Chapter 14: Getting to Work

Reading
COMMUTING BLUES? TRY SOMETHING NEW!

Like many people, I commute to work by taking the train. I used to just stare out the window, but now make good use of my
commute time. And you can, too. It doesn’t matter whether you catch the bus, train or subway. For example, I plan out my work
for the morning before reaching my stop. Sometimes I catch up on my reading. I see other passengers knitting or writing to-do
lists. The same goes for people in carpools. You’ll get work done even while you’re stuck in traffic jams. It’s amazing what you
can accomplish before getting to the office!

Mark the following statements as true (T) or false (F) according the blog post above.

1. ___ The author does not drive to work.

2. ___ The author believes working in cars is difficult.
3. ___ The author often knits on the way to her job.

Grammar
USED TO + V (INFINITIVE)
We use to the structure used to do something when we talk about something we did regularly in the past, but do
not do it now.

Ask your classmates what they used to do in their commute time.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Speaking
With a partner, act out the roles below.

Student A: You are a commuter on a crowded method of

transport. Talk to Student B about:

 Available seats
 USE LANGUAGE SUCH AS:

 Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?

 Is it always crowded?

Student B: You are a commuter on a busy method of transport.

Talk to Student A about commuting.

Writing
Use the conversation from the previous task to complete the journal entry. Use today’s date.

Date: ___________________

This morning I __________________________________________________

so I had to _____________________________________________________

to work instead. But I wasn’t the only one! The train was ____________________

I also met ____________________________. S/he _____________________

But it was nice that we didn’t ________________________________________