Meaning of TEST DRIVE and PUT THE BRAKES ON - A Short English Lesson with Subtitles

2,471 views ・ 2020-03-18

Bob's Short English Lessons


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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So in English, we have the phrase test drive that,
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sorry, I always laugh when the wind blows my paper away
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just when I start recording.
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But anyways, in English, we have the phrase test drive
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that we use to talk about
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usually when we're going to buy a car,
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we say that we would like to have a test drive
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or take a test drive,
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but we use it in other ways as well.
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You can test drive a lot of things.
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Maybe you are at a store
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where you are buying new running shoes,
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but you don't wanna see my running shoes.
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They're so old.
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Here, I'll show them to you.
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There they are.
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Those are my super old running shoes.
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Anyways, you could try on a pair of running shoes
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and take them for a test drive around the store.
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Maybe you are going to play a racket sport like tennis,
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and a friend of yours has a really good racket.
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Maybe he might lend it to you
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so you can take that racket for a test drive.
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So it's not just for cars.
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We sometimes use the phrase test drive
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to talk about trying out new things.
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01:00
We use phrases related to driving a lot, in fact.
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We use the phrase to put the brakes on
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to talk about when we want to slow down in life.
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Sometimes, you just need to put the brakes on a little bit.
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Maybe at work, you are working on a project with a colleague
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and you think they are just going too fast,
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that they are making decisions too quickly.
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You might wanna suggest to them that it's time
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to put the brakes on just a little bit,
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maybe slow the project down and maybe just take it easy,
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and think things through a lot better.
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So when you take something for a test drive,
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it's not just a car.
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It's when you try something out.
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And when you put the brakes on,
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by the way, brakes are the things in a car
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that slow it down.
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That's why this is an automotive phrase,
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but in life, when you put the brakes on something,
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it means that you want to slow down a bit.
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Bob the Canadian here.
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Hope you're having a good day today.
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I'm starting to get used to just being at home.
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I think that this is all gonna work out fine.
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