Leo, the Taxi Driver (1)

Where is this stranger going？

Leo was tired of being a taxi driver. For years he had driven passengers to the most exciting places in San Francisco, only to be left on the outside looking in. He wanted to be part of the action, but nothing ever happened to him.

Today was like any other day：driving people to fancy stores, expensive restaurants and important office buildings.

"I have to break out of this routine," he thought as he pulled up to a stop light. But how could he? He was a taxi driver, and nothing every happened to taxi drivers. Maybe it was time for a career change, or even retirement. That would free up some time for fun activities around the city.

Feeling weary, Leo was about to turn off his sign when a flurry of activity caught his eye. A frantic-locking young woman pounded down the sidewalk, dodging people as she ran. Suddenly she darted over to his taxi, threw open the door and dove inside. Before Leo could even make an objection to her actions, however, he felt something cold poke into his side. "Drive!" she snarled at him. He looked down and saw a gun in her hand, aimed straight at him.


Info Cloud
Teaching Topic: Sidewalk vs. Pavement
sidewalk 人行道 (美國)
pavement 人行道 (英國), 對美國人來說是馬路的路面
tarmac 在英國也可指人行道, 不過在美國指的是飛機跑道的路面

Grammar Gym
- Feeling weary, Leo was about to turn off his sign when a flurry of activity caught his eye.
Feeling..., [subject] was about to ... when [something happened].
- Feeling hungry, Mark was about to go to the kitchen when the telephone rang.
- Feeling sleepy, Lena was about to go to bed when she suddenly smelled smoke.

Language Lab
on the outside looking in 旁觀者
- Helen is too young for the ball, so she complained that she could only be on the outside looking in.

break out of something [phrasal verb]
to take (something) from the place where it is stored so that it can be used
- Fiona has a strong desire to break out of her boring daily routine.
break out of somewhere [phrasal verb] 逃出某個地方
to escape from a prison, jail, etc.
- The fugitives broke out of prison and hid in the mountains.

poke v.
to push your finger or something thin or pointed into or at someone or something
- Sandy poked my arm to get my attention.
to stick out so that a part can be seen
- My little sister poked her head into my room to see what I was doing.

snarl v. [no object]
/ˈsnɑrəl/
to say something in an angry or annoyed way — often + at
- The drunk man snarled at the security guard, "Leave me alone!"
- The dog snarled at the thief who was trying to get into the house.