Speak English Around Town Lesson 21 Idioms, Proverbs, Expressions MCQ Test

LESSON 21 – Taking a Taxi

TAKING A TAXI 

Ian gets in a taxi. Hes in a big rush because he has an interview in 10 minutes. Unfortunately, he gets stuck in traffic.

Ali: Where are you headed?

Ian: 411 Wall Street.

Ali: Hop in!

Ian: I’ve got a meeting in 10 minutes. Can you step on it?

Ali: This is the fastest I can go. If I go any faster, I’m going to get pulled over.

Ian: Don’t you know some back roads we can take?

Ali: No, this is the best way to go. Oops! That was a close call. That bus almost hit us!

Ian: I’ve got an interview at 10.

Ali: I hate to break it to you, but there’s bumper-to-bumper traffic up ahead.

Ian: Yes, I see that traffic is heavy. What’s going on?

Ali: It looks like there was a fender bender. Now there’s rubber necking.

Ian: What rotten luck!

Ali: We’re only five blocks away. It’ll be quicker if I let you out here and you run the rest of the way.

Ian: Okay. Here’s 10 bucks. Keep the change.

Language Lens: Comparative & Superlatives Adjectives

Comparative Adjectives
Use a comparative adjective to compare two things or people. The word “than” comes before the object of the comparison.

Examples:
◼ This mug is bigger than that one.
◼ My laptop was more expensive than yours.
◼ I thought Jane was older. (Note: here the comparison is implied. I thought Jane was older than she really is).

Form the comparative like this:
With short words (1-2 syllables): add -er to the end of the words. If the last two letters of the word are a vowel + consonant, double the final consonant before adding -er
Examples:
big => bigger
hot => hotter

If the word ends in “y,” change the “y” to “i” before adding -er.
Examples:
pretty => prettier
ugly => uglier

With longer words (many 2 syllable words and all 3+ syllable words): add “less” or “more” before the word.
Examples:
graceful => more graceful
intelligent => more intelligent
qualified => less qualified
interested => less interested

Superlative adjectives
Use a superlative adjective to express that something or someone is the most extreme example of something. The word “the” is very often used before superlative adjectives.

Examples:
◼ Jennifer thinks the iPad is the best tablet computer.
◼ That was the most interesting movie I’ve ever seen!
◼ The biggest pumpkin ever weighed 1,502 pounds.
◼ That was the worst meal I ever ate.

=> While you use a comparative when you are comparing two people or things, you use a superlative when you have three or more people or things.

Examples:
◼ Andrea is the smartest person in her class.
◼ Of the four job candidates, Alex is the most qualified.

Form the superlative like this:
With short words (1 – 2 syllables): add -est to the end of the words. If the last two letters of the word are a vowel + consonant, double the final consonant before adding -est.
Examples:
big => biggest
hot => hottest

When the word ends in a “y”, change the ”y” to “i” before adding the -est.
Examples:
pretty => prettiest
ugly => ugliest
scary => scariest

With longer words (many 2 syllable words and all 3+ syllable words): add “least” or ”most” before the word.
Examples:
graceful => most graceful
beautiful => most beautiful
qualified => most qualified

Irregular comparative / superlative forms
Some comparatives and superlatives do not follow the usual pattern. Here are the most common irregular forms:

Examples:
◼ Jason drives an hour to get to work. Of all our employees, he lives the farthest away.
◼ Of all the schools he applied to, Tim is least interested in attending the University of Vermont.
◼ You didn’t get a raise this year? Things could be worse. At least you still have your job.
◼ Of all the jobs I applied for, I’m most excited about the one at Google.
◼ You think I’m interested in dating my boss? Nothing could be further from the truth!
◼ Adam is by far the best website designer I know.

IDIOMS

• back roads

→ secondary roads; little-used roads

Example: Don’t take the highway during rush hour. Take the back roads instead.

• (to) break something to someone

→ to tell someone bad news

Example: I’m sorry to break it to you, but we’re not going to get to the airport in time for your flight.

• bumper-to-bumper traffic

→ heavy traffic; so much traffic that one is barely moving

Example: The drive into the city took us twice as long as usual due to bumper-to-bumper traffic.

• close call

→ a near miss; something that was almost an accident

Example: A truck entered our lane without signaling, and we had a close call.

• fender bender

→ a small crash between two vehicles

Example: Last night I had a fender bender in the parking garage, so today I’m taking my car to the repair shop.

NOTE: fenders are the panels above the front wheels of a car

• (to) get pulled over

→ to get stopped by the police

Example: Natasha got pulled over for going through a stop sign.

• Hop in!

→ Get in the car!

Example: You need a ride to school? Hop in!

• (to) keep the change

→ to keep the difference between the charge and the money a customer is giving

Example: The bill at the restaurant came to $17. We gave the waitress a twenty and told her to keep the change.

• rotten luck

→ bad luck

Example: I can’t believe I’ve got a flat tire. I’ve had nothing but rotten luck all day today.

• rubber necking

→ when cars slow down to look at an accident

Example: A truck was lying on its side on the highway, and traffic was backed up for miles due to rubber necking.

• (to) step on it

→ to go faster (refers to stepping on the gas pedal)

Example: There’s a creepy man following close behind us. Let’s step on it and get away from him!

• traffic is heavy

→ there are lot of cars on the road, so the driving is slow

Example: Traffic was heavy on Route 9 this morning due to an accident.

• up ahead

→ in front of (someone); in the near distance

Example: I see an ambulance up ahead. There must’ve been an accident.

• Where are you headed?

→ Where are you going?

Example: “Where are you headed?” – “I’m going to the mall.”