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CONVERSATION PRACTICE
Posted by Renddy Rose Rodriguez
on
10/06/2008 06:06:00 AM
Ga$
Real Life
Intro
It’s all over the news in the US. But Americans don’t need the news to tell them that gas is more expensive than it ever has been. They can see it at every fuel station.But what Americans haven’t seen yet is fewer cars on the road. It will take time for people to adjust to the high price of gas (although fuel in Europe is still more expensive than it is in the US) and for cities to provide more public transportation. At the moment, people are feeling the increased costs, and everyone’s talking about it.
Jason: If I see one more headline with the phrase “at the pump” in it, I’m going to shoot somebody.
Beren: “At the pump”? Like, “Prices at the Pump…
Jason: “Prices at the Pump”
Beren: ...Blowing up”
Jason: “Pinched at the Pump.”
Beren: “Pinched at the Pump.” What’s another one?
Jason: It’s like, yeah, gas is expensive, I know. I’ve been buying gas, I can see that it’s expensive.
Beren: What’s kind of mind boggling though is that gas is so expensive but it doesn’t seem to be…at least here, it doesn’t seem to be affecting who’s driving. I see just as many cars now as I did before.
Jason: Back when it was half as much a few years ago, you’d see just the same amount of cars.
Beren: Yeah, it’s weird. Especially since you’d think people would be like, “Oh, this is perfect opportunity to start biking or using public transportation.” Because it’s so expensive. I put $10 in my car which usually, like before this, used to get a quarter of a tank. Like, I’d drive to work and home or whatever. And now it lasts me a day, if that, if I’m driving. $10!
Jason: And like…what is it going to take? Like how expensive is it going to have to get for driving to taper off a little bit?
Beren: I don’t know. Like I feel like the people that drive a lot probably can’t afford to in a sense so maybe they’re cutting out other things. Like, “I want to drive so I guess we won’t eat out as much.” I don’t know. It’s weird.
Jason: A lot of people don’t have a choice. We really kind of messed up here because we built an infrastructure that pretty much makes it impossible to not drive in a lot of cities.
Beren: Yeah.
Discussion
Jason says that he’s tired of reading news about gas prices. He says he’s aware of how expensive it is because he has to pay for it all the time.Beren is surprised that she doesn’t see fewer cars. She spends as much as $10 a day on gas right now and wonders how many people can afford to drive at all.But do they have a choice? Jason thinks it’s a shame that US has built its entire transpiration system around cars, so much so that there aren’t other options for getting to certain places.Has the cost of fuel gone up where you live? What’s the main form of transport you use? Why?
Grammar Point
Beren says she “put $10 in her car.” That means she put $10 worth of fuel in the tank.
mind boggling adj.
*difficult to comprehend; hard to imagine but true
Example:The size of their company is mind boggling. They have thousands of employees in hundreds of offices.
infrastructure n.
*the facilities and services that serve a country
Example:A country's infrastructure is often much improved a few decades after it's destroyed by a war.
pinch v.
*to burden a budget
Example:Ever since the family sent their son to college, their cash flow has been a little pinched.
blowing up expr.
*increasing quickly
Example:The city has been blowing up for a few years now. It's population is twice what it was a few years ago.
feeling v.
*experiencing something difficult
Example:We've really been feeling the budget cuts in our department. It's been hard to get anything done.
all over expr.
*everywhere, in many places
Example:There are McDonald's restaurants all over the U.S.
cut out v.
*get rid of; stop spending money
Example:We need to cut out some of our expenses so we can hire a new employee.
taper off v.
*decrease slowly; lessen over time
Example:CD sales started to taper off when Mp3s became popular.
if that expr.
*if even that much; or perhaps even less
Example:Oh I only exercise twice a week if that.
public transportation system n.
*buses, subways, trolleys, trams
Example:The public transportation system in Washington D.C. is really great! You can get anywhere you need to go using the Metro or the busses.
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Real Life
Intro
It’s all over the news in the US. But Americans don’t need the news to tell them that gas is more expensive than it ever has been. They can see it at every fuel station.But what Americans haven’t seen yet is fewer cars on the road. It will take time for people to adjust to the high price of gas (although fuel in Europe is still more expensive than it is in the US) and for cities to provide more public transportation. At the moment, people are feeling the increased costs, and everyone’s talking about it.
Jason: If I see one more headline with the phrase “at the pump” in it, I’m going to shoot somebody.
Beren: “At the pump”? Like, “Prices at the Pump…
Jason: “Prices at the Pump”
Beren: ...Blowing up”
Jason: “Pinched at the Pump.”
Beren: “Pinched at the Pump.” What’s another one?
Jason: It’s like, yeah, gas is expensive, I know. I’ve been buying gas, I can see that it’s expensive.
Beren: What’s kind of mind boggling though is that gas is so expensive but it doesn’t seem to be…at least here, it doesn’t seem to be affecting who’s driving. I see just as many cars now as I did before.
Jason: Back when it was half as much a few years ago, you’d see just the same amount of cars.
Beren: Yeah, it’s weird. Especially since you’d think people would be like, “Oh, this is perfect opportunity to start biking or using public transportation.” Because it’s so expensive. I put $10 in my car which usually, like before this, used to get a quarter of a tank. Like, I’d drive to work and home or whatever. And now it lasts me a day, if that, if I’m driving. $10!
Jason: And like…what is it going to take? Like how expensive is it going to have to get for driving to taper off a little bit?
Beren: I don’t know. Like I feel like the people that drive a lot probably can’t afford to in a sense so maybe they’re cutting out other things. Like, “I want to drive so I guess we won’t eat out as much.” I don’t know. It’s weird.
Jason: A lot of people don’t have a choice. We really kind of messed up here because we built an infrastructure that pretty much makes it impossible to not drive in a lot of cities.
Beren: Yeah.
Discussion
Jason says that he’s tired of reading news about gas prices. He says he’s aware of how expensive it is because he has to pay for it all the time.Beren is surprised that she doesn’t see fewer cars. She spends as much as $10 a day on gas right now and wonders how many people can afford to drive at all.But do they have a choice? Jason thinks it’s a shame that US has built its entire transpiration system around cars, so much so that there aren’t other options for getting to certain places.Has the cost of fuel gone up where you live? What’s the main form of transport you use? Why?
Grammar Point
Beren says she “put $10 in her car.” That means she put $10 worth of fuel in the tank.
mind boggling adj.
*difficult to comprehend; hard to imagine but true
Example:The size of their company is mind boggling. They have thousands of employees in hundreds of offices.
infrastructure n.
*the facilities and services that serve a country
Example:A country's infrastructure is often much improved a few decades after it's destroyed by a war.
pinch v.
*to burden a budget
Example:Ever since the family sent their son to college, their cash flow has been a little pinched.
blowing up expr.
*increasing quickly
Example:The city has been blowing up for a few years now. It's population is twice what it was a few years ago.
feeling v.
*experiencing something difficult
Example:We've really been feeling the budget cuts in our department. It's been hard to get anything done.
all over expr.
*everywhere, in many places
Example:There are McDonald's restaurants all over the U.S.
cut out v.
*get rid of; stop spending money
Example:We need to cut out some of our expenses so we can hire a new employee.
taper off v.
*decrease slowly; lessen over time
Example:CD sales started to taper off when Mp3s became popular.
if that expr.
*if even that much; or perhaps even less
Example:Oh I only exercise twice a week if that.
public transportation system n.
*buses, subways, trolleys, trams
Example:The public transportation system in Washington D.C. is really great! You can get anywhere you need to go using the Metro or the busses.
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