Lesson 44 Speed and comfort又快捷又舒適
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
Which type of transport does the writer prefer, do you think?
People travelling long distances frequently have to decide whether they would prefer to go by land, sea, or air. Hardly anyone can positively enjoy sitting in a train for more than a few hours. Train compartments soon get cramped and stuffy. It is almost impossible to take your mind off the journey. Reading is only a partial solution, for the monotonous rhythm of the wheels clicking on the rails soon lulls you to sleep. During the day, sleep comes in snatches. At night, when you really wish to go to sleep, you rarely manage to do so. If you are lucky enough to get a sleeper, you spend half the night staring at the small blue light in the ceiling, or fumbling to find you ticket for inspection. Inevitably you arrive at your destination almost exhausted. Long car journeys are even less pleasant, for it is quite impossible even to read. On motorways you can, at least, travel fairly safely at high speeds, but more often than not, the greater part of the journey is spent on roads with few service stations and too much traffic. By comparison, ferry trips or cruises offer a great variety of civilized comforts. You can stretch your legs on the spacious decks, play games, meet interesting people and enjoy good food -- always assuming, of course, that the sea is calm. If it is not, and you are likely to get seasick, no form of transport could be worse. Even if you travel in ideal weather, sea journeys take a long time. Relatively few people are prepared to sacrifice holiday time for the pleasure of travlling by sea.
Aeroplanes have the reputation of being dangerous and even hardened travellers are intimidated by them. They also have the disadvantage of being an expensive form of transport. But nothing can match them for speed and comfort. Travelling at a height of 30,000 feet, far above the clouds, and at over 500 miles an hour is an exhilarating experience. You do not have to devise ways of taking your mind off the journey, for an aeroplane gets you to your destination rapidly. For a few hours, you settle back in a deep armchair to enjoy the flight. The real escapist can watch a film and sip champagne on some services. But even when such refinements are not available, there is plenty to keep you occupied. An aeroplane offers you an unusual and breathtaking view of the world. You soar effortlessly over high mountains and deep valleys. You really see the shape of the land. If the landscape is hidden from view, you can enjoy the extraordinary sight of unbroken cloud plains that stretch out for miles before you, while the sun shines brilliantly in a clear sky. The journey is so smooth that there is nothing to prevent you from reading or sleeping. However you decide to spend your time, one thing is certain: you will arrive at your destination fresh and uncrumpled. You will not have to spend the next few days recovering from a long and arduous journey.
參考譯文
出遠門的人常常需要決定是走旱路、水路，還是坐飛機。很少有人能夠真正喜歡坐幾個小時以上的火車。車廂很快就變得擁擠、悶熱，想擺脫開旅途的困擾是 很難的?？磿荒芙鉀Q部分問題。車輪與鐵軌間單調的嘎喳聲很快就會送你進入夢鄉。白天是忽睡忽醒，到了夜晚，你真想睡了，卻很難入睡。即使你走運弄到一個 臥鋪，夜間有一半時間你會盯著車頂那盞小藍燈而睡不著覺；要不然就為查票摸索你的車票。一旦抵達目的地，你總是疲憊不堪。乘汽車作長途旅行則更加不舒服， 因為連看書都幾乎不可能。在公路上還好，你至少能以相當快的速度安全地向前行。但旅行的大部分時間都花在路上，而且只有很少的服務設施，交通也很擁擠。相 比之下，坐船旅行或環游可以得到文明世界的各種享受。你可以在甲板上伸展四肢、做游戲，還能也很見到各種有趣的人，能享用各種美味佳肴——當然，這一切只 有在大海風平浪靜的情況下才有可能。如果大海肆虐起來，你就可能暈船，那種難受勁兒是任何一種別的旅行的方式都不會帶來的。即使風平浪靜，坐船旅行也要占 用很長時間。沒有多少人會為享受坐船旅行的樂趣而犧牲假期的時間。
飛機以危險而著稱，連老資格的旅行者也怕飛機。飛機另一個缺點是昂貴。但就速度與舒適而言，飛機是無與倫比的。騰云駕霧，在30，000 英尺高空以500英里的時速旅行，這種經歷令人心曠神怡。你不必想辦法去擺脫旅途的困擾，因為飛機會迅速地把你送到目的地。幾小時之內，你躺在扶手椅上， 享受著旅途的歡樂。真正會享受的人還可以在某些航班上看一場電影和喝香檳。即使沒有這些消遣條件，也總是有事可做。飛機上，你可以觀察世界上非同尋常的奇 妙的美景。你毫不費勁地飛越高山幽谷，你確能飽覽大地的風貌。如果這種景色被遮住了，你可以觀賞一下展現在你面前的、一望數英里的、連綿不斷的云海，同時 陽光燦爛，天空清澈明朗。旅途平穩，絲毫不妨礙你閱讀或睡眠。不管你打算如何消磨時間，有件事是可以肯定的，即當你抵達目的地時，你感到精神煥發，毫無倦 意，用不著因為漫長的旅途的辛苦而花幾天時間休息來恢復精神。
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
positively
adv. 絕對地，完全地
compartment
n. 列車客車廂內的分隔間（或單間）
cramped
adj. 窄小的
stuffy
adj. 憋氣的，悶氣的
monotonous
adj. 枯燥的，乏味的
rhythm
n. 有節奏的運動
click
v. 發出咔噠聲
lull
v. 催人欲睡
snatch
n. 短時，片段
sleeper
n. 臥鋪
fumble
v. 亂摸，摸索
inspection
n. 檢查
inevitably
adv. 必然地，不可避免地
destination
n. 目的地
exhaust
v. 使精疲力盡
motorway
n. 快車道
ferry
n. 渡船
cruise
n. 巡游船
civilize
v. 使文明
spacious
adj. 寬敞的
seasick
adj. 暈船的
intimidate
v. 恐嚇，恫嚇
disadvantage
n. 短處，缺點
exhilarating
adj. 使人高興的，令人興奮的
escapist
n. 逍遙者
sip
v. 呷，啜
champagne
n. 香檳灑
refinement
n. 精心的安排
breathtaking
adj.激動人心的；不尋常的
soar
v. 高飛，翱翔
effortlessly
adv. 不費力地
landscape
n. 景色
fresh
adj. 精神飽滿的
uncrumpled
adj. 沒有垮下來
Notes on the text課文注釋
1 take your mind off the journey，擺脫旅途的困擾。take one's mind off sth 是“把某人的注意力從某事上移開”的意思。
2 in snatches，斷斷續續地。
3 more often than not，經常。
4 But nothing can match them for speed and comfort.
但就速度和舒適而論，什么也不能和飛機相比。介詞for此處作“就...而論”講。
5 keep you occupied，使你有事可做。
Lesson 44 課后練習和答案Exercises and Answer
