012C美语三级跳：开车(高级课程)

Professor: In the last episode, Phil borrowed his friend's car to take a weekend trip to Las Vegas. Now he has come back home and is telling his friend Becky about the trip.

Phil回来啦！不知道他到底赢没赢钱？

Phil: Wow Becky, you wouldn't believe how much fun I had on my trip to Las Vegas last weekend.

Becky: Really? I've never been to Las Vegas. How was it?

Phil: It was totally awesome. I spent the whole weekend partying and going to shows, and the best part is that I didn't even have to pay for it.

Becky: You didn't have to pay for it? How is that?

Phil: I won so much money gambling that it covered the cost of the trip. I'm telling you, there's no feeling like stepping on the gas and going out on a road trip.

Phil真是好运气! 他在拉斯维加斯赢了好多钱，这次出去玩等于一分钱没掏! 不过，Professor Bowman, 他说stepping on the gas是什么意思呢？

P: Winnie, "stepping on the gas" is like pushing down the accelerator pedal, which is also called the "gas pedal."

哦，stepping on the gas就是“脚踩油门，给车加速”的意思。Phil说，那种一脚油门下去，让车奔驰的感觉特别棒。

P: Exactly. Sometimes when Americans want someone to hurry up, they can tell that person to "step on it," which is a reference to stepping on the gas to go faster.

哦，催别人快点儿，就可以说"step on it".

Becky: You know, I've always wanted to go on a road trip like that, but the problem is that I don't have a driver's license.

Phil: You don't have a driver's license? I thought everyone has a driver's license.

Becky: Well not me. I grew up in New York City and have always taken public transportation, so I never needed to know how to drive. Plus, cars create lots of carbon emissions.

Phil: That's true, but it's not so bad if you get a car with good gas mileage.

Becky: I guess you're right. And if you wanted to be really environmentally friendly, you could even get a hybrid.

原来，Becky在纽约长大，一直坐公车和地铁，所以不会开车。Professor Bowman, carbon emissions 是什么？

Professor: Winnie, carbon is short for carbon dioxide, which is one of the greenhouse gases. So carbon emissions are the amount of carbon dioxide cars emit.

哦，carbon emissions就是二氧化碳排放量。Phil说，为了环保，人们应该买good gas mileage - "燃油使用效率高”的车，Becky则建议用hybrid, 油电混合动力车。

Becky: But I still don't know ... isn't driving kind of dangerous?

Phil: There are things you can do to stay safe. For example, you should always practice defensive driving, and leave lots of space between your car and the other cars.

Becky: Yeah, I really hate aggressive drivers. And when people get road rage, they become a real hazard on the road.

Phil: Exactly. It's best not to drive when you're angry. That can be really dangerous.

Professor: Winnie, do you know what "defensive driving" and "aggressive drivers" mean?

"Defensive driving"就是为保护自身安全的“防御型驾驶技巧”，为的就是躲开那些"aggressive drivers" - 横冲直撞的马路杀手。不过，"road rage"又是什么意思呢？

Professor: "Road rage" means when you're driving, something happens and makes you really mad, and so you start driving erratically. For example, some people get road rage when they get cut off.

我明白了， road rage就是“路怒症”。比如说，有人看到别的车插到自己前面，就会暴怒。要我说，情绪如此不稳定的人，压根就不应该开车。

Becky: I have been thinking about getting a license lately, but I need someone to teach me.

Phil: Well, I'd be happy to teach you how to drive. I'm a really safe driver.

Becky: Wow, that sounds great! When can we start?

Phil: Well ... actually there is just one problem.

Becky: What's that?

Phil: I don't have a car. Do you have one that I could borrow?

说来说去，Phil自己根本没车啊？

Professor: Well, probably he's lived on borrowed cars for all these years!

这次的美语三级跳就播送到这里。