英语听力文摘 English Digest 44、瑞士夫妇持续廿三年开车环游世界

　　Swiss couple keeps rolling on 23-year round-the-world drive
瑞士夫妇持续廿三年开车环游世界
In 1984, Swiss couple Emil and Liliana Schmid traveled to the United States to get away from the monotony of office work.
They became hooked¹ on traveling and haven't stopped since.
Now 23 years, 157 countries and 626,000 kilometers later Emil, 65, and Liliana, 66, have turned their Toyota Land Cruiser into their home and want to spend the remainder² of their life on the road, seeing nature, meeting interesting people and learning³ about different cultures.
The couple arrived in Taiwan in October. They drove across Taiwan's mountains and cities, stayed two nights at the plush Grand Hotel in Taipei as guests of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau⁴, and made friends with many locals.
"Taiwan has a unique combination⁵ of natural scenery and city life. A few hours from cities, you are at the seaside or in tall mountains. And Taiwan has beautiful temples and rich culture," Emil said.
Over two decades ago, Emil, a computer software engineer, and Liliana, a secretary, decided⁶ to go to the United States to get away for a year.
However, 12 months proved not to be long enough. They now hope to visit every country in the world and have just 33 of the 194 states recognized by the United Nations left on their list.
In 1997, they entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the "Longest Driven Journey," a record they almost certainly will hold for a long time to come.
monotony  (n.)   无聊；单调
to be hooked on   迷上；爱上
plush  (adj.)   豪华的
combination  (n.)   结合；组合
scenery  (n.)   风景；景色
temple  (n.)   寺庙；神殿
computer software engineer   电脑软体工程师
to recognize  (v.)   承认；认可
Guinness Book of World Records   金氏世界纪录
journey  (n.)   旅行；旅程

1 hooked   

adj.钩状的，弯曲的

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve. 12 岁时我开始迷上了带水肺潜水。
• He hooked his arm round her neck and pulled her head down. 他一只胳膊钩在她的脖子上，把她的头拉低。

2 remainder   

n.余下的部分，剩下的人数

参考例句：

• They joined up with us to spend the remainder of the holiday.他们来跟我们一起共度余下的假期。
• He spent the remainder of his years in Japan.他在日本度过了余生。

3 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

4 bureau   

n.提供或收集消息的机构；局，司，处；署

参考例句：

• The weather bureau makes daily reports on weather conditions.气象局每天报告天气状况。
• The Tourist Bureau arranged everything for our journey to Rome.旅游局已为我们去罗马旅行准备了一切。

5 combination   

n.组合，合并，联合；

参考例句：

• He carried on the business in combination with his friends.他与朋友们合伙做生意。
• The materials can be used singly or in combination.这些材料可以单独使用也可以混合用。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。