每日口說挑戰塞車時插隊比較好！？交通科學的反直覺原理 (Why Traffic Scientists Want You to Cut People Off)

Intro:
Hi, VoiceTubers! This is Jeff Chiao. Being cut off in a line could be one of the most irritating yet commonly happening things in our daily lives. Whether it is being cut off while waiting for checkouts in a supermarket, or while standing in a line in front of the public toilet while you are about to... explode, I think it’s safe to say that we all hate those who think they have higher priorities than others without legitimate reasons.

However, when it comes to driving on the road, do you know that it is actually encouraged by traffic scientists that we should cut each other off while merging into one lane? How does something that we normally despise actually become a way to prevent congestion and better utilize our road? Find out the answers for yourself in the video today! But before that, let’s check out our featured sentence first.

Featured Sentence:
“And that's because theory fails to take into account the human aspect of driving—specifically, our capacity for spite.”
[ 這是因為理論沒有把開車這個行為的人類特質考慮進去－特別是我們對怨恨的忍受度。 ]

Okay, let me repeat it one more time, just a little bit slower.

“And that's because theory fails to take into account the human aspect of driving—specifically, our capacity for spite.”

With that sorted, let’s check out today’s pronunciation tips.

Pronunciation tips:
Our first tip would be the connection of “take” and “into”. We could combine the /k/ sound in “take” and the /ɪn/ sound in “into”, and pronounce them as “tak-into”. Take into. The other similar example of connecting two successive words would be “aspect of”. Likewise, we could combine the /t/ sound of “aspect” and “of”, then pronounce them as “aspect of”. Noting that while combining “of”, its strong /ɑ/ sound should be weakened as a shorter /ə/ sound. Aspect of.

The second tip would be the word "theory". The “e” should be pronounced as a long /ɪ/ sound, the “o” should be pronounced as a short /ə/ sound, and the accent is on the initial /θɪ/. Theory. Theory.

The last tip of today would be the word "specifically". This word is consisted of 5 syllables, with the stress being on the /sɪ/ sound. The “e” should be pronounced as a short /ə/ sound, while both of “i”s should be pronounced as /ɪ/. Specifically. Specifically.

All right, now let’s head to the vocabulary.

Vocabulary:

theory (n.) KK [ˋθiərɪ] IPA /ˈθɪə.ri/
a formal statement of the rules on which a subject of study is based or of ideas that are suggested to explain a fact or event or, more generally, an opinion or explanation
理論；學說；意見
The scientists are having a debate about which theory is more suitable as an explanation of the phenomenon.
科學家正對哪個理論才更適合解釋這個現象爭論不休。

aspect (n.) KK [ˋæspɛkt] IPA /ˈæs.pekt/
one part of a situation, problem, subject, etc.
方面；層面
The sudden death of his parents has affected almost every aspect of his life tremendously.
父母的唐突離世對他人生幾乎的所有層面都產生了劇烈影響。

capacity (n.) KK [kəˋpæsətɪ] IPA /kəˈpæs.ə.t̬i/
the total amount that can be contained or produced, or (especially of a person or organization) the ability to do a particular thing
容積，容量；生產能力；（尤指某人或某組織的）辦事能力
With the virus raging on, the capacity of this hospital peaked in a short time, forcing the local government to come up with alternative plans.
隨著病毒肆虐，這家醫院的收受病人的空間在短時間內便達到了極限，迫使當地政府尋求替代方案。

Outro:

So that wraps up today’s episode!

In the featured video, the speaker mentioned that due to their amazing traffic discipline, Germany is known for having one of the best-optimized traffic in the world. While I was an exchange student in Mannheim, Germany, for the first couple of months, it really gave me cultural shock while walking on the street. The cars actually stopped for pedestrians. I mean, some of you may think “Well, they should.”. You are absolutely right, but being used to giving way to cars as a pedestrian in my hometown, it still truly astonished me. Other examples include no one parking in places that shouldn’t be parked, everyone slowing down and stopping while seeing a yellow light, and every driver knows how to use a roundabout properly.

I once asked my German friends why they comply with the traffic rules so tightly or even strictly? And their answer is simple: “Because the rules only work if everyone has the same vision in their mind. The vision is that everyone follows the same rules, takes the most efficient actions, and achieves the safest and the smoothest experience for everyone on the road.” They are not obeying the rules because they might be fined if they don’t do so—they are complying with these regulations simply because they believe it is the only way to have a safer and more efficient traffic environment for all. If we all can have this concept bear in our minds, maybe someday we could achieve such a traffic environment as well.

That’s all for today’s episode! This is Jeff Chiao from VoiceTube. Hope y’all have a good one! Until next time, goodbye.

☺And that's because theory fails to take into account the human aspect of driving—specifically, our capacity for spite.
這是因為理論並沒有把駕駛的人性特質考慮進去－特別是我們對怨恨的忍受度。
【心得】未來的自動駕駛是不是可以讓交通秩序變得更"理性"一點。
■theory [ˋθiərɪ] (n.C)學說、論說、…論[(+of)][+that]；意見、推測、揣度[+that]
(n.C or U)理論；學理、原理
■aspect [ˋæspɛkt] 方面、觀點方面、層面[(+of)]；方向、方位；朝向；(建築物等)朝著某個方向的一面；(螢幕的)長寬比=aspect ratio
外觀、神態、樣子
{文法}時態、體
■capacity[kəˋpæsətɪ] (n.C or U) 容積、容量；能量、生產力；能力(尤指某人或某組織的辦事能力)、才能、接受能力、理解力、承受度[(+for)]
(n.C)資格、地位、職位
■cut off；cut sb/sth off(常用被動)掛斷…的電話、使…電話斷線；不賣給…酒；超車搶到…前面(同 cut sb up) cut (sb. off )in a line插(某人的)隊；切除；切斷；中斷；減少； 砍掉；割掉；剪掉；阻斷、隔斷、隔絕
■give way 退後、讓開；讓步、屈服；讓(其他車輛等)先行[(+to)]= {US}yield；塌陷、垮掉；不能支持；被說服同意；+to sth被(更好的、更便宜的、更容易的等等)取代、淘汰
■roundabout [ˋraʊndə͵baʊt]{UK}繞道、繞行路線；繞圈子的話、迂迴說法；{US}(尤指十九世紀男用)緊身短上衣；{UK}(遊樂場等的)旋轉木馬={US} carousel；{UK}環形交通樞紐、環島、環形交叉路口={US}traffic circle；{UK}(遊樂區的)旋轉平臺、旋轉椅={US}merry-go-round
繞道的；(說話、做事等)繞圈子的、不直截了當的、拐彎抹角的；圓滾滾的；胖嘟嘟的；(外衣)下襬圓的

原來我都在做有益交通的事…XD

希望英文可以越來越進步...

12.31

12/31
And that's because theory fails to take into account the human aspect of driving—specifically, our capacity for spite.