Alice: and I'm Alice. Now Neil, how do you get to work?

Alice: 我是Alice。現在Neil，你都怎麼來上班呢？

Neil: I cycle.

Neil: 我騎腳踏車。

Alice: I didn't know that! Somehow I hadn't imagined you as a cyclist.

Alice: 我都不知道這件事耶！不知怎地，我從未想像過你是個腳踏車騎士

And where's all your bike gear?

那你的腳踏車裝備呢？

Neil: Well, I sneak in the mornings, have a shower, and get changed.

Neil: 嗯…我在早晨偷偷起床，沖個澡，再換裝。

That's my bike in the corner over there.

我的腳踏車，就在角落那邊。

Alice: Oh, you've got a foldaway bike

Alice: 喔!你有一部摺疊腳踏車

which means it folds up so it's easy to carry or put away.

這表示它可以摺起來，以便於攜帶和放置

Do you wear lycra, Neil?

Neil，你有穿萊卡纖維嗎?

Neil: Yes, I do... it's very comfortable. I wear lycra as often as I can.

Neil: 有，這非常舒服。我盡可能常穿萊卡纖維。

Lycra by the way is a stretchy fabric used in tight-fitting sports clothes.

對了，萊卡是一種彈性纖維，經常用於緊身運動衣

Alice: Well, I'll have to see if I can catch you on your way into the building

Alice: 恩，我一定要來看看你進公司的樣子

I'm intrigued about this sporty Neil I didn't know about!

我對這個我從不知道的好動Neil很好奇!

Neil: 'Intrigued' means to be very interested in something. Well, Alice, I'm flattered.

Neil: Intrigued意思是非常感興趣。恩，Alice我感到受寵若驚。

And today's show is about commuting – or travelling between your home and your work.

今天的秀是關於通勤，或者說，從你家到你的工作地的行程

So how did you commute this morning, Alice?

所以你今天怎麼通勤呢?Alice?

Alice: I got the Tube – that's the subway system here in London, also known as the underground

Alice: 我用Tube，那是倫敦這裡的地鐵系統也就是地下鐵，

and it was a nightmare.

它是個夢魘。

We stopped in a tunnel for so long that people started talking to each other.

我們停在隧道非常久，人們開始和彼此聊天。

Neil: And for those of you who aren't Londoners, that's unusual!

Neil: 對於那些不是倫敦人的你們，這是不尋常的。

Do you ever talk to people on the train?

你曾和人在火車上聊天嗎?

Alice: No. People think you're crazy if you talk to strangers.

不。如果你和陌生人聊天，人們會覺得你瘋了。

Neil: Well, maybe now's a good time to talk about today's quiz question, Alice.

Neil: 恩，或許現在是說今日小測驗的時間了，Alice。

What question do you have for me?

你今天為我準備什麼問題呢?

Alice: Alright then. I know you like my questions, Neil. So here we go:

Alice: 好的。我知道你喜歡我的問題，Neil。所以，我們開始吧!

What did the word 'commuter' originally describe? Was it someone who

commuter這個字，一開始一用來形容什麼?它是用來形容一個人，他

a) travelled with other people?

a) 和別人旅行

b) paid a reduced fare to travel?

b) 旅行付了優惠的費用

Or c) travelled by train to work?

或者 c) 搭火車去上班

Neil: Oh, that's easy. I'm going to go for c) travelled by train to work.

Neil: 喔!那很簡單我選 c) 搭火車去上班

Alice: Well, we'll find out later whether you're right or not.

Alice: 恩，我們等等會知道你是否答對了。

Now let's listen to a commuter in Nairobi who takes a matatu to get to work.

現在我們來聽一個在Nairobi搭matatu(肯亞的迷你巴士)上班的通勤者說話。

These are minibuses used as shared taxis in East Africa.

這些是迷你巴士，在東非用來當作共乘計程車。

Can you spot a word that means being quick to notice things going on around you?

你能想到一個字，它的意思是快速注意到發生在你身旁的事情嗎?

Nairobi, Kenya: When I'm stuck in the matatu

在肯亞的Nairobi: 當我卡在matatu的時候

there is a lot of strange things happen around you,

有很多奇怪的事情會在你身邊發生。

so you have to be alert in Nairobi.

所以你在Nairobi必須保持警覺。

When you open... when you leave your window open somebody can run away with your belongings.

當你打開...當你將你的窗戶打開，有人可以搶走你的行李。

You may be speaking... using the phone... somebody just snatch your phone...

你可能在用你的手機說話，有人就搶走你的手機。

you may expect the unexpected!

你可能要預期那些出乎你意料的事情會發生!

Neil: The word used by this commuter in Kenya is alert.

Neil: 這位在肯亞的通勤者用的字是，警覺的。

And in these noisy, crowded buses you need to be alert in case someone runs away with

而在這個嘈雜又擁擠的巴士，你需要小心，以防有人搶走

your belongings – belongings are the things that you own.

你的belongings-belongings(隨身行李)就是你擁有的東西。

Alice: Right. Somebody might snatch your phone – snatch means to take something quickly.

Alice: 沒錯。有人會搶走你的手機-snatch(搶奪)就是很快地取走東西

Neil: Public transport in Nairobi sounds stressful!

Neil: 在Nairobi的公共運輸聽起來壓力好大!

