Transportation

JOYCE: Should we take a taxi or a bus to the mall?

BILL: Let’s take a bus. It’s impossible to get a taxi during rush hour.

JOYCE: Isn’t that a bus stop over there?

BILL: Yes ... Oh! There’s a bus now. We’ll have to run to catch it.

JOYCE: Oh, no! We just missed it.

BILL: No problem. There’ll be another one in 10 minutes.

LANGUAGE NOTES

•  Should we … or …? Is a way of asking “Which is better?” “Should” is used to ask for an opinion. Note that we do not say “Will” here.

•  Take a taxi or a bus? The word “or” signals a choice here. Notice the rising intonation on taxi (the first choice) and falling intonation on bus (the second choice).

•  Let’s (Let us) means “I think we should do this.”

•  Rush hour is the time of day when most people are going to or from work. In most American cities, rush hour is from about 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. and from about 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Notice that “rush hour” is a compound noun, with the main stress on the first word.

•  Isn’t that This is a negative question. The speaker expects an affirmative answer. It is used to check information.

•  Bus stop is a compound noun, with the main stress on the first word.

•  Oh! is an exclamation used to express alarm or surprise.

•  Oh, no! is an expression used to express disappointment.

•  We just missed it here means “We arrived a moment too late to get the bus.” Notice the emphasis on “just” to show the very recent past.

•  No problem here means “It doesn’t matter.”