Problems Happen When You Are 'Asleep at the Wheel'
2022-08-14
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language.
3We give examples and notes on usage.
4The United States is a very big country.
5So, getting from point A to point B can take a lot of time.
6Most people who live in the U.S. drive cars.
7So, it should come as no surprise that we have many car expressions.
8Driving a vehicle is a big responsibility.
9After all, it is a heavy piece of machinery traveling at fast speeds.
10So, it is important to stay focused on the road.
11You should pay close attention when driving.
12It is dangerous to drive when you are distracted or when you are tired.
13If you lose your focus, you could cause a crash.
14The same could be said in other situations in life.
15And that brings us to our expression for today: to be asleep at the wheel.
16This expression comes from the idea of someone falling asleep while driving a car.
17But as an idiom, it means someone is not paying attention or is focused on what they are doing.
18This can cause all kinds of problems.
19If I am asleep at the wheel, I fail to see my responsibilities or duties.
20I am not paying attention to important issues for which I am responsible.
21We often use this expression to describe a person who is not thinking about possible future problems.
22It can also be used when talking about a business or government that is not paying attention to problems waiting down the road.
23Here is an example:
24The government agency in charge of public health safety was asleep at the wheel on this issue.
25Here is a workplace example:
26Gabrielle was supposed to make sure all the contracts were signed by the deadline.
27But she fell asleep at the wheel and did not get her task done on time.
28Anyone can fall asleep at the wheel and in any situation.
29Here is an example from the world of sports.
30During an important game, the star goalie of the football team was asleep at the wheel.
31The other team was able to score easily.
32In these examples, we used the verbs "to fall" or "to be" with this expression.
33Both are correct. And neither one is more common than the other. So, feel free to take your pick!
34As we said earlier, this expression refers to someone who has fallen asleep while driving a vehicle.
35We have a similar expression that relates to someone falling asleep while operating a train.
36That expression is "to fall asleep at the switch."
37Here, "switch" refers to the controls on the train.
38Note that "falling asleep at the switch" is less commonly used.
39And that is all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
40When it comes to teaching English, VOA Learning English promises not to fall asleep at the wheel.
41We will stay focused on helping you improve your language skills!
42Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language. We give examples and notes on usage. 3The United States is a very big country. So, getting from point A to point B can take a lot of time. Most people who live in the U.S. drive cars. So, it should come as no surprise that we have many car expressions. 4Driving a vehicle is a big responsibility. After all, it is a heavy piece of machinery traveling at fast speeds. So, it is important to stay focused on the road. 5You should pay close attention when driving. It is dangerous to drive when you are distracted or when you are tired. If you lose your focus, you could cause a crash. 6The same could be said in other situations in life. And that brings us to our expression for today: to be asleep at the wheel. 7This expression comes from the idea of someone falling asleep while driving a car. But as an idiom, it means someone is not paying attention or is focused on what they are doing. This can cause all kinds of problems. 8If I am asleep at the wheel, I fail to see my responsibilities or duties. I am not paying attention to important issues for which I am responsible. 9We often use this expression to describe a person who is not thinking about possible future problems. It can also be used when talking about a business or government that is not paying attention to problems waiting down the road. 10Here is an example: 11The government agency in charge of public health safety was asleep at the wheel on this issue. 12Here is a workplace example: 13Gabrielle was supposed to make sure all the contracts were signed by the deadline. But she fell asleep at the wheel and did not get her task done on time. 14Anyone can fall asleep at the wheel and in any situation. Here is an example from the world of sports. 15During an important game, the star goalie of the football team was asleep at the wheel. The other team was able to score easily. 16In these examples, we used the verbs "to fall" or "to be" with this expression. Both are correct. And neither one is more common than the other. So, feel free to take your pick! 17As we said earlier, this expression refers to someone who has fallen asleep while driving a vehicle. We have a similar expression that relates to someone falling asleep while operating a train. 18That expression is "to fall asleep at the switch." Here, "switch" refers to the controls on the train. Note that "falling asleep at the switch" is less commonly used. 19And that is all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. 20When it comes to teaching English, VOA Learning English promises not to fall asleep at the wheel. We will stay focused on helping you improve your language skills! 21Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. 22Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. 23_______________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25point A to point B - idiomatic expression : to go from one place to another 26distracted - adj. having one's thoughts or attention drawn away : unable to concentrate or give attention to something 27idiom - n. an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements (such as up in the air for "undecided") or in its grammatically atypical use of words (such as give way) 28focus - n. a center of activity or interest 29down the road - idiomatic expression : in the future 30goalie - n. a player who defends the goal in any of various games (such as hockey, lacrosse, or soccer) : goalkeeper 31switch - n. a device for making, breaking, or changing the connections in an electrical circuit 32_________________________________________________________________ 33We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 34We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 35Write your comment in the box. 36Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 37Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 38Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.