时间:2019-01-11 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2008年(八月)


英语课

The cost of fuel is rising quickly, and people throughout the world are looking for cheaper ways to get to work and travel. VOA's Kent Klein looks at how people are being affected 1 by these changes. (Part 2 of 5)
 
Motorbikes and bicycles are a way of life in Burkina Faso


As gasoline prices soar, commuting 2 habits are changing. In the developed world, that means fewer automobiles 3 and more public transportation, or abandoning motor vehicles for bicycles. But higher fuel costs are hitting hardest in the developing world, where money is tight.


Joseph Muendo Musyoka lives in a Nairobi slum. He walks three hours between home and work each day. He can no longer afford public transportation. Joseph says life has become very hard. The oil prices have gone up, so he realized that it is better to walk, so he can keep some of that money for his daily use.
 
Joseph Muendo Musyoka


In much of the world, skyrocketing fuel prices are causing a search for solutions. In Indonesia and elsewhere, one answer is mass transit 4.


Jakarta commuter 5 Risa Riana is leaving her car behind more frequently as gasoline becomes more expensive. Since the fuel price increase, she takes the bus more often.


But despite governments' best efforts, many people, like Ahmad Suyono of Jakarta, are resisting mass transit. He says he would like to use public transportation, but using his own car is more convenient.


Thailand has spent an enormous amount of money to build a Skytrain, a subway system, and a network of buses to relieve Bangkok's notorious traffic jams. More public transport is on the way. Many people take public transportation, but many remain in their cars.


Sue Bhuyatorn spends an average of two hours a day, driving 20 kilometers between her home and her job at the U.S. Embassy. She enjoys the safety and convenience of her car. And she sees no solution to Bangkok's traffic problems any time soon. "There is, theoretically, but it needs sacrifice, mutual 6 sacrifice of everyone," she says.


In the United States, it's harder to find a seat on buses and trains these days. One dollar a liter for gasoline is the reason - everyone complains about the high gas prices.


The second-largest U.S. city, Los Angeles, is known for its motion picture industry, and for some of America's worst traffic. According to Forbes.com, the average Los Angeles driver spends three days out of each year stuck in traffic.


Despite recent improvements, public transportation in L.A. is not extensive enough for such a sprawling 7 city, and Angelinos are reluctant to give up their cars.
 
Ramona Marks


But not Ramona Marks. She is one of a small but growing number of people who bike to work. She says she is not only saving money, she is also beating the frustration 8 of driving on L.A.'s freeways. "I get to work invigorated," she said. "I feel like, 'Yeah, I just survived that!'"


For others, change is not by choice. In Kenya, Joseph Muendo Musyoka would like to ride the bus from his home in the Mukuru slum to his job.


But the round-trip would cost him $1.20, and he makes only $1.50 a day. On that, he supports an extended family of eight. Joseph is one of about one million people in Nairobi who earn about $1.50 a day.


Every day, he walks an hour and a half to work and an hour and a half home. He says walking three hours a day is hurting his health. But he has no choice. For now, he keeps walking and hoping that one day he will be able to afford something easier and better.


 



adj.不自然的,假装的
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
交换(的)
  • I used the commuting time to read and answer my mail. 我利用上下班在汽车中的时间来阅读和答复给我的函电。
  • Noncommuting objects are as real to the mathematicians as commuting objects. 对于数学家来说,不可交换的对象与可交换的对象是一样真实的。
n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )
  • When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后,就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上,汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
n.经过,运输;vt.穿越,旋转;vi.越过
  • His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
  • The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。
n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者
  • Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
  • She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。
adj.蔓生的,不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 );蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着)
  • He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
  • a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇
n.挫折,失败,失效,落空
  • He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
  • He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
学英语单词
abbreviated fascia
acoustical coupling
archegoniatae
articulating process maxilla
arturian
aurantium methylis
automatic sending
avoision
backrow
Baltimore, David
Bayansayr
born-to-be-wild
Brillouin shift
cash production
channel-hopper
charter-school
chloro-carbonic acid
chome
churchtown
college-teacher
comprecant
condenser transducer
condition of assets
copper(ii) tetraborate
dead-wood
density currents
dicephalia
direct business
direct recording system
distillation low temperature
disturbance switching
draw orientation
e-bombs
ecotypically
edit back-up command
elementary flight maneuver
episcopies
erythrocytic capillarys
family canidaes
fault pattern
first stud gear
flooding cock
fried mutton chop with vegetable
frontolysis sector
glacier iceberg
graphitosis
high order bit
homoeomorphic
interstitial-free steel
jeffie
Kafin Karya
long distance
MTPR
narrowband amplifier
naumann symbol
node-pair method
Ochten
Octachloronaphthalene
On a Beach
outstrategized
over commutation
overindustrialized
palytoxins
partitive membrane
patripassianism
perivitelline
pipe set back
premycotic eruptions
principal function
principle of dynamic
push-down operation
put sb out
repairing of vacuum leak
ring stiffness
roof caving
sacchariferous agent
Sagaria
santan
second liquid
set link
set me back
setting amplitude
short duration power frequency voltage withstand test
SO2-4cotransporter-1
stictococcids
strobiluss
suncatcher
sundowner syndrome
Syncalathium qinghaiense
talamantes
talent education method
tectonic syntaxis
temoras
the yellows
theater of war
throw down the gage of battle
tip starch
towgher
tractiver
United Self-Defense Force of Colombia
vigilate
wry nose