地道美语听力播客:Taking the Bus in Los Angeles

I just moved to L.A. and don’t have a car. Everybody says that you can’t get around this city without one, but I wanted to prove them wrong.

I asked my neighbor to take me to the downtown bus station so I could try taking the bus home. She thought I was crazy but gave me a ride. When I got there, I went inside and got a bus schedule. I looked at the map and figured out that I needed to take three buses to get home. The fare was $1.75 per ride and I could buy a single ticket, a booklet¹ of 20, or a bus pass. I would need transfers², too, to change buses.

I took my map and went outside to wait at the bus stop for the Number 8 bus. Soon it pulled up and I got on. I gave my ticket to the bus driver and took a seat. At the stop where I needed to get off, I rang the bell, the bus stopped, and I got off. I waited for the next bus. I waited and waited. A man who was also waiting for the Number 14 bus said that it wasn’t unusual for the bus to be delayed³. It finally got there and I found out that the bus had broken down along the route⁴ and they had to get another bus to take its place. By this time, I was getting pretty tired. Maybe getting a car in L.A. wasn’t such a bad idea.

 

1 booklet   

n.小册子，目录单

参考例句：

• Detailed instructions are included in the booklet.小册子中有详细说明。
• I picked up a free booklet on tooth care at the dentist's.我在牙医那里拿了一本关于牙齿保健的免费小册子。

2 transfers   

n. 接送服务

参考例句：

• Some proposals to make transfers automatic have been made. 人们已提出了一些自动转让的方案。
• Embryo transfers speed up the process of building a high-quality herd. 胚胎转移加速了培养优质牛群的步伐。

3 delayed   

adj.延时的，定时的v.（使）耽搁，延误( delay的过去式和过去分词 )；推迟；使延期；使延迟

参考例句：

• Deliveries of mail could be delayed because of cost-cutting. 由于削减成本，邮件的递送可能会延迟。
• The most likely explanation is that his plane was delayed. 最可能的解释是他的飞机晚点了。

4 route   

n.路径，途径，路线；vt.确定路线，按规定路线发送

参考例句：

• On the way home, we took an indirect route.回家的路上，我们绕了一个大圈。
• The plane did not fly the usual commercial route.飞机没有沿通常的商业航线飞。