ESL Podcast 414 - Common Traffic Signs

Ben: Why are you squinting¹ like that?

Lauren: I left my glasses at the office.

Ben: You mean you can't see?!

Lauren: I can see pretty well. What was that yellow sign we just passed?

Ben: It said, "Dead End." Stop! Turn around.

Lauren: I can't. That sign says, "No U-turn."

Ben: Okay, but we can't keep going. Those signs say, "Do Not Enter" and "One Way."

Lauren: Okay, fine. I'll just pull off the road and you can drive.

Ben: You can't. That sign says, "No Stopping." Hey, you just made an illegal U-turn!

Lauren: What else could I do? Anyway, we're back on track now.

Ben: Watch out for those speed bumps²! You really are blind without your glasses. You're going too fast. According to that sign, this is a school crossing zone. The posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour.

Lauren: That's only true when the lights are flashing. Is that a "Detour³" sign?

Ben: I can't believe it. Will I never get home?


Script⁴ by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 squinting   

斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• "More company," he said, squinting in the sun. "那边来人了，"他在阳光中眨巴着眼睛说。
• Squinting against the morning sun, Faulcon examined the boy carefully. 对着早晨的太阳斜起眼睛，富尔康仔细地打量着那个年轻人。

2 bumps   

碰撞( bump的名词复数 )； 肿块； 轻微撞车事故； 隆起物

参考例句：

• I had goose bumps when we watched the fireworks. 我们看烟火的时候，我起鸡皮疙瘩。
• E was kind of zig-zagging across the pavement, and I bumps into 'im accidental-like. 他有点歪歪斜斜地在人行道上走，我一不小心撞到了他的怀里。 来自英汉文学

3 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

4 script   

n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹

参考例句：

• It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
• The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。