Link: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6248530
Listen to the programme and fill in the gaps:
1. The story is about college students and ___________
2. College towns can be some of the most civilized places on earth. At least until the students come and ______________.
3. You know when the students are back because you see their ____________ with out of state plates to start rolling through the stop signs and _____________ the one lane bridges out of order.
4. When I was going to pick up my son from his piano lesson, a college kid in a big red SUV with New Jersey plates _________________ a four-way stop out of turn.
5. I did what any peace-loving, well adjusted, middle aged guy in a tiny ____________ car running late to pick up his kid from his piano lesson would do. I _____________ the intersection and _____________.
6. I thought he'd say " ______________________", and back off.
7. But he didn't. So we stopped grill to grill and stood there like a terrier _____________ with a horse.
8. Both of us _______________ took down each other's license plate numbers.
9. He backed up but just a little and I ___________________ in front of him and went on my way.
10. I won but every time I remember it, my ears go red. I mean, what was I thinking? that in a small town no one I knew would see me there shouting, ________________ traffic and think I was being a little bit ridiculous?
11. I guess that's a problem with_________________ It's hard to ___________________.
12. You say to yourself, I could ____________________ or I could _______________.
KEY
1. GridlockGridlock: a situation in which there are so many cars in the streets of a town that the traffic cannot move at all
traffic jam: a long line of vehicles on a road that cannot move or that can only move very slowly. E.g. We were stuck in a traffic jam.
tailback: a long line of traffic that is moving slowly or not moving at all, because something is blocking the road. E.g. It took a couple of hours for the two-mile tailback to clear. There are five-mile tailbacks on the M25 this morning. There are reports of severe tailbacks in both directions.
nose to tail: if cars, etc. are nose to tail, they are moving slowly in a long line with little space between them. E.g. Traffic is nose to tail on the east-bound section of the M62.
bumper to bumper: (about cars) so close that their bumpers are nearly touching. E.g. The cars were bumper to bumper on the road to the coast.
2. gum everything up
Gum everything up: ruin
3. SUVs
SUV: sport utility vehicle
charging onto
Charge: to rush in a particular direction. E.g. The children charged down the stairs. He came charging into my room and demanded to know what was going on.
4. rumbled through
Rumble: to move slowly and heavily, making a long deep sound. E.g. tanks rumbling through the streets. The train rumbled nearer.
5. beat-up
Beat-up: old and damaged. E.g. a beat-up old truck.
shot into
Shoot: to move suddenly or quickly in one direction; to make somebody/something move in this way. E.g. A plane shot across the sky. His hand shot out to grab her. Flames were shooting up through the roof.
cut him off
Cut off: to block or get in the way of something. E.g. They cut off the enemy's retreat. The new factory cuts off our view of the hills.
6. yo dude, my bad
Yo: /jəʊ/ used by young people to say hello.
Dude: a man. E.g. He's a real cool dude. Hey, dude, what's up?
My bad: (North American English, informal) used when you are admitting that something is your fault or that you have made a mistake. E.g. I'm sorry—my bad. That was my bad.
Back off: to move backwards in order to get away from somebody/something frightening or unpleasant. E.g. As the riot police approached, the crowd backed off.
7. facing off
Grill: (also grille) a screen made of metal bars or wire that is placed in front of a window, door or piece of machinery in order to protect it. E.g. a radiator grille (= at the front of a car)
Face off: to get ready to argue, fight or compete with somebody. E:g. The candidates are preparing to face off on TV tonight.
8. ostentatiously
Ostentatiously: /ˌɒstenˈteɪʃəsli/ done in a very obvious way so that people will notice it, often in order to impress them in an unnecessary way.
Take down: to write something down. E.g. Reporters took down every word of his speech.
9. squeezed through
Squeeze into/through: to force somebody/something/yourself into or through a small space. E.g. to squeeze into a tight dress/a parking space.
10. holding up
Hold up: to delay or block the movement or progress of somebody/something. E.g. An accident is holding up traffic. My application was held up by the postal strike.
11. picking fights
Pick a fight/quarrel (with somebody): to deliberately start a fight or an argument with somebody.
E.g. He had drunk too much and was ready to pick a fight with anyone who crossed his path.
back down
Back down: to admit defeat. E.g. She refused to back down on a point of principle.
12. stay the course
Stay the course: to continue doing something until it has finished or been completed, even though it is difficult. E.g. Very few of the trainees have stayed the course.
cut and run
Cut and run: to make a quick or sudden escape.
Transcript
Our next piece is another story about college students and gridlock. Commentator John Miller used to report for NPR from the Philippines and Peru. Now he lives a slightly more domestic life in Ithaca, New York, which is home to Cornell University.
