ESL露西的一天 第50期:乘坐公共交通工具去上班(1)

 I like my job but it takes over an hour to get there from my part of town. 我喜欢我的工作，但从我这边到那里要花一个多小时。

First, I walk three blocks to the subway station and swipe my monthly¹ pass to get through the turnstile. 首先，我要走三个街区到地铁站，然后刷月票通过旋转门。

I wait on the platform for the first express train. 我在站台上等第一辆特快列车。

I get on and since it's so crowded during the morning hours, there aren't any seats and I stand, holding onto a handrail. 上车之后，因为早高峰时段太挤了，没有座位，我只能抓着扶手站着。

At my stop, I get off and transfer² to a second train that will get me to Union Station. 到了我下车的那一站，我下车转乘第二辆火车，去联合车站。

This one isn't as crowded and I manage to find a seat. 这辆车没有那么拥挤，我终于找到一个座位。

When the train gets to Union Station, I get off the train, go up the stairs, and go out of the front exit to the bus stop. 列车到达联合车站时，我下了车，上楼梯，出了前门出口走到公共汽车站。

I get on the B bus to downtown and show my bus pass to the bus driver. 我乘B路公共汽车到市区，向巴士司机出示了公车月票。

I sit down near the front of the bus and when three more people get on board, the driver starts on the route³. 我在公共汽车的前面坐了下来，这时又有三个人上车，然后司机发动汽车上路了。

When we get close to my stop, I press the button to signal⁴ to the driver that I need to get off and the bus pulls up to the next stop. 快到我下车那一站的时候，我按下按钮，向司机示意我需要下车，然后公交车会停到下一站。

I get off and walk half a block to the building where I work. 我下车，走了半个街区到我工作的地方。

It's a long commute⁵, but I look around every morning and I see that I'm not the only one who has to do it. 通勤时间很长，但我每天早上都环顾四周，发现并不是只有我自己需要这么长时间。

1 monthly   

adj.每月的，持续一个月的，每月发生的；adv.每月，按月； n.月刊；(复数）monthlies:月经

参考例句：

• The rent on his apartment was his biggest monthly expense.他的房租是每个月最大的开支。
• The monthly rent is $15,inclusive of light and water.每月租金15美元，包括水电费在内。

2 transfer   

n. 迁移, 移动, 换车; v. 转移, 调转, 调任

参考例句：

• He has been kicking against this transfer for weeks. 几周以来他一直反对这次调动。
• I intend to transfer the property to my son. 我想把这笔财产转给我儿子。

3 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。

4 signal   

n.信号，暗号

参考例句：

• This is a signal failure.这是明显的失败。
• A train must not pass a signal that is at danger.火车切不可越过危险信号。

5 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。