Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Have you ever seen someone stranded on the side of the road? Maybe it’s because the car ran out of gas. Maybe it’s because the GPS stopped working. Or maybe it’s because the car got a flat tire!
Your plans can fall apart suddenly if a flat tire stops you on the way to work or an appointment. It’s not always something you can avoid. Most vehicles do have storage space for jacks and a spare tire. The question is whether the person driving knows how to solve the problem. People who don’t want to fix the flat themselves can always call a mechanic or roadside assistance, but it might take a while for help to arrive.
Learn Jeff and Lily’s opinions on fixing flat tires in this English lesson.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Jeff: So I’m driving down the highway the other day, and I see this car pulled off to the side. It’s somebody on their cell phone standing outside of the car, looking distraught. I wonder what’s wrong. I was in a hurry, so I couldn’t stop.
Lily: Yeah.
Jeff: I look over, and they have a flat tire.
Lily: Oh.
Jeff: They had to have somebody help them to fix a flat! They shouldn’t even be able to drive!
Lily: Well, it’s kind of hard. I mean, you have to deal with the big heavy jacks and wrestling with the spare tire, and all that stuff.
Jeff: Those things are tiny.
Lily: Not really. Not if you have no upper body strength.
Jeff: As long as you can steer a steering wheel, you can surely jack a car up. You shouldn’t be driving!
Lily: I tried to learn. It was just hard, so…
Jeff: So you called somebody.
Lily: Yeah, I called someone because otherwise I would have been stranded on the highway for an indeterminable length of time.
Jeff: Instead you were stranded for an hour and a half or however long it took.
Lily: At least I knew.
Jeff: What about a bicycle? Can you fix a bicycle flat?
Lily: I have a kit, but I don’t know how to do it.
Jeff: They have instructions.
Lily: Then I guess I’ll learn.
Jeff: Yes, you should.
Grammar Point
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Discussion
Jeff tells Lily about a stranded driver he saw. He was worried something terrible had happened until he saw the problem. It was a flat tire.
Lily feels badly for the person with the flat tire, but Jeff thinks anybody who drives a car should be able to fix a flat, including Lily! Jeff and Lily argue about how heavy jacks are and how much strength a person needs to be able to lift up a car.
Lily decides she would rather call roadside assistance than try to change a flat by herself. Jeff isn’t happy with her, though. He asks if she at least can fix a bicycle flat tire. Lily has a kit, but she hasn’t ever used it. Jeff tells her she needs to read the instructions and learn what to do.
Have you ever had a flat tire? Was it on a car or a bicycle? Did you fix it yourself or call someone to come help you?
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