JOHN MILLER: If you've ever lived in a college town, you know they can be some of the most civilized places on earth. At least until the students come and gum everything up. You don't need a calendar to know when they're back. You just wait for the SUVs with out of state plates to start rolling through the stop signs and charging onto the one lane bridges out of order.
So I was driving my ancient Civic going to pick up my son from his piano lesson when a college kid in a big red SUV with New Jersey plates rumbled through a four-way stop out of turn. And I did what any peace-loving, well adjusted, middle aged guy in a tiny beat-up car running late to pick up his kid from his piano lesson would do. I shot into the intersection and cut him off. I guess I thought he'd say yo dude, my bad, and back off.
But he didn't. So we stopped grill to grill and stood there like a terrier facing off with a horse. After a minute I got out of the car and shouted, "At a four-way stop you've got to wait your turn." Then I got back into my car and waited and the traffic backed up in every direction. We were officially gumming things up.
So I rolled down my window and yelled, "I'm old enough to be your father." I don't know why I thought that would move him and of course it didn't. After both of us ostentatiously took down each other's license plate numbers he finally did back up but just a little and I squeezed through in front of him and went on my way.
So, I won but every time I remember it, my ears go red. I mean, what was I thinking? That by confronting this stranger in a busy intersection I could teach him about the golden rule or the rule of law or, I don't know, fairness and justice and the very foundation of civilization as we know it? Or that in a small town no one I knew would see me there shouting, holding up traffic and think I was being a little bit ridiculous?
I guess that's a problem with picking fights. It's hard to back down. You say to yourself, I could stay the course or I could cut and run. I stayed the course. Now every time I go out I'm wondering what the kid in the SUV is going to do if he sees me. I'm not used to living with this kind of fear.
I can't tell you how important it is to respect four way stops but there's got to be a better way to make the point. Yo dude, my bad.
NORRIS: Commentator John Miller lived and drove in South America and Asia before moving to the mean streets of Ithaca, New York.
Vocabulary:
Four-way intersection/stop: a place where two roads cross each other. E.g. The first vehicle to stop at a four-way stop has right of way. Gridlock: a situation in which there are so many cars in the streets of a town that the traffic cannot move at all
Gum everything up: ruin
SUV: sport utility vehicle
Charge: to rush in a particular direction. E.g. The children charged down the stairs. He came charging into my room and demanded to know what was going on.
Rumble: to move slowly and heavily, making a long deep sound. E.g. tanks rumbling through the streets. The train rumbled nearer.
Beat-up: old and damaged. E.g. a beat-up old truck.
Shoot: to move suddenly or quickly in one direction; to make somebody/something move in this way. E.g. A plane shot across the sky. His hand shot out to grab her. Flames were shooting up through the roof.
Cut off: to block or get in the way of something. E.g. They cut off the enemy's retreat. The new factory cuts off our view of the hills.
Yo: /jəʊ/ used by young people to say hello.
Dude: a man. E.g. He's a real cool dude. Hey, dude, what's up?
My bad: (North American English, informal) used when you are admitting that something is your fault or that you have made a mistake. E.g. I'm sorry—my bad. That was my bad.
Back off: to move backwards in order to get away from somebody/something frightening or unpleasant. E.g. As the riot police approached, the crowd backed off.
Grill: (also grille) a screen made of metal bars or wire that is placed in front of a window, door or piece of machinery in order to protect it. E.g. a radiator grille (= at the front of a car)
Face off: to get ready to argue, fight or compete with somebody. E:g. The candidates are preparing to face off on TV tonight.
Back up: to move backwards, especially in a vehicle. You can back up another two feet or so. I backed the car up to the door.
Ostentatiously: /ˌɒstenˈteɪʃəsli/ done in a very obvious way so that people will notice it, often in order to impress them in an unnecessary way.
Take down: to write something down. E.g. Reporters took down every word of his speech.
Squeeze into/through: to force somebody/something/yourself into or through a small space. E.g. to squeeze into a tight dress/a parking space.
Hold up: to delay or block the movement or progress of somebody/something. E.g. An accident is holding up traffic. My application was held up by the postal strike.
Pick a fight/quarrel (with somebody): to deliberately start a fight or an argument with somebody.
E.g. He had drunk too much and was ready to pick a fight with anyone who crossed his path.
Back down: to admit defeat. E.g. She refused to back down on a point of principle. Stay the course: to continue doing something until it has finished or been completed, even though it is difficult. E.g. Very few of the trainees have stayed the course.
Cut and run: to make a quick or sudden escape.
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