美国国家公共电台 NPR--San Francisco's transit system is dispensing short stories to commuters

San Francisco's transit¹ system is dispensing² short stories to commuters

Transcript³

Do you ever get to the train station and realize you forgot to bring something to read? Yes, we all have our phones, but many of us still like to go old school and read something printed.

Well, there's a kiosk for that. In the San Francisco Bay Area, at least.

"You enter the fare gates and you'll see a kiosk that is lit up and it tells you can get a one minute, a three minute, or a five minute story," says Alicia Trost, the chief communications officer for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit - known as BART. "You hover⁴ your hand over which length you want and it dispenses⁵ a long receipt like short story."

It's that simple. Riders have printed nearly 20,000 short stories and poems since the program was launched last March.

Some are classic short stories, and some are new original works, like Rainbows by Erica Johnson.

"[W]e always had this place, our place, our home. Away from the prejudice and the preachers," Johnson writes. "Away from those who saw our relationship as wrong. Just you, me, and the beach with water as far as the eye could see."

Trost also wants to introduce local writers to local riders.

"We wanted to do something where we do a call to artists in the Bay Area to submit stories for a contest," Trost says. "And as of right now, we've received about 120 submissions⁶. The winning stories would go into our dispensers and then you would be a published artist and BART helped make you be a published artist and I love that."

Ridership on transit systems across the country have been down the past half century, so could short stories save transit?

Trost thinks so.

"At the end of the day all transit agencies right now are doing everything they can to improve the rider experience. So I absolutely think we will get more riders just because of short stories," she says.

And you'll never be without something to read.

1 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

2 dispensing   

v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 hover   

vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫

参考例句：

• You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
• A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。

5 dispenses   

v.分配，分与；分配( dispense的第三人称单数 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• The machine dispenses a range of drinks and snacks. 这台机器发售各种饮料和小吃。
• This machine dispenses coffee. 这台机器发售咖啡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 submissions   

n.提交( submission的名词复数 )；屈从；归顺；向法官或陪审团提出的意见或论据

参考例句：

• The deadline for submissions to the competition will be Easter 1994. 递交参赛申请的截止时间为1994年的复活节。 来自辞典例句
• Section 556(d) allows the agency to substitute written submissions for oral direct testimony in rulemaking. 第五百五十六条第（四）款准允行政机关在规则制定中用书面提交材料替代口头的直接证言。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法