2010年ESL之旅行交通购物 14 Types of Cars and Vehicles

14 Types of Cars and Vehicles

GLOSSARY 1

to be in the market for (something) – to be shopping for something; to beconsidering all the types of something that are available for sale, deciding whichone to buy

* How long have you been in the market for a new computer?

truck – a large vehicle used to carry many things, not just people, usually with anopen area in the back to carry large items

* Some people who live in rural areas like to have a truck so that they can carryfarm goods.

just about – almost; approximately

* Mariah likes just about every type of dessert: cake, pie, cookies, ice cream,candy, pudding, pastries 2, and more!

vehicle – a large machine with an engine that is used to carry people and thingsfrom one place to another

* The bus company just bought 20 new vehicles to provide more frequenttransportation service within the city.

compact 3 – a small-sized car

* Many people choose the Toyota Yaris, Honda Civic 4, or other compact carsbecause they have better gas mileage 5 than larger cars do.

mid-size cars – a medium-sized car, not too small and not too big

* With four people and a baby going on vacation, we’ll need to rent a mid-sizedcar to fit everyone comfortably.

sedan – a four-door car with room for at least four passengers

* When James got married and became a father, he had to sell his motorcycleand buy a sedan instead.

coupe – a sports car; a small car with only two doors

* It’s difficult to put children into the rear 6 seat of a coupe, so most families preferto have a larger car.

hatchback – a car that offers a lot of storage space in the back, with a back doorthat opens from bottom to top

* Do you think my bike will fit in your hatchback?

convertible 7 – a car with a roof that folds down or can be removed, so that onefeels the wind while driving

* A convertible isn’t a very practical car if you live in an area where it rains a lot.

sports car – a small car that goes very fast; a car made to travel at high speeds

* When Geoffrey had a mid-life crisis 8, he bought a bright red sports car becauseit made him feel younger.

no sweat – no problem; a phrase used to let someone else know that one isn’tworried about something and/or has a solution for a problem

* If you haven’t finished your taxes by April 15th, no sweat. Just request anextension.

station wagon 9 – a large car that has a lot of storage space in the back

* The station wagon has plenty of room for grocery bags, sports equipment, andall the other things we need to take around town.

minivan – a large vehicle with seven or eight seats

* With four kids in car seats, a minivan was really their only option when theyneeded to buy a car.

SUV – sports utility vehicle; a strong, large car that is designed to travel overuneven surfaces

* Why do you need an SUV if you only drive in the city?

to seat – to have enough seats for a certain number of people

* This airplane seats more than 150 passengers.

anywhere from (something) to (something) – ranging from something tosomething; with a specific minimum and maximum amount

* Our employees have annual vacation leave periods of anywhere from one weekto five weeks, depending on how long they have worked for the company.

pickup 11 – a small truck with a large, open area in the back with low sides, usedfor carrying heavy things from one place to another

* They filled their pickup truck with hay for the horses to eat.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Which of these vehicles is the largest?

a) A compact.

b) A sedan.

c) A minivan.

2. Which of these vehicles would be most helpful on a farm?

a) A coupe.

b) A convertible sports car.

c) A pickup.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

just about

The phrase “just about,” in this podcast, means almost or approximately: “Thatwas just about the best movie I’ve ever seen!” The phrase “just then” means atthat exact time, or precisely 12 then: “Mrs. Hagstrom was taking the cake out of theoven, but just then her cat ran into her and the cake fell to the floor.” The phrase“just the thing” is used to describe something that is perfect, or exactly whatsomeone wanted: “At the end of a long day, a glass of good wine is just thething.” Finally, the phrase “not just yet” is used when one doesn’t want to dosomething at that exact moment, but will probably do it soon: A: “Are you readyto go?” B: “Not just yet. I need to finish putting on my makeup 13.”

to seat

In this podcast, the verb “to seat” means to have enough seats for a certainnumber of people: “They’re looking for a conference room that can seat up to 500participants.” When used as a formal command, “to seat” can mean to have aseat or to sit down: “Please be seated and open your materials to page 483.” A“car seat” is a special chair put inside a car for babies and very young children, tokeep them safe in an accident: “Babies should be in a rear-facing car seat untilthey are one year old, and then they can be in a forward-facing car seat.” A“booster seat” is used for older children who aren’t yet big enough to use aregular seat belt: “Small children are safest in booster seats, because they putthe child higher up so that the car’s seatbelt can work properly.”

CULTURE NOTE

SUVs and other large cars were very popular among American “consumers”

(buyers; shoppers) in the 1990s and early 2000s. Most people believed thatSUVs were safer, because they had a larger, “sturdier” (stronger) “frame” (themain structural 14 pieces) and would “fare better” (not be damaged as much) in“collisions” (hits; accidents) with other cars. Many drivers also liked the “rideheight” of the SUVs, which let them feel higher up than other cars and, in someways, safer.

