VOA标准英语2011--Americans Avoid Being the 'Middle' Man
时间：2018-12-16 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2011年(四月)
Americans Avoid Being the 'Middle' Man
You probably missed The New York Times photograph that showed a revealing picture of New Yorkers' rides into work on commuter 1 trains. The photographer stood behind a long series of rows, three seats to a row. In the photo, every window and aisle 2 seat - and not ONE middle seat - is occupied. The train is otherwise crowded; the aisles 3 are jammed with standees - all of them ignoring the available middle seat. Some people are even sitting on the floor.
The accompanying story explores why Americans despise center seats, though not mentioning the unavoidable fact that many of us are, shall we say, rather husky.
It seems that women, in particular, feel uneasy sitting elbow-to-elbow with strangers. And while being jammed into a window seat even farther from the middle aisle can also seem claustrophobic, at least there's a view.
schatz, Flickr Creative Commons
My, but this row offers a lot of legroom. Plenty of room next to you if you get the middle seat, too, no doubt.
For the poor sap in the middle, there's a real possibility of being squished between the extremely obese 4, insufferably chatty, overly perfumed or repulsively 5 unbathed. So, before or after a tiring day, a lot of people would rather stand.
One Times reader amplified 6 passengers' dread 7 of middle seats in a letter to the editor. He wrote, "The chance of being physically 8 squeezed, unwillingly 9 drawn 10 into neighboring cell-phone conversations, entering the ‘smell zone' of foods eaten onboard, or being subjected to music via the earplugs of excessively loud iPods is just too great to risk."
And Americans' aversion to close contact is even spreading to rail cars and buses with TWO-abreast seating. To keep the seat next to them open, some surly commuters lay down a backpack, purse, or lunch pail next to them; slouch across both seats; or glare menacingly at standing 11 passengers, daring them to sit down.
Of course, if these seat hogs 12 would pick a train with three-abreast seating and grab a window or aisle seat, the seat next to them would almost surely stay empty the entire trip!
- 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。
- The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
- The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。
- Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
- They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。
- The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
- Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。
- He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
- He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。
- We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
- Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
- He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
- Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
- He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
- Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访，他也是很不情愿地接待我。
- All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
- Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。