If I was taking the bus I'd want to have a nap – or short sleep.

如果我搭公車，我會想have a nap，或者短暫的睡一下

Alice: Yes. Well, people have done research on commuting and stress levels

Alice: 對。恩，有人做了通勤與壓力感受等級上的研究，

and interestingly women are more likely to experience stress during their journey than men.

有趣的是，女人比男人更有可能在通勤旅途上感受到壓力。

Neil: Why's that?

Neil: 為什麼會那樣?

Alice: Well, they're more likely to do something which is being called 'trip chaining'

Alice: 恩，她們更可能做些叫旅程鏈的事情

where they make one or more stops on the way to work or going home

她們在上班或回家中途的旅程鏈做一站或更多站的停留

for example to drop off or pick up the kids from school

例如接送小孩上下學

and this makes it more likely that something will go wrong with their journey.

而且更有可能的情況是，在她們通勤途中會發生一些不對勁的事情。

Neil: Even if you aren't trip chaining it's no fun being stuck in a traffic jam

Neil: 即使你不在旅程鏈中，但是卡在壅塞的交通中也不是件有趣的事情

that's a large number of vehicles close together moving slowly

這是指很多輛交通工具靠很近，移動得很慢

or being packed into a crowded train like sardines.

或者，像沙丁魚一樣被塞進一列擁擠的火車

Let's face it – travelling by car or by public transport can be really miserable!

我們一起面對它吧-用車子或大眾運輸工具旅行實在很悲慘

Alice: Yes. Packed in like sardines describes people standing so close together that they

Alice: 對阿!像沙丁魚一樣被塞著，是形容人們站得很近，使得他們

can't move – like fish in a can!

不能移動-如同在罐頭裡面的魚!

So let's hear how longer commutes can affect your health from US researcher Christine Hoehner.

所以我們一起來聽美國研究者Christine Hoehner說通勤多久會影響你的健康吧!

Christine Hoehner: My study found that adults who commuted longer distances from home to work

Christine Hoehner: 我的研究發現從家裡到工作地通勤距離較長的成人

were less physically active, less physically fit, weighed more and had higher blood pressure

比較不會運動，身材比較不好，體重比較重而且有較高的血壓。

than those people who had shorter commutes.

相較於那些通勤較短路程的人。

Neil: The American researcher must be talking about commuters who aren't engaged in active travel, mustn't she?

Neil: 美國的研究者一定是在說那些不從事動態旅行的通勤者，不是嗎?

Because if you cycle a longer distance then you're being more physically active.

因為如果你騎腳踏車騎比較遠，那麼你就比較會運動

Alice: I think you're right, for once, Neil!

Alice: 就這麼一次，我認為你是對的，Neil!

Neil: Yeah.

Neil: 耶!

Alice: And I'd better start going to the gym more. I don't like the sound of high blood pressure.

Alice: 那我最好開始更頻繁地去健身房了!我不喜歡高血壓的聲音。

Neil: Why don't you hop on your bike, Alice? Then we can both wear lycra to work.

Neil: 何不跳上你的腳踏車呢?Alice?那我們就可以一起穿萊卡纖維去上班。

Alice: That's a fantastic idea, Neil! Moving on!

Alice: 那真是個好主意，Neil! 還是繼續吧!

Here's the answer to today's quiz question.

這是今天測驗的答案。

I asked: What did the word 'commuter' originally describe? Was it someone who

我剛剛問:commuter這個字，一開始一用來形容什麼?它是用來形容一個人，他

a) travelled with other people? b) paid a reduced fare to travel? Or c) travelled by train to work?

a) 和別人旅行 b) 旅行付了優惠的費用 或 c) 搭火車去上班

Neil: And I said c) travelled by train to work. It must be right.

Neil: 而我說 c) 搭火車去上班。這一定是對的。

Alice: And you were wrong I'm afraid, Neil! It's b) someone who paid a reduced fare to travel.

Alice: 恐怕你錯了，答案是 b) 旅行付了優惠的費用

The Oxford Dictionary says the word 'commute' comes from from Latin commutare,

Oxford字典說'commute'這個字來自拉丁字commutare，

from com- 'altogether' + mutare 'to change'.

com-是「一起」的意思，mutare是「改變」的意思

The word was used in the US in the 1840s, when people paid a reduced or commuted fare

這字義曾在1840年代的美國被使用，用於人們付了優惠的通勤費用

to travel by rail from the suburbs into the city.

搭乘火車從郊區旅行到城市。

Neil: OK. Can you tell us the words we heard today again, Alice?

Neil: 好吧!你可以再告訴我們，我們今天聽到的字嗎?Alice?

Alice: Of course I can. Here they are:

Alice: 當然可以。它們是:

foldaway bike

折疊腳踏車

lycra

萊卡纖維

intrigued

好奇的

commuting

通勤的

the Tube

英國地鐵

alert

警覺

belongings

個人隨身行李

snatch

搶走

nap

小睡片刻

traffic jam

交通壅塞的狀況

packed in like sardines

擠得像沙丁魚一樣

commuted

付優惠票價的

Neil: Well, that's the end of today's journey with 6 Minute English.

Neil: 恩，那我們就結束今天6分鐘英語的旅程吧!

Please do join us again soon.

下次請再加入我們

Both: Bye.

拜!