Foot Traffic
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Tu | Amir |
Tu: Do you travel by car in Iran?
Amir: Well, you know, when I was in Iran it was just like your case. I felt like this is natural. This is how I saw the traffic. This was how it is supposed to work. When you go abroad, and like me right now, I'm living abroad, then I go back to Iran, I cannot drive with the flows again just like before. It is very difficult for me. At first, I become very much like foreigners and get mad at every mistake, you know, every illegal moves you know, other Iranians are doing, so but after awhile I get the hang of it, so then I learn how to really my get work done.
Tu: Well, actually, one more thing is how do people cross the road in Iran?
Amir: Well, actually, the government has built very good infrastructure, so we have this, you know, this pass-way that you can walk, you know, and cross the streets, but well, it really depends on how much these roads are now implemented, and how people really feel like ...
Tu: Following it.
Amir: Following it. Yeah.
Tu: Well, actually, one thing in Vietnam, one thing typical to Vietnamese traffic is people cross the road anyway they want.
Amir: Yeah.
Tu: We don't go with them. Yeah, what do you call it? The white one? The zebra? Like the crossing line? We don't cross?
Amir: Ah, crosswalk!
Tu: Yeah, yep, that one. We don't cross the road there. We just cross the road whenever we want and wherever we want.
Amir: Oh, I see. So what happens in case of an accident, if the car hits a passerby?
Tu: You know, actually, one of the amazing things is we never got hit by that.
Amir: Never?
Tu: And foreigners look amazed at it. Like, they just can't believe it. They just don't know why? How come people cross the road without ... but actually we just look slowly, slowly, one-by-one, and we even cross in front of a car. It's pretty normal for us. It's easy though if you get used to it
illegal moves
Illegal moves are dangerous you know.
Here, ’illegal moves’ means things people do while driving that are dangerous or against the law. Notice the samples:
- The traffic police didn’t seem to care about the illegal moves.
- When I drive, it’s the illegal moves of others that scare me.
get the hang of
After awhile I began to get the hang of it.
If we try something new and we’re not very successful, after a little practice, we usually get the hang of it. Here are two samples:
- After practicing for awhile, I started to get the hang of it.
- As an American, driving through London on the left side of the road was a little scary, but I got the hang of it.
good infrastructure
Tokyo has very good infrastructure.
Infrastructure talks about basic city systems like water, power, buildings and transportation. Notice the samples:
- America’s infrastructure is quickly aging.
- Tokyo is a great example of well planned infrastructure.
one of the amazing things
One of the amazing things about Ho Chi Minh is the traffic.
When we discuss a topic that has many interesting points, we can select one amazing thing that is the most interesting and very special. Here are some sample:
- One of the amazing things about US cities is the mix of different cultures.
- The interesting ‘Views’ section is just another one of the amazing things about elllo.
get used to
You get used to it after awhile.
When we begin to feel comfortable with something new, we get used to it. Notice the following:
- Living downtown the traffic was really noisy, but I got used to it.
- Studying abroad is interesting but difficult. Soon, however, you get used to it.
Vocabulary Quiz
Anja talks about the many languages and regions of her country.
Christophe tries to convince Aiste to go to Switzerland.
