25 Trouble with Buses – English Language Bits

Match these words with their meanings below. You can type the words or copy & paste them.

Check your answers by clicking Submit at the end.

experience (verb) – wind up (end up) – attention – short turn (verb) – route – distract – assume – deal (dealt) with – multiple

when you carefully listen to, look at, or think about someone or something –

many –

a way from one place to another –

to do something to solve a problem –

to think that something is true, although you cannot be sure –

to shorten the bus route because of an issue (for example, heavy traffic) –

to have previously been in a similar situation or affected by a similar feeling –

to take someone’s attention away from something –

to be in an unpleasant situation or place after a lot has happened –

Please fill in the comment box below.

Fill in the missing words in the text. You can type them or copy & paste them.

You can check your answers by listening or by clicking Submit at the end.

experience – attention – short turn – route – distract – assume – deal (dealt) with – multiple – wind up (end up)

Ralph: Hey, Kim. Hey, Matt. Hey, I know that you, Matt, you take the TTC to work most days. Kimberly, you walk most days. Is that right?
Kimberley: Yeah, that’s right.
Ralph: And I take… I do both, I walk and take the TTC. My question is: Have you ever -d some problems taking the TTC…

…and how have you them?

Matt: So most days I don’t really have big problems on the TTC. Usually I get there in about the same amount of time, but I have to be really careful that I get on the right bus.
Ralph: Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Matt: Yeah. Where I get on the bus, there’s two -s, the 504 B and the 504 C. One of them only goes part way to the subway, and the other one goes all the way, so if I get on the wrong one, it winds up taking a lot longer.

Ralph: Right. Yeah, I have the same experience on the street that I live on. There’s a regular bus, the 34, and then there’s the 34C. If I get on the wrong bus, I’m in trouble.
Matt: Yeah, you in completely the wrong place. Especially if you’re listening to music or reading a book, you look up where am I?

Kimberley: Exactly, you get -ed at all. Oh my gosh.

Ralph: Yeah. There’s also a second problem… is that some of the stops have buses stopping there, right?

Matt: Yeah, yeah. So for me on my way home, I could get on the 503 or the 504. But I don’t wanna get on the 503, it doesn’t go where I need to go.
Kimberley: So you have to pay .

Matt: Yeah, but on the front, it tells you, you know, this is the number, this is the final stop. So you just need to check before you get on.
Kimberley: I had a strange experience recently taking the bus home from the station, and I didn’t look at the front. I just -d because I know this is the bus that goes where I want to go. It stops here, I got on. And suddenly it was not going where I wanted to go.

And then the driver said, OK, just reminding everybody, we are -ing at bloody-bla. And I was like uh, and I would have known that if I’d paid attention, but I had to wait for the next bus…

Please fill in the comment box below.

These questions can help you practice speaking or writing.

Pre-listening:

How often do you use public transit?

Do you mostly use buses, streetcars, or the subway?

Do you often have any problems with buses or schedules?

About the listening:

How do the three speakers usually get around the city?

How do they feel about the public transit in Toronto (the TTC)?

What can be confusing about Toronto buses?

What bus/streetcar routes are mentioned in the conversation?

Can you find them on the TTC map?

Which subway stations do these routes connect to?

Why can commuters get distracted on the TTC?

How can you make sure you are getting on the right bus in Toronto?

What about you?

How often do you take public transit?

How much time do you usually spend in transit per trip?

Do you ever read or listen to anything? Why? Why not?

Have you ever used the TTC or public transit in another Canadian city?

What is similar or different from public transit in other cities you have been to? (Paying the fare, service frequency, quality, safety, and so on).

Describe a problem you have had with transit in Toronto or another city.

How did you try to deal with the issue? How did it help?

Did you lose a lot of time? Were you late?

How did you feel?

How did the issue get resolved?

Find the best sentence for each of these words. You can type the words or copy & paste them. Check your answers by clicking Submit at the end.

experience – attention – short turn – route – distract – assume – deal (dealt) with – multiple – wind up (end up)

Many people have credit cards because credit card companies offer some benefits.

I -d that this credit card had no annual fee, but it did, so I ended up having to pay $150. I’d better check it carefully next time before applying.

If you are late for class, just come in quietly, without -ing anyone.

I have never -d pain like this before. I am really worried now.

Google Maps can offer different -s. I usually choose the shortest one to save on gas.

It is very difficult for me to pay in that class. It seems so boring.

I did not notice that the bus was -ing, so I had to get off and wait for the next bus.

Many large cities are not very successful in -ing with homelessness.

If you continue behaving like this, you may in big, big trouble.

Please fill in the comment box below.

#25 Trouble with Buses - High-Intermediate (CLB 6-7)