，因为 "我妻子昨晚开了车，我必须重新调整后视镜。" "重新调整 "意味着再次调整。这个前缀（re）在英语中的意思是再次，通常。"调整的意思是 "要--要移动它们，以便我可以正确地看--我可以看到镜子里的东西。在你的车上有两种镜子：有一个 "后（后）视（视）镜"，那是在汽车的前面，在汽车的前窗上。你汽车的前窗被称为你的 "挡风玻璃"（windshield）--挡风玻璃。因此，在你的挡风玻璃上，在中间的顶部，是你的后视镜，这使你能够看到你身后的汽车。在汽车的侧面也有镜子，通常在两侧，那些被称为侧镜。

"我打开收音机，听开车时间的交通报告。" "开车时间 "是指一天中大多数人去上班或下班回来的时间。因此，以洛杉矶为例，早上的开车时间是7:30至9:30。大多数人都在这些时间段去工作。在其他城市，这可能是不同的；在一些城市，它比这要早。还有一个在一天结束时的开车时间，在洛杉矶这里是5:00至7:00，那是人们下班回家的时间。

因此，开车时间的交通报告是电台的公告，告诉你道路上是否有任何事故，是否有任何 "施工"--即政府正在修复道路，它可能被关闭。而且，它告诉你，如果你要花很长时间或不花很长时间。因此，交通报告告诉你在不同的，通常是美国城市的高速公路上，汽车行驶的速度有多快。

"我把变速器从公园里拿出来，然后进入倒档"。"变速器"(transmission)是汽车的一部分，它决定你走多快。它还决定你是前进还是后退--如果你是直行还是后退；这就是变速器。有时它被称为 "传动箱"（盒子），在那个盒子里面有一些小轮子，叫做 "齿轮"（齿轮），根据你所处的齿轮，我们会说，根据你所使用的齿轮，你要么走得很快，要么走得不快，或者你会进入 "倒车"（倒车）。倒车意味着倒退--汽车向后移动。

好吧，在我去任何地方之前，我必须 "把变速器从公园里拿出来，"（park）。"停车 "是指汽车不前进或不后退的时候。我们说你把变速器放到公园里，然后你把它从公园里拿出来。而当你把它从公园里拿出来时，你要么向前走，要么向后退。那么，在这里，我在倒车，我 "退到车道上"。"倒车 "意味着向后退。通常这个动词，倒车，是在你谈论一辆离开车库的汽车或卡车时使用的，它在倒车--你从车库里倒出来。"我退到车道上 "到街上，或 "到街上"。"车道"（driveway）是连接车库和街道的东西。它是在你的街道和你的汽车停放的地方，即你的车库之间的空间。

有些人实际上没有车库，所以他们在车道上停车。他们把车开出街道，把车停在车道上，那块地方你可以把你的车放在那里。我喜欢把车停在我邻居的车道上，这样我的车道上就有更多的空间。不过他不喜欢这样。所以，我从车库里退出来，然后 "关上车库门，把车开进车道"。这里是这个词的另一种用法，即驱动。在这种情况下，它意味着我把它放在一个会带我前进的齿轮上。所以，把车开进驾驶室意味着你改变了变速器的位置，这样你的车就会向前走，而不是向后退。

"我以前开的是杆式变速器，但随着年龄的增长，我越来越喜欢我的自动变速器了。" 有两种变速箱--两种汽车。一种是我们所说的自动变速器，你把你的车要么放到倒车，要么放到开车，就这样。你不需要改变任何东西。

另一种汽车被称为换挡杆，或手动变速器。"Manual"（手动）是自动的反义词；它的意思是用手。因此，如果你有一个手动变速器，或一个棒状换档，每次你想走得更快或更慢时，你必须移动变速器。棍子（stick）换挡（shift）"（两个词）与手动变速器相同。有些人说，"我开的是棍子"，他们的意思是，"我开的是棍子换挡"。

