General Listening Quiz

Listen to the recording on taxis and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Passenger: Hey Taxi! Ah great. Thanks for pulling over.

Driver: Where to?

Passenger: Well, I’m going to the National Museum of Art, and . . .

Driver: Sure. Hop in. No problem. Hang on!

Passenger: Uh. Excuse me. How long does it take to get there?

Driver: Well, that all depends on the traffic, but it shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes for the average driver. [Oh.] And I’m not average. I have driving down to an art, so we should be able to cruise through traffic and get there in less than twelve minutes.

Passenger: Okay. Uh, sorry for asking, [Yeah?] but do you have any idea how much the fare will be?

Driver: Oh, it shouldn’t be more than 18 dollars . . . not including a . . . uh-hum . . . a tip of course.

Passenger: Oh, and by the way, do you know what time the museum closes?

Driver: Well, I would guess around 6:00 O’clock.

Passenger: Uh, do you have the time?

Driver: Yeah. It’s half past four. [Thanks.] Uh, this IS your first time to the city, right?

Passenger: Yeah. How did you know?

Driver: Well, you can tell tourists [from] a mile away in this city because they walk down the street looking straight up at the skyscrapers.

Passenger: Was it that obvious?

Driver: Well . . .

Passenger: Oh, before I forget, can you recommend any good restaurants downtown that offer meals at a reasonable price?

Driver: Umm . . . Well, the Mexican restaurant, La Fajita, is fantastic. [Oh.] It’s not as inexpensive as other places I know, but the decor is very authentic, [Okay.] and the portions are larger than most places I’ve been to.

Passenger: Sounds great! How do I get there from the museum?

Driver: Well, you can catch the subway right outside the museum. There are buses that run that way, but you would have to transfer a couple of times. And there are taxis too, but they don’t run by the museum that often.

Passenger: Okay. Thanks.

• pull over (verb): to stop a vehicle to the side of the road
  – We pulled over so we could rest and enjoy the scenic view.
• down to an art (verb): to learn something very well
  – My brother has skiing down to an art.
• cruise (verb): to drive at a moderate speed, often leisurely or aimlessly
  – The football players cruised around the city after the big game.
• do you have the time (verb): “Do you know what time it is?”
  – Excuse me. Do you happen to have the time?
• skyscrapers (noun): very tall city buildings
  – The city has decided to build a new skyscraper in the downtown area.
• offer (verb): to provide or furnish
  – This travel agency is offering discount travel tickets to students until the end of the week.
• reasonable (adjective): fair, not excessive or severe
  – The prices at that department store are very reasonable.
• fantastic (adjective): super, wonderful, unbelievably great
  – The musical last night was fantastic.
• decor (noun): the indoor furnishings of a building or home
  – The hotel’s decor was designed by a local decorator.
• authentic (adjective): real, not counterfeited
  – The teacher creates a very authentic classroom atmosphere for her students.
• portions (noun): an individual amount of food
  – The portions were so large that we couldn’t finish the meal.