VOA标准英语2011--Some States Like it HOT

Some States Like it HOT

Many air travelers in the United States gladly pay extra - sometimes a lot extra - to ride in first class rather than coach. Up front, they enjoy roomier seats, faster boarding, and free drinks. And now the pay-to-be-pampered idea has come to America’s interstate highways as well.
Many of these high-speed roads already have special, uncrowded HOV or high-occupancy-vehicle lanes. Only cars carrying two or more, or sometimes three or more, people can use them. The idea is that these less-crowded HOV lanes will entice¹ other drivers to join a car pool so that they, too, can enjoy life in the fast lane.
But experience has shown that most lone² drivers just won’t give up their cars. And they’re getting angrier and angrier at the lucky drivers zipping along in the HOV lanes. So to appease³ them, ease traffic congestion⁴ in the regular lanes, and create a new revenue source, many states have embraced a concept called “HOT lanes.”
“HOT” stands for “high-occupancy toll⁵,” and here’s how it works:
As in HOV lanes, drivers of cars with multiple occupants pay little or nothing to zip along in the HOT lanes. But for a steep toll, drivers with no one else in their car can use them, too. Like first-class airplane passengers, many lone drivers say they’ll happily pay the charge just to cut some time and hassles from their commutes⁶.
Virginia, Georgia, and California are among the states building HOT lanes alongside existing superhighways. They argue that the extra money single drivers kick in for access to the HOT lanes will help pay for other transportation improvements, such as light-rail lines.
But what if so many lone drivers jump at this chance that HOT lanes become just as jammed and slow-moving as regular ones?
American capitalism⁷ has the answer. If single-occupancy cars start plugging up the HOT lanes, states plan to just keep raising their tolls⁸. Then, presumably, enough drivers will slink back to the equivalent of the coach section of the road, enabling traffic in the HOT lanes to move briskly again.

1 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。

2 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

3 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

4 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 commutes   

上下班路程( commute的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She commutes from Oxford to London every day. 她每天上下班往返于牛津与伦敦之间。
• Barbara lives in Oxford and commutes. 芭芭拉住在牛津，通勤往来。

7 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

8 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。