礼节美语 Business Etiquette 260 Bullet Trains 2

 　　Lewis要去美国芝加哥出差，想坐高铁去洛杉矶看家人，但同事Jay告诉他说，美国没有高铁，原因之一是坐飞机十分方便。

　　Lewis: So there's been no incentive¹ to build super fast trains.

　　Jay: Yeah, that's right. Also, Americans like to drive.

　　L: I've noticed in a lot of movies that Americans seem to enjoy road trips.

　　J: I'm from San Francisco, and I have friends who live in Los Angeles.It's a nine-or-10-hour drive, but I've done it many times. There's no convenient² public transport in L.A. so I would have to rent a car anyway.  So I just load up my CD player with good music, grab³ some coffee and hit the road.

　　除了坐飞机，美国人还喜欢开车。They enjoy road trips. Road trips 就是开车去一个地方，边走边玩。Jay说，从加州旧金山开到洛杉矶，需要九到十个小时，他来回开过很多趟，每次都是准备了好听的音乐，带上咖啡，然后就上路了。 hit the road 是上路的意思，hit 在口语里，后面还经常跟 the gym, to hit the gym 就是去健身房。

　　L: So driving really is a part of American culture.

　　J: Yeah. Most of us get our first driver's license⁴ when we are around 16 years old. I used to drive about an hour and a half to work every day - that's three hours round-trip - and I didn't think it was a big deal.

　　L: So aside from New York, there really isn't much public transport infrastructure⁵ in the U.S.?

　　J: Many U.S. cities have some kind of light rail or subway system but except for New York, they don't really completely⁶ cover the city in the same way as the Beijing or Shanghai subway does.

　　看来，开车还真是美国文化的一个重要部分。Jay说，美国孩子16岁左右就可以拿驾照。他以前每天开三个小时上下班，and he didn't think it was a big deal. 而且也没觉得这有什么大不了的。 a big deal 经常在口语里出现。比如，It's a big deal for me. 这对我很重要。What's the big deal? 有那么严重吗？It's no big deal. 没什么大不了的。美国的很多城市都有地铁火车，但是除了纽约以外，其他城市的公交系统都不像北京或是上海的地铁那么发达。

　　L: I think high-speed trains are great! They are safe, fast, quiet and convenient. You can work on your laptop⁷ or read a book...it's a good way to relax.

　　J: That's true...driving can be very stressful. Americans have been talking about building high-speed rail lines for years. But to be honest, I don't know when or if it's ever going to happen.

　　L: Well, I hope they start building them soon. But in any case...I'm going to have to look into flights to LA now.

　　J: Yep. And you're probably gonna have to rent a car when you get there. Good luck and have a great trip!

　　L: Thanks Jay! See you in a couple weeks.

　　坐高铁可以放松，看看电脑读读书，不像开车，会让人 stressful 精神疲劳。不过没办法，Lewis 这次出差，如果想从芝加哥到洛杉矶去，就必须得 look into flights 看看坐哪趟班机了。

1 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

2 convenient   

adj.便利的，方便的

参考例句：

• I have to find a convenient location for the shelves.我得找一合适的地方放这些书架。
• Come at any time that is convenient to you.你哪会儿方便就哪会儿来吧。

3 grab   

vt./n.攫取，抓取；vi.攫取，抓住(at)

参考例句：

• It is rude to grab a seat.抢占座位是不礼貌的。
• The thief made a grab at my bag but I pushed him away.贼想抢我的手提包，但被我推开了。

4 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 completely   

adv.完全地，十分地，全然

参考例句：

• She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
• I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。

7 laptop   

n.笔记本电脑

参考例句：

• Laptop is suitable for use on planes.笔记本电脑适合飞机上使用。
• A laptop would be really useful for when I'm working on the train.我在火车上工作时，便携式电脑真的很有用。