010 Commuting

Dialogue 1

A: Where's Bill? The ambassador[ æm'bæsədə ] is already here. The meeting is set to start at 9 am.

B: He's late again. Traffic is probably holding him up. You know, he commutes from the suburbs. It's not easy commuting every day. We should cut him some slack.

A: Even though the trafic is bumper-to-bumper out there, I don't think it's heavy traffic that makes Bill late. He takes the train, remember?

B: Oh, that's right. Well, the train shouldn't be late. That means there is only one explanation.... Bill must have overslept.

A: Well, to be fare, since he's coming all the way from Lancaster, he's got to get up much earlier than the rest of us. He must get start on his commute about 6:30, no telling what time he actually gets up.

B: That's right, because he's got to get to the train station from his house, then take the blue line into the city, then switch trains to the red line. In all, the trip's got to take more than 2 hours.

A: Why doesn't he just drive to work?

B: It's too difficult to park your car in the city. Also, the traffic coming in from the suburbs is a nightmare.

Dialogue 2

A: I can't wait until my car is repaired. The commuting with public transportation is killing me.

B: It can't be that bad.

A: But it is! Take this morning for example. The subway was so packed this morning, I got totally squished by about a hundred busy commuters on the way to work.

B: At least the subway is better than the bus. It's faster for one thing. And usually less crowded. But the drawback is that the subway is more expensive than the bus. It adds up over time, if you take it every day.

A: That's true. The bus is even worse. Just thinking about taking the bus every day makes me tired! Hey, how do you get to work every day?

B: I ride my bike. I don't live too far away, so it's pretty convenient. it's only about a ten minute bike ride from my house to the office.

A: I'll bet it's good exercise, too...a good way to keep fit.

B: Yes, not only a good way to keep in shape, but a good way to relieve stress as well. While you're stressed out by your commute, I'm releasing all the stress of the day with mine.