Listening and Everyday English

Listen to people of Beijing speaking about traffic problems in the city. Before you listen, tick the topics you think they will talk about. traffic jams the Olympic Games roadworks bad drivers

Listen and match the traffic situations with the speakers. a Speaker 2

b Speaker 5

c Speaker 4

dSpeaker 1

e Speaker 3

Choose the correct sentences. 1. Speaker 1 _________. a went to a tea party by taxi b saw a tea party in the middle of the road c had a tea party with some taxi drivers 2. Speaker 2 __________. a took three hours to reach the airport b arrived at the airport just in time c missed his plane for Sichuan b c

3. Speaker 3 ________. a always goes to work by bike b never stops at traffic lights c always gets stuck on the ring road 4. Speaker 4 ________. a prefers driving late in the evening b thinks Beijing is better than Shanghai c prefers public transport to cars c a

5. Speaker 5 ________. a had an accident near the Summer Palace b drove on the wrong side of the road c got stuck in a traffic jam c

Listen again and answer the questions. The traffic still didn’t move. To turn back and go home. 1. What problem did speaker 1 have after the tea party? 2. What did speaker 2 tell the taxi driver to do?

People disobeying traffic rules. Limit the number of cars, build more underground lines, and build roads in the sky. 3. What is the cause of traffic jams, in the opinion of speaker 3? 4. What solutions to the traffic problem does speaker 4 talk about?

The fact that people see what causes the problem, then do the same thing again. 5. What is speaker 5 surprised at?

Look at the words and phrases below and choose the best explanation. 1. Pedicabs are worth using if you want to explore old Beijing. A. pedicabs cost a lot to use. B. It can be a good idea to use pedicabs.

2. There was no way I was going to catch the plane. A. All the roads to the airport were closed. B. It was impossible to catch the plane. 3. It’s enough to drive you mad. A. It can make you get angry. B. It can make you drive badly.

4. Keep cool! A. Don’t get angry. B. Wear light clothes.

① Why not limit the number of _____, or follow Shanghai and build ___________in the sky? ② Use why not and the words in brackets to make suggestions in these situations. Example: --- Taxis are very expensive. cars more roads Complete the sentence from the listening passage.

(public transport) --- Why not use public transport? 1. The roads are very busy. (underground) 2. Buses are always crowded. (minibuses) 3. The rush hour is terrible. (at a different time) 4. There aren’t enough roads. (new ones)

5. Too many people break the rules. (more traffic policemen) 6. There isn’t any room for cars to park. (underground car parks)

1. The roads are very busy. (underground) Why not use the underground? Why not use the minibuses? Why not travel in a different time? 2. Buses are always crowded. (minibuses) 3. The rush hour is terrible. (at a different time)

Why not build new ones? Why not employ more traffic policemen? Why not build underground car parks? 4. There aren’t enough roads. (new ones) 5. Too many people break the rules. (more traffic policemen) 6 There isn’t any room for cars to park. (underground car parks)

Discuss ways of improving the situation. Here are some expressions you can use: They /We should /shouldn’t …. They/We could /should… Why not…? / Why don’t you …? Example: Why don’t they make new cycle lanes? Discussion in groups

课后小练 根据汉语完成句子，每空一词。 1. 没有人应答。为什么不试着敲敲后门？ Nobody answered. _____ ___ ___ knocking on the back door? 2. 他上班总是迟到，结果他被解雇了。 He was always late for work. __ __ _____, he was fired. Why not try As a result

3. 老板现在心情不好；你最好不要自找麻 烦了。 The boss is not ___ __ _____ _____ now; you’d better not ask for trouble. 4. 他跑得太快，以至于根本没有人能赶上 他。 He runs so fast that there is ___ ____ for other people to catch up with him. in a good mood no way

5. 昨晚的舞会又吵又挤，足以令人发狂。 The dance last night was too noisy and crowded. It’s enough to ____ ___ _____. drive me mad

Homework Write the passage on your exercise books.