美国国家公共电台 NPR--High gas prices have people in Colorado changing their travel habits

High gas prices have people in Colorado changing their travel habits

Transcript¹

Skyrocketing gas prices in Colorado have people changing their spending and commuting² habits. The record prices are forcing some to reevaluate summer travel plans.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Average gas prices above five bucks³ a gallon are straining budgets and changing the way Americans get to work, to school and vacation getaways. Colorado Public Radio's Matt Bloom asked drivers in and around Denver how they're holding up.

MATT BLOOM, BYLINE⁴: At this Phillips 66 gas station near Boulder⁵, the price for a gallon of unleaded is sitting at 4.89. Pumping gas into his blue GMC truck is Andy Burns.

ANDY BURNS: I'm just capping it off. I'm on a road trip to Michigan, so it's going to be an expensive one.

BLOOM: He watches as the numbers on the pump screen tick past 80, then 90, then...

BURNS: I mean, I usually pay over a hundred bucks every time I fill it up.

BLOOM: This time it's a hundred and three dollars. Burns says he's been planning this trip with his son for over a year to surprise his mom for her birthday.

BURNS: I just knew it was going to be expensive. And so we're probably going to cut a little bit on our lodging⁶ - try to find a little cheaper lodging to offset⁷ the gas prices. Yeah, not fun. But you got to do what you got to do.

(SOUNDBITE OF TRAIN BELL RINGING)

BLOOM: At a light rail station just outside of Denver, Camilla Cluett is feeling out a new commute⁸.

CAMILLA CLUETT: I'm pretty lucky that I live near the station. It's a little more than a 10-minute walk.

BLOOM: Cluett is a performer at a local museum, so working from home isn't an option. As gas prices started going up this spring, she found it harder and harder to make room in her budget.

AUTOMATED⁹ VOICE: This is the Auraria West station. Transfer...

BLOOM: She mapped out what taking the train to work would look like and found it takes about the same time and is less expensive than driving. Plus she can relax on the train instead of sitting in traffic.

CLUETT: I am crocheting¹⁰ a blanket right now. I think it's a good time to, like, do - like, focus on things that you can't do while you're driving. It's just getting off on the right stop instead of navigating¹¹ all the cars and not hitting anyone.

BLOOM: She says she thinks the new habit will stick most days of the week, even if prices come back down.

CLUETT: Just with how convenient it is for me specifically, I think I'll keep doing it how I am.

BLOOM: AAA surveys of drivers say that 75% of people planned to change their habits when the price went above $5 a gallon.

SKYLER MCKINLEY: We are just now entering the neighborhood where we get significant behavioral change as a result of high, high prices.

BLOOM: Skyler McKinley is a spokesman with AAA.

MCKINLEY: What remains¹² to be seen is if that softens¹³ demand to the extent that prices stabilize¹⁴ or even come down to catch up with supply.

BLOOM: McKinley says the soonest we'll likely see relief is when the summer travel season starts to wind down around Labor¹⁵ Day. But people who need to drive for their jobs can't wait.

FRED COLLIER: It's starting to hurt, you know, when it costs me 60, $65 to fill up my tank.

BLOOM: Fred Collier delivers pizzas in a '99 Toyota Camry. He used to be money-ahead a few hours into his shift. But now he says he has to work more than a full shift just to make his gas money back.

COLLIER: You start realizing you're running a thinner profit margin¹⁶ than you think you are.

BLOOM: Collier really likes his job, though, so he's changing the way he drives.

COLLIER: I don't do jack-rabbit starts unless I have to make a sudden turn or something. I don't put my foot in it as much as I used to. And if a customer's a ways out, I'll tell them, hey, I'm not driving super fast to get to you.

BLOOM: He also maps out routes more carefully now to find shortcuts¹⁷ and avoid getting lost, which wastes gas. And he's not idling his car as much.

COLLIER: One of my coworkers who drives a giant F-150 - and, you know, I'm sitting here thinking, I think I got it bad. He's got to have it a lot worse than I do.

BLOOM: Collier considers himself lucky to drive a Camry, which gets pretty good mileage¹⁸. He looked into getting an electric car, but says they're still too expensive. Instead, he's thinking of changing jobs.

For NPR News, I'm Matt Bloom in Denver.

(SOUNDBITE OF KEV BROWN SONG, "ALBANY")

1 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。

2 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。

3 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

6 lodging   

n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
• Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

7 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

8 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。

9 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

10 crocheting   

v.用钩针编织( crochet的现在分词 )；钩编

参考例句：

• She sat there crocheting all day. 她整天坐在那里用钩针编织东西。 来自互联网
• The crafts teacher is skillful in knitting,crocheting,embroidery,and the use of the hand loom. 手工艺教师善于纺织、钩编、刺绣和使用手摇织布机。 来自互联网

11 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 softens   

（使）变软( soften的第三人称单数 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• Iron softens with heat. 铁受热就软化。
• Moonlight softens our faults; all shabbiness dissolves into shadow. 月光淡化了我们的各种缺点，所有的卑微都化解为依稀朦胧的阴影。 来自名作英译部分

14 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

15 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

16 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

17 shortcuts   

n.捷径( shortcut的名词复数 )；近路；快捷办法；被切短的东西（尤指烟草）

参考例句：

• In other words, experts want shortcuts to everything. 换句话说，专家需要所有的快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Offer shortcuts from the Help menu. 在帮助菜单中提供快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

18 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？