General Listening Quiz

Listen to the recording on traffic tickets and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Police Officer: Okay. May I see your driver’s license please?

Driver: What? Did I do anything wrong?

Police Officer: License, please. And your car registration.

Driver: Oh, yeah. It’s, uh, somewhere here in the glove compartment. Yeah, here it is.

Police Officer: Sir, did you realize you were speeding in a school zone?

Driver: What? No, I didn’t. That’s probably because my odometer is broken, I . . . I mean, malfunctioning.

Police Officer: Yes, you were going 50 miles per hour in a 20 miles per hour zone. And [What?] AND, you failed to come to a complete stop at the intersection back there.

Driver: Rolling stops don’t count?

Police Officer: And, one of your brake lights is out, [Huh?], and you’re not wearing a seat belt, AND your driver’s license expired six months ag o.

Driver: And your name is . . . . Officer Smith? Hey, are you related to the Smiths in town? [Well . . .] My wife’s cousin’s husband (I think his name is Fred) works for the police department here. Or was that the fire department. Anyway, I thought you might be good pals, and you know . . .

Police Officer: Hey, are you trying to influence an officer? I could have this car impounded right here because of these infractions.

Driver: No, of course not.

Police Officer: Okay, then. Here’s your ticket. You can either appear in court to pay the fine or mail it in. And have a nice day.

Driver: [Do] you take cash?

• glove compartment (noun): a small space, usually on the dashboard of the car, used for storage
  – People usually keep the car’s registration and other small items in the glove compartment.
• zone (noun): area
  – You cannot park your car in this zone outside the airport.
• odometer (noun): a meter that measures speed and distance traveled
  – Check your odometer. I think you’re speeding.
• malfunction(verb): fail to perform properly 
  – If any part of your car malfunctions during the warranty period, just take it back to the car dealership.
• intersection (noun): the place where two or more roads cross each other
  – It looks like the traffic light at the intersection is malfunctioning and is not changing from stop to go.
• pal (noun): a close friend
  – He went for a drive with some of his high school pals.
• impound (verb): to take or seize by legal authority
  – The police impounded the man’s car because it was involved in a crime.
• infractions (noun): minor crimes or violations against the law
  – Because the man had been involved in numerous infractions with the law, his license was suspended for an entire year .
• fine (noun): money that is paid as a penalty
  – She had to pay a one hundred dollar traffic fine for running a red light.