In addition, many people liked the “rugged” (rough; outdoor-like) “styling” (theway something looks) of most SUVs. Even if they drove the SUVs “primarily”

(mostly) in the city, they liked having the image of someone who enjoys theoutdoors. People who needed a “higher-performance” (capable of doing morethings better) vehicle liked the “four-wheel drive” (ability to control all four wheels)offered in most SUVs, especially in areas where the roads are often covered insnow and ice.

As long as gas prices were “relatively” (comparatively) low, people could drivetheir SUVs without worrying about their lower “gas mileage” (the number of milesthat can be driven with one gallon of gasoline). In the mid-2000s, however,economic conditions changed and SUVs began to “lose ground” (become lesscompetitive or less attractive) in the “automobile market” (sales of vehicles). Gasprices “rose” (increased) and suddenly it became “prohibitively” (makingsomething impossible) expensive to “fill the tank” (fill a car with gasoline) of anSUV. People began selling their SUVs, “opting” (choosing) to replace them withsmaller, more “fuel-efficient” (with higher gas mileage) cars and even “hybrids”

(cars that get very good gas mileage because they use an electric system).

Today, Americans still drive many SUVs, but they are not as popular as theywere 10 years ago.

______________

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT 15

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 609: Types of Carsand Vehicles.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 16 609. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Go to our website at eslpod.com and download a Learning Guide for this episodethat will help you improve your English even faster.

This episode is called “Types of Cars and Vehicles.” It’s a dialogue betweenRobert and Mary, where we’re going to hear a lot of vocabulary related to types,or kinds, of cars. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Robert: Hi, I’m Robert. What are you in the market for today?

Mary: I want to buy a new car, but I’m not sure what I want.

Robert: Well, you’ve come to the right place. We have a very large selection 17 ofcars and trucks – just about any type of vehicle you can think of. Why don’t Ishow you around?

Mary: Okay, that would be great.

Robert: Over here, we have some nice compacts 18 and mid-size cars. We havetwo-door or four-door sedans, coupes, and hatchbacks. We even have thisbeautiful convertible sports car. What do you think?

Mary: It’s very nice, but I want something a little bigger for my family.

Robert: Okay, no sweat. Walk this way and you’ll see our station wagons 19,minivans, and SUVs. These seat anywhere from 6 to 10 people. We even havepickups.

Mary: I’m not sure if any of these will fit my family?

Robert: How many children do you have?

Mary: Eleven.

Robert: Eleven? In that case, you might want to buy two!

[end of dialogue]

The scene of this dialogue is a “car dealership,” a place where they sell newcars. The salesperson 20 is named Robert, and Robert begins our dialogue bysaying, “Hi, I’m Robert. What are you in the market for today?” “To be in themarket for (something)” means to be shopping for something, to be considering acertain kind of something that is available for sale; you’re deciding which oneyou’re going to buy. You might say, “I’m in the market for a new phone.” I reallyneed a new phone. I wish the listeners of ESL Podcast would give me an iPhoneand an iPad. That’s what I’m in the market for; I’m going to buy them. Of course,if someone gave them to me, I would not say no!

Well, Mary is in the market for buying a new car, or simply in the market for anew car. She says, “I want to buy a new car, but I’m not sure what I want.”

Robert says, “Well, you’ve come to the right place (you are in the right place).

We have a very large selection of cars and trucks – just about any type of vehicleyou can think of.” A “truck” is a large vehicle used to carry things, not just carrypeople. Usually there is an open area in the back of the vehicle to put largeobjects. The expression “just about” means almost or approximately. “What timeis it?” “It’s just about noon.” Or, you could say, “We have just about every kindof dessert here. Cakes, pies, cookies, ice cream, candy, and so forth 21.” So, “justabout” is almost or approximately, but there are some other meanings you canfind in our Learning Guide for these words.

Robert says they have just about any type of vehicle you can think of. “Vehicle”

(vehicle) is any large machine with an engine that is used to carry people orthings from one place to another. It could be a car; it could be a truck; it could bea motorcycle, anything that has a motor – an engine – that is used to movepeople from one place to another. Robert says, “Why don’t I show you around?”

“Why don’t” here means I think it is a good idea. “To show (someone) around” isa phrasal verb meaning to give you a tour of an area or to show you what, in thiscase, the store has for sale.

Mary says, “Okay, that would be great,” meaning yes. Robert says, “Over here,we have some nice compacts and mid-size cars.” A “compact car” is a verysmall car, one of the smallest you can find. A “mid-size (mid-size) car” is a medium-sized car – not too small, not too big, somewhere in the middle. Robertsays, “We have two-door or four-door sedans, coupes, and hatchbacks.” Theseare three kinds of cars. A “sedan” (sedan) is usually a car with four doors – twoin front, two in back – that has room for at least four people. A “coupe” (coupe) isa small car with only two doors, and is usually what we would call a “sports car.”

