【一起听英语】伦敦地铁

 地铁方便了我们的生活，但是很多伦敦人对伦敦的地铁却是又爱又恨，这是为什么呢？

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Yvonne: This is 6 Minute English, I'm Yvonne Archer 1 and Alice has kindly 2 joined me

for today's programme. Hello Alice.

Alice: Hi Yvonne.

Yvonne: Now Alice, how do you get around London?

Alice: Ooh – by bus, bicycle and usually the Tube.

Yvonne: Aha, and most people would agree that the London Underground – ‘the Tube’ -

is the best way to get around this city. But many people have a love-hate

relationship with the underground – we either love it or hate it.

Insert 1: Tube announcement

(Ladies and gentlemen)…because of earlier signal failure, the Metropolitan 3 Line has

severe delays and Hammersmith & City, Circle and Victoria Lines are all operating

with minor 4 delays. We have a good service and operation on all of our other London

Underground lines (baby crying).

Alice: Oh dear, more delays – that's when the Tube is running late and doesn't come

along when we expect it to. And that makes it unreliable.

Yvonne: And the thing I hate most is that on a crowded carriage – or compartment 5 - I

always have to stand under someone's armpit – and they don't always smell

very nice!

Alice: Oh, Yvonne – you poor thing. It's probably because you're not that tall, right? 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Yvonne: Anyway, there is a lot to love about the Tube as well. It’s reasonably fast, it

covers a wide area and it has a long history. Now, it’s time for today's question,

Alice. During the last financial year, how many kilometres did Tube trains

travel? Was it about equal to:

a) 72 trips to the moon and back

b) 85 trips to the moon and back or

c) 90 trips to the moon and back

Alice: Oh, I've got no idea, so I'm going to guess and go for the big one. 90 trips to

the moon and back.

Yvonne: Mmmm – a very brave guess! But we’ll find out whether you've given us the

right answer or not later on. Now, if you live or work in London, or even if

you’ve only ever used the Tube once as a visitor to Britain, you’ll probably

have an opinion on it.

Alice: Yes, tourists and visitors to London who I’ve spoken to say they find it quite

simple to use and that the map is very good. It's difficult to get lost

underground.

Yvonne: Hmm, it is. When our colleague Natalie first arrived in London from Northern

Ireland, one thing about the Tube really surprised her.

Insert 2: Natalie

Nobody speaks to each other on the Tube; nobody looks at each other either most of the

time. And at first, it was strange being that close to strangers, but you just have to get on

with it or you'll not get on the Tube. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Yvonne: So Natalie found it strange to be standing 6 so close to people she didn't know –

strangers – because the Tube was so crowded.

Alice: She soon realised that if she didn't 'get on with it', squeeze 7 into a carriage and

travel in cramped 8 conditions at rush hour, she might never go anywhere.

Yvonne: Mm, Natalie was most surprised that people don’t really speak to each other on

the Tube. And do you know, it's true. We do avoid eye contact with other

people, but I’m not sure why? But I'm a Londoner, and of course, I think lots

of us are quite friendly.

Alice: I think it happens in all big cities. When there are lots of people in small,

public places, people avoid eye contact or talking to each other.

Yvonne: Now let’s hear from Wang Fei, another of our colleagues. He's from China, but

has a much more romantic view of the Tube. Let’s listen to part of this rather

poetic 9 piece he created about the sounds we hear underground:

Insert 3: Wang Fei

I hear a rumbling 10 noise begin quietly, then grow louder and louder, building up to a

noise explosion 11 as the train comes into the station. (This is South Kensington…). I hear

the beeping sound and the doors open and close. I hear the clacking sound of the

track, a constant soundtrack to people silently reading newspapers and books on the

train.

Yvonne: Aw, Alice, that might certainly make us feel a little differently about the Tube,

don't you think?

Alice: Yes, it often takes fresh eyes to look at something we take for granted 12. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Yvonne: That’s true. So Wang Fei used quite a few adjectives 13 to describe some of the

sounds we heard there as we travel on the Tube. Alice, remind us of a few

please.

Alice: Sure. Wang Fei describes the sudden, loud sound that we hear as the train

arrives at a station as 'a noise explosion'. But first, the train makes a quiet,

rumbling noise that grows louder and louder.

Yvonne: Mmm, that was lovely, because it's the same word we use to describe the

sound our stomachs make when we're hungry. Our stomachs rumble 14. They

make a rumbling sound.

Alice: Then there was 'beeping' - that's the sound we hear as the doors open and close

on the carriages. And this beeping's really important for blind or visually

impaired 15 people to know when the doors are open or shut.

Yvonne: Yes, because the beeping sound lets them know when it's safe to get on and off

the train.

Alice: We also heard about the 'clacking' sound – which Wang Fei says is a

continuous 16 sound that we hear in the background. So it's like the music in a

film; he calls it 'a constant soundtrack'.

Yvonne: 'A constant soundtrack'. Well, I hope we'll both think about all those things

next time we're stuck on a Tube train, Alice.

Alice: I hope so. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Yvonne: And before we go, our question! I asked you Alice: during the last financial

year, how many kilometres did Tube trains travel, in terms of trips to the moon

and back? And your answer was?

Alice: I think I said 90.

Yvonne: Yes, 90 trips to the moon and back.

Alice: Amazing!

Yvonne: Thanks Alice, that was fun! Do join us again soon for more "6 Minute English".

Both: Bye!