2006年VOA标准英语-Extreme Commuting Becoming More Common In

By Brian Padden
Washington, DC
23 May 2006
 
watch Commuter² report

  
  

In the United States there are almost 3.5 million "extreme commuters," who travel more than 90 minutes to work, one way. According to the U.S. Census³ Bureau, this is the fastest-growing group of commuters in America, despite rising gasoline prices and congested highways.

---------------------------------------------

 
Rick Millward
  

For Rick Millward every second counts.  "Time waits for no man or woman and time you spend on the road in a car is definitely wasted."

Rick Millward works as an administrator⁴ at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center located on the outskirts⁵ of Washington, DC.  Everyday promptly⁶ at four thirty in the afternoon, he meets his car pool partner Amy Dean and begins the long journey to his home in Myersville, Maryland, over 80 kilometers, and on a good day over 90 minutes away.  

Millward says it depends on how you look at it. "There are two schools of thought for commuting⁷.  One is keep moving no matter what because when you are sitting in traffic, it drives you crazy.   Me, time is my most valuable commodity.  And whatever possible, I like the direct route even though I may not be moving the whole time."   
 
 
Millward and Dean carpooling
  
Rick Millward and Amy Dean are part of a fast growing segment of American society called extreme commuters.  Between 1990 and 2000, there was a 95 percent increase in the number of people who have a commute¹ of 90 minutes or more.

Nicholas Ramfos, vice⁸ president of the Association For Commuter Transportation says this trend is having a negative the impact in the workplace.   

 
Nicholas Ramfos 
  
"There is a price.  There have been studies that show those folk to be less productive.  You spend more time once you get into the office discussing how horrible your commute was."

As a general rule, the farther out in the suburbs you live, the lower the housing prices.

So like most extreme commuters Rick Millward endures the stress of commuting in exchange for living the American dream, an affordable⁹ home in a quiet, safe community.  "Time versus¹⁰ what I would call the quality of life.  Where I live.  How much I enjoy that, and the affordability¹¹ of the life.  Yes, you pay more for gas to travel from here but generally, and when I first moved here it was certainly true, you can get more for your money."

Extreme commuters also sacrifice time with family.  And if the price of gasoline continues to rise, the long commute may no longer make economic sense. 

Like health insurance, Nicholas Ramfos says employers may have to start offering increased commuter benefits like flexible hours, work-from-home programs and even provide affordable housing to maintain a quality workforce¹².  

"Many employers in the past, their attitude has been, well is it really my responsibility in terms of how my employee gets to work?  Well from a recruitment and retention¹³ standpoint that may be something that employers may want to start taking a look at." 

Millward adds, "You get the little accordion¹⁴ stuff, things start and things stop."

But for now, Rick Millward and other extreme commuters have little choice but to sit back and try to enjoy the ride.

1 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

2 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

3 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

4 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

5 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

6 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

7 commuting   

交换（的）

参考例句：

• I used the commuting time to read and answer my mail. 我利用上下班在汽车中的时间来阅读和答复给我的函电。
• Noncommuting objects are as real to the mathematicians as commuting objects. 对于数学家来说，不可交换的对象与可交换的对象是一样真实的。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

10 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

11 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

12 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

13 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

14 accordion   

n.手风琴；adj.可折叠的

参考例句：

• The accordion music in the film isn't very beautiful.这部影片中的手风琴音乐不是很好。
• The accordion music reminds me of my boyhood.这手风琴的乐声让我回忆起了我的少年时代。