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Riding the Subway

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 290: Riding the Subway.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 290. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com, and download a Learning Guide for this episode. The Learning Guide contains all of the vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences, additional explanations of the idioms and terms we use in the dialogues, cultural notes, and a complete transcript of this episode.

This episode is called “Riding the Subway.” Let’s go!

[start of story]

Misha: I’d like to buy a token for the subway.

Clerk: The subway doesn’t use tokens anymore.

Misha: Oh? I didn’t know that. It’s been a few years since I visited New York. How do I pay for the fare?

Clerk: You can buy a ticket for a single ride that expires two hours after it’s issued. If you’re going to be here all week, I’d suggest getting a seven-day card that gives you unlimited rides. Otherwise, I’d recommend getting a MetroCard.

Misha: I’m only here for two days. How much is each ride?

Clerk: It’s $2.00. If you buy a MetroCard worth more than $10.00, you get a 20% discount. So with a $10.00 card, you get six rides instead of five. The card allows you to transfer to buses, too.

Misha: Okay. I’ll take a MetroCard worth $10.00. How is the money deducted from my card?

Clerk: The turnstile automatically deducts the fare each time you go through it. Here’s your card.

Misha: Thanks, but I’m not sure which line to take to Queens.

Clerk: Here’s a subway map. Follow the signs to the platform of the train you want.

Misha: Okay, thanks.

[end of story]

Our dialogue begins with Misha asking the subway clerk – the employee, the worker – “I’d like to buy a token for the subway.” A “token” (token) is a small, round piece of metal or plastic that looks like a coin, a small coin. It’s sometimes used on subways and buses instead of coins. So, you buy these little tokens and use them to get on the bus or get on the subway. This was a very common way of doing things in the U.S. transportation system in some cities, but more recently it has not been as popular. The word “token” has a couple of other meanings; take a look at the Learning Guide for some additional explanations of those.

Well, Misha wants to buy a token for the subway. The “subway,” sometimes called the “metro” or the “underground transportation,” it’s when you have trains that move, usually, underground. “Sub” is a prefix that generally means under something, so the “subway” is an underground railroad a the city that takes people from one point to the other. In London, they call it the “Tube.” The person working for the New York subway says, “The subway doesn’t use tokens anymore.” Misha says, “Oh? I didn’t know that. It’s been a few years since I visited New York. How do I pay for the fare?” she asks. The “fare” (fare) is the price of the ticket or the price of a ride. You can have airfare, bus fare, or in this case, the fare for the subway. You could also have a taxi fare; it’s the money that you pay for that kind of transportation.

The clerk tells Misha that she “can buy a ticket for a single ride” – for one ride – “that expires two hours after it’s issued.” When we say something “expires,” we mean it ends – it is no longer something you can use; it is no longer valid. “To issue,” as a verb” means to have an official document that is given to a person. Usually we talk about, for example, government documents; in this case, it’s just the ticket that is “issued,” that is given to the person who is buying it. We can also use that expression – that verb – for driver’s license: “Where was your driver’s license issued,” or, “Where was your passport issued” – where was it given to you, or from what state or country was it given to you?

The clerks says that “If you’re going to be here all week, I’d suggest getting a 7day card that gives you unlimited rides.” “Unlimited” means without or no limits, meaning there’s no maximum number of rides you can take. If you want to take ten, if you want to take a hundred rides, it’s okay, it’s “unlimited.” The clerk says, “Otherwise, I’d recommend getting a MetroCard.” “Otherwise” here means “if not,” if what was said earlier was not true, then you should do this other thing. It’s often used at the beginning of a sentence to mean “in any other case,” or, “in any other situation,” or simply, “if not.” So, the clerk says, “Otherwise, I’d recommend getting a MetroCard.” A “MetroCard” is used in the New York City subway system. It’s like a credit card; it’s a ticket that goes through the machine, the machine then “deducts,” or takes away, from the value of the card so you can buy it and use it rather than getting a different ticket every ride, you just use this card like a credit card. Different cities call them different things; in New York it’s called, I believe, a “MetroCard,” “metro” for “metropolitan,” the city.

Misha says, “I’m only here for two days. How much is each ride?” – how much is one ride. The clerk says, “It’s $2.00. If you buy a MetroCard worth more than $10.00, you get a 20% discount.” “Worth” (worth) means “valued at,” or the amount of money that it represents. Well, if the MetroCard is worth more than $10.00, you get a 20% “discount,” or reduction in the price of something.

When I was in London, I used the metro – the subway – the “Tube,” they call it – and a single ride, I believe, was 4£ (four pounds), which would be almost $8.00. Fortunately, they had a discount card if you were going to be there for a week, so I did not have to pay $8.00 each time I used the subway. In cities like London and New York, it is really impossible to move around easily if you don’t use the subway, so it’s a very convenient thing.

The clerk says that “you get six rides instead of five” if you buy a MetroCard worth more than $10.00. “The card allows you to transfer to buses, too.” “To transfer” means to go from one route to another or one type of transportation to another without paying anything extra. So, you get on bus “A”, you are on it for ten minutes, you get off and you get on another bus that goes in a slightly different direction, that would be a “transfer,” and in most cities in the U.S., you can transfer from one bus or one subway to another without paying extra, at least for a certain amount of time – two hours, for example.

Misha says, “Okay. I’ll take a MetroCard worth $10.00. How is the money deducted from my card?” “To deduct” means to take something away from something else; in this case, to reduce the amount of money on the card or that the card is worth.

The clerk says that “The turnstile automatically deducts the fare each time you go through it.” The “turnstile” (turnstile) is a small machine that you have to walk through. Usually there’s a metal bar, and you have to put a ticket in in order to walk through the little machine, the “turnstile.” You’ll see these in big stadiums; you’ll see them in subway systems.

Finally, Misha asks the clerk about “which line to take to Queens.” “Queens” is a section of New York City. “Which line” means route – which train. A “line” could also be for buses or trains, but here it means which number of subway or which letter of the subway – which train should I take. Some cities have numbers for each of the lines, others have names. In London, they have names for the lines; in New York City, they have letters and numbers.

The clerk gives her a subway map, and tells her to “Follow the signs to the platform of the train you want.” The “platform” (platform) is an area where you stand while you are waiting for a train to arrive. And that’s one meaning of “platform.” There are a few other meanings; take a look at the Learning Guide today for some additional definitions.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue again, this time at a normal speed.

[start of story]

Misha: I’d like to buy a token for the subway.

Clerk: The subway doesn’t use tokens anymore.

Misha: Oh? I didn’t know that. It’s been a few years since I visited New York. How do I pay for the fare?

Clerk: You can buy a ticket for a single ride that expires two hours after it’s issued. If you’re going to be here all week, I’d suggest getting a seven-day card that gives you unlimited rides. Otherwise, I’d recommend getting a MetroCard.

Misha: I’m only here for two days. How much is each ride?

Clerk: It’s $2.00. If you buy a MetroCard worth more than $10.00, you get a 20% discount. So with a $10.00 card, you get six rides instead of five. The card allows you to transfer to buses, too.

Misha: Okay. I’ll take a MetroCard worth $10.00. How is the money deducted from my card?

Clerk: The turnstile automatically deducts the fare each time you go through it. Here’s your card.

Misha: Thanks, but I’m not sure which line to take to Queens.

Clerk: Here’s a subway map. Follow the signs to the platform of the train you want.

Misha: Okay, thanks.

[end of story]

The script for this podcast was written by Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thanks for listening. We’ll see you next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse, hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast is copyright 2007