Taxis

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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• light rail
• cabbie
• downtown
• meter

• traffic
• lift
• plan ahead
• flag down

• flat rate
• drop off

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In pictures of New York City, the streets are almost always crowded with taxis. But while taking a cab in New York may be convenient, it can also be expensive. Still there’s something romantic and exciting about the idea of being carried along in your own private cab…as long as you don’t end up paying just to sit in traffic.

In smaller cities, taking cabs is less common. But there are still times when they’re the best transportation option out there, like when you need a lift to the airport, or when you have so much fun at the bars you can’t drive yourself home. Find out if Marni and Beren like taking cabs.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Beren

Marni:  So Beren, do you take a lot of cabs in this town?

Beren:  I’ve probably taken more cabs recently, in the past couple months, than I have the whole time I’ve lived here, because you have to call, you have to plan ahead. You can’t just flag them down here.

Marni:  You can’t flag down a cab in this town. But in many cities you can. And I think that’s the great thing about cabs, or taxis, if you want to call them that. It seems like that’s what they’re for, right? You need a quick ride, flag one down.

Beren:  Here it’s more…definitely the planning part, like if you want to get dropped off at the airport it’s way more convenient I think than taking the light rail or the bus.

Marni:  Sure.

Beren:  And, I don’t know, all the cabbies are really nice. I have some friends that do it, and they enjoy it, you know. It’s more…I feel like it’s more of the downtown late night crowd of people that take cabs, because definitely there have been times when I’ve tried to call and I can’t one.

Marni:  Yeah absolutely. It seems like after bar close, that’s when a taxi…taxis are really essential. Yeah, you know, I don’t know. I always feel like though they’re so expensive, I mean I just sit in a cab when I’m in one and I just watch the meter run, and I’m just like “Oh my gosh, this is so expensive, I could be walking!”

Beren:  Yeah. It’s nice that they do have like flat rates so it’s all…like all the cab companies it’s going to be the same price. It’s like definitely…I don’t know, I feel like in bigger cities it makes more sense. Because it’s more convenient. Here if you’re going to take the time to call a cab, you might as well just take the bus or walk.

Marni:  Yep. Sometimes they’re essential though.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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