It’s a car that goes fast, that looks nice, that will allow you to attract a lot ofbeautiful women – well, certain kinds of women! A “hatchback” (hatchback – oneword) is a car that has either two or four doors, but in the back it has a very largedoor that opens up, and usually you can put large items in the back of this kind ofcar. Often the seats in the back will go down – will fold down so you have moreroom. I have a hatchback car; there are four doors and then there is a fifth door,a large door that is where you would normally find the trunk of the car – the backstorage part of the car, and that is used just like a trunk but it’s much bigger thana trunk. So, we have sedans, coupes, and hatchbacks. Robert says, “We evenhave this beautiful convertible sports car.” A “convertible car” is one where theroof – the top of the car folds down or can be removed so that you don’t haveanything above you, there’s no roof. A sports car, as I mentioned earlier, is oftena small car, usually expensive, that can go very fast, so you can attract theattention of police officers!

Robert shows all these cars to Mary and says, “What do you think?” What doyou think of these cars? Mary says, “It’s very nice, but I want something biggerfor my family.” Robert says, “Okay, no sweat.” “No sweat” (sweat) means noproblem. It’s an informal phrase we use to let someone else know that what theyare concerned about or what they are worried about is not a problem; you have asolution for your problem.

“No sweat,” he says, “Walk this way (come with me) and you’ll see our stationwagons, minivans, and SUVs.” A “station wagon” is a large car that has a lot ofstorage space in the back. It’s long more than it is tall. So, it is a long car,usually four doors, but there is also a hatchback-like door in the back, but there’sa lot more space. These were very popular in the 60s and the 70s and the 80s.

They’ve become less popular now because there are some other kinds of largevehicles that are used such as minivans and SUVs, which we’ll explain in amoment. But station wagons were very popular. My father always drove astation wagon until he was at least in his 70s. Part of the reason was that he hada big family, and so he needed all of that room. In fact, I bought his old stationwagon and drove it when I was in graduate school. That really attracted thebeautiful women! “Minivans” are large vehicles that have a lot of room forpassengers – for people. Typically they’ll have seven or eight seats. It’s long,but much taller than a station wagon. A “SUV” is a sports utility vehicle. This is a large car, both tall and long, and very heavy. It was originally designed to travelon uneven 10 surfaces, places like the desert or in the country where are no roads.

But in fact, most people that own these SUVs don’t use them anywhere outsideof the regular roads and highways. They’re very popular here in Los Angelesand in many other cities. They are definitely not the cheapest cars you can buy.

Getting back to the dialogue, Robert says, “These seat anywhere from 6 to 10people.” The expression “to seat” (seat) as a verb means it has enough seats forthat many people. So for example, a stadium – a baseball stadium that has55,000 seats would be described as a stadium that seats 55,000. Robert saysthat these station wagons, minivans, and SUVs seat anywhere from 6 to 10people. The expression “anywhere from…(one number to another – anywherefrom 5 to 50)” is simply used to express a range of something, to give theminimum and the maximum – anywhere from X to Y. Robert also says that theyhave pickups (pickups – one word). A “pickup,” or sometimes it’s called a“pickup truck” is a small truck with a large open area in the back that has lowsides. It’s very similar to other kinds of trucks, except the pickup truck always, oralmost always doesn’t have a cover on the back part where you put largeobjects, the flat part in the back of the vehicle.

Mary says, “I’m not sure if any of these will fit my family?” meaning will be goodenough or big enough. Robert says, “How many children do you have?” Marysays, “Eleven.” Robert says, “Eleven? In that case (in that situation), you mightwant to buy two (two cars or two trucks or two station wagons)!” Of course,some of you know I am the youngest of 11 children, so perhaps this dialoguewas written for me – after all, my mother’s name is Mary!

Now let’s listen to the dialogue at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Robert: Hi, I’m Robert. What are you in the market for today?

Mary: I want to buy a new car, but I’m not sure what I want.

Robert: Well, you’ve come to the right place. We have a very large selection ofcars and trucks – just about any type of vehicle you can think of. Why don’t Ishow you around?

Mary: Okay, that would be great.

Robert: Over here, we have some nice compacts and mid-size cars. We havetwo-door or four-door sedans, coupes, and hatchbacks. We even have thisbeautiful convertible sports car. What do you think?

Mary: It’s very nice, but I want something a little bigger for my family.

Robert: Okay, no sweat. Walk this way and you’ll see our station wagons,minivans, and SUVs. These seat anywhere from 6 to 10 people. We even havepickups.

Mary: I’m not sure if any of these will fit my family?

Robert: How many children do you have?

Mary: Eleven.

Robert: Eleven? In that case, you might want to buy two!

[end of dialogue]

She can write scripts on just about any topic, that’s our own Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Comeback and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2010 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.