Advanced English Conversations (2) - Robert Allans, Matt Edie, A. Mustafaoglu 2020

Set 63 - They are making commuters’ lives a misery

Interviewer: Sir; it is being reported that serious problems are facing commuters downtown. Packed trains, fare rises, and train strikes. What measures is the government planning to take in this respect?

Minister: Well, we’re working on investing in infrastructure and to providing more convenient transport services and the projects are going to take shape in a matter of weeks.

Interviewer: So; how about traffic jams? They are making commuters’ lives a misery. Commuters who drive also seem to be facing increasing difficulties, such as road closures and detours which in turn cause lengthy tailbacks and bring traffic to a standstill.

Minister: Everything is on the table. We are trying to ease traffic congestion in big cities by restricting private car use, encouraging carpooling programs and park-and-ride schemes. We aim to improve air quality by reducing traffic.

Vocabulary;

packed: (adjective) completely full.

in this respect/regard: refer back to an idea expressed in the previous statement.

take measures: to take action in order to deal with a situation.

infrastructure: the basic systems and services, such as transport and power supplies, that a country or organization uses in order to work effectively.

take shape: to assume a distinct form; develop into something definite or tangible.

make one’s life a misery: make somebody’s life very unpleasant or difficult.

road closures: blockings that prevent people from using the road.

detours: a long or roundabout route that is taken to avoid something or to visit somewhere along the way.

lengthy tailbacks: a long line of vehicles that have stopped or are moving only very slowly, because of an accident or other problem on the road in front of them.

bring sth to a standstill: to cause a process or a job to reach a point at which it must stop.

carpooling: the activity of people travelling together in a car, especially to work or school.

park-and-ride: a system for reducing urban traffic congestion, in which drivers leave their cars in car parks on the outskirts of a city and travel to the city centre on public transport.

Exercise;

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate phrases or words;

1. It is a long-term task to rebuild the .......... of a war-torn country such as Angola.

2. The train was so .......... that I couldn't find a seat.

3. There is a shortage of skilled labor in this city. Decision makers should do something ..........

4. A new .......... system has been introduced to cut traffic queues.

5. .......... saves on travel expenses and efficient in terms of reducing pollution.

6. A sudden reduction in funding .......... our research to a ..........

7. Yesterday there was a four-mile .......... on the main road into the city after a crash.

8. After being sick of waiting in traffic congestions, he had made a .......... to a cafe.

9. State highway agencies have used full .......... successfully on a variety of project types ranging from full-depth reconstruction to bridge joint replacement with guardrail enhancements.

10. Tom has been .......... ever since he found out I'd snitched on him to the boss about taking office supplies.

11. The plan to steal rocks from the surface of Mars is ..........

12. We will .......... to reduce noise levels in the factory.

1. infrastructure 2. packed 3. in this regard 4. park-and-ride 5. Carpooling 6. brought/standstill 7. tailback 8. detour 9. road closure 10. making my life a misery 11. taking shape 12. take measures