(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.
A record number of Americans are moving into cities. When they move into urban areas they drive less. New York city is one of the top cities for new people and for users of mass transit.
There are about 3.4 billion riders on New York City subways and buses every year. That is about one-third of all mass transit trips in the United States. New York's mass transit system operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The public transport system costs $1.5 billion a year to maintain. It is one of the world's oldest mass transit systems. The city's first subway line opened in 1904. Use of public transportation is the highest it has been in almost 60 years in almost every American city.
Researchers say Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation in 2012. Gene Russianoff is the spokesman for the Straphangers Campaign. The group supports people who take public transportation. He says younger Americans are causing the rise in mass transit use.
"Millennials, those people born around the turn of the past century are much less car-oriented. They are urban. They like not owning cars, they like less responsibility and there are a lot of them," Russianoff said.
Many people, not just Millenials, believe public transit is less costly than car use and is good for the environment. New York City is planning several major expansions of its public transportation system. One project is a new $4.7 billion subway line. The first part of the project is set to be completed in 2016.
People who work in New York's financial area will soon be using a new subway center. Almost all of New York city's subways meet in the lower part of Manhattan. The new center will give riders an easier way to travel to the neighboring state of New Jersey. The most costly planned project is a $7 billion tunnel connection from Long Island into Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal.
Andrew Albert is a member of the board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. He says there are many other reasons for the increase in the use of mass transit.
"The system has gotten a lot more dependable. We have new cars. We have countdown clocks to tell you when the next train is coming. We have expanded facilities in places," Albert said.
And that's the VOA Learning English Technology Report. For more technology stories, go to our website. I'm Jonathan Evans.
VOA英文文本来自51VOA，译文由可可原创，未经许可请勿转载。
词汇学习
1.urban adj. 城市的
The urban growth created many problems.
城市的成长产生了许多问题。
2.millennial adj. 一千年的；千禧年
Maybe as new millennial citizens of an educated civilized world, we don't simply need weight loss.
也许作为一个有教养的文明世界的新千年的公民，我们不仅仅简单地需要减轻体重。
3.costly adj. 昂贵的
Coastal defence is a costly business.
海防事务很耗费资财。
4.expansion n. 扩大；扩张
We mustn't attempt unrestricted expansion regardless if it is within our capacity.
我们不能不顾自己的能力企图无限制地发展。
5.dependable adj. 可信赖的，可靠的
Who's the most dependable newsagent?
谁是最可靠的报刊经售人？
6.expand v. 扩展；发展
Why not try to expand your story into a novel?
你怎么不把你的故事扩展成小说呢？
内容解析
1.The first part of the project is set to be completed in 2016.
set to定于
The talks are set to continue through the week.
谈判可能会持续一周。
2.The system has gotten a lot more dependable.
a lot more
a lot修饰比较级
可修饰比较级的词
1）a bit, a little, rather, much, far, by far, many, a lot, lots, a great deal, any, still, even等
2）还可以用表示倍数的词或度量名词作修饰语。
3）以上词(除by far)外，必须置于比较级形容词或副词的前面。
参考译文
美国之音慢速学英语节目，这里是科技报道。
涌入城市的美国人数量达到创纪录的水平。当他们搬到城市之后，开车的次数就逐渐减少。纽约市是新居民和公众交通使用者最多的城市之一。
纽约市每年有34亿人次搭乘地铁和公交车。这大约是美国所有公共交通搭乘人数的三分之一。纽约市的公共交通体系每周七天，每天24小时运行。
公共交通系统每年耗费15亿美元来维护。这是世界上最古老的公共交通系统之一。纽约市首条地铁线路于1904年开通。几乎每一个美国城市的公共交通使用率都达到近60年来的最高水平。
研究人员表示，2012年，美国共有107亿人次乘坐公共交通工具。Gene Russianoff是捷运乘客运动(Straphangers Campaign)发言人。该组织支持搭乘公共交通的人。他表示，较年轻的美国人造成大众运输工具使用量的增加。
“千禧年出生的人，也就是过去的一个世纪转折点出生的人更不喜欢开汽车。他们是城市人。他们不喜欢购买汽车，他们不喜欢承担责任，这样的人有很多。”Russianoff表示。
不仅仅是千禧年出生的人，许多人都相信公共交通比小汽车的费用更低，对环境有益。纽约市正计划几项重大的公共交通系统扩建工程。其中一项工程就是价值47亿美元的新地铁线路。该工程的首期定于2016年完工。
在纽约金融中心工作的人将很快使用新的地铁中心。几乎纽约市所有的地铁都在曼哈顿下城汇集。新的地铁中心使乘客前往隔壁的新泽西州更为方便。最昂贵的是连接长岛和曼哈顿中央火车站的地下隧道枢纽，该项目计划耗资70亿美元。
Andrew Albert是纽约大都会运输署董事会成员。他表示，公共交通使用量的增加还有许多其他原因。
“公共交通体系越来越值得信赖。我们推出了新的车厢。我们有倒计时时钟，告诉你下一班车辆何时到达。我们拓展了新的设施。”Albert说。
以上就是今天的美国之音慢速学英语科技报道。要阅读更多科技报道内容，请登录我们的网站。我是Jonathan Evans。