"shift "这个词也是一个动词，"换挡"，这意味着改变。因此，如果你有一个手动变速器--换挡杆--你从一个档位换到另一个档位。如果你想走得更快，你必须换到一个更高的档位。好吧，如果你没有手动变速器，你不必担心这个问题。

如果你有一个杆式变速箱，你在车里有一个额外的踏板。记住，我们说过，踏板可以是油门踏板--使你走得更快的东西。你也有一个刹车踏板，可以使你的车减速或停车。而且，如果你有一个变速杆，你有第三个踏板，我们称之为 "离合器"（clutch）。为了从一个档位换到另一个档位，走得更快或更慢，或进入倒档，如果你有杆式换档，你必须按住或把你的脚放在离合器上，这样你就可以改变，或换档。

"我通常走高速公路去办公室，所以我上了高速公路的匝道。" "匝道"（onramp）是连接街道和高速公路的东西。因此，就像车道将街道与你的车库连接起来一样，匝道将街道与高速公路连接起来。当然，与匝道相反的是下匝道，那是你离开高速公路回到街上的地方。

好吧，我上了匝道，或者 "我上了匝道，然后开到我必须下车的地方。我的办公室离出口只有几英里"。"出口"（exit）是你离开高速公路的地方。它可以是一个名词，也可以是一个动词。"出口 "的意思是离开，通常，在公共建筑、酒店或其他地区，他们有一个标志，上面写着 "出口"，所以你知道在发生紧急情况时如何离开房间或离开建筑。在飞机上，我们有一种叫做紧急出口的东西，那些是在飞机出现问题时你可以使用的门。我希望你永远不必使用紧急出口。

好吧，这是高速公路的一个出口，而在我下了高速公路之后，"我的办公室只有几英里"。"我把车开进停车场，"在我工作的地方，你把车停在那里或把你的车放在那里，我刷了钥匙卡进去。一张 "钥匙卡"（key card）--两个字--就像一张信用卡。它是公司给你的一张电子卡，允许你进出车库，进出大楼，甚至可能进出你的办公室，它是一张电子卡，像信用卡一样。刷卡是我们在谈论信用卡或钥匙卡时使用的动词。"刷卡，"（swipe）的意思是把卡拿出来，非常迅速地放到我们所说的读卡器里。因此，对于信用卡来说，店员会刷卡--会把它非常迅速地通过机器。对于一张钥匙卡，你把它放进机器里，这样你就可以进入某个地方。这是一把钥匙--一把电子钥匙。

我 "停好我的车"，我 "拿起我的公文包和我的咖啡"--非常重要，我的咖啡--然后我 "走向电梯"。"朝向某物 "意味着朝那个方向走，或朝那个方向移动。所以，我走向电梯，我的整个行程 "只花了40分钟"。

美国人喜欢抱怨他们的通勤是多么可怕。在一些城市，30或40分钟被认为是漫长的通勤，而在一些城市，如洛杉矶，被认为是平均通勤。在其他国家，有些人为了去上班，要通勤一个小时或一个半小时。

文化说明
高中教师

高中教师帮助学生为 "毕业"（完成学位）后的生活做好准备。他们教授 "学术"（与阅读、数学、科学和其他传统学校科目有关）课程和各种技能，这些技能是学生上大学和进入 "就业市场"（可用和寻找工作的群体）所需要的。

高中教师一般为13至19岁的学生教授第九至十二年级（9-12）的课程。他们通常教一个或两个学生全天的科目或课程。例如，他们可能会教美国政府和历史。

大多数高中教师在公立或私立学校工作。所有州都要求公立学校的教师有执照，这经常被称为 "证书"。在私立学校任教的人不需要获得执照。

各州对认证的要求各不相同。所有州都要求公立高中教师至少有一个学士学位。大多数州要求高中教师 "主修"（将其作为大学学习的重点）一个内容领域，如化学、英语或历史。在主修内容领域的同时，未来的教师通常也会 "注册"（登记）一个教师准备课程，并在大学期间学习教育课程。