自考英语二教材英文翻译第十课：Text A

Text A The Importance of Public Transportation

A US Congressman once proclaimed that, “There can be no doubt that the transportation sector is the most critical sector of our economy.“ I know exactly what he means.(承上启下句)In this day and age, access to transportation is considered a necessity.

公共交通的重要性

一位美国国会议员曾经说过，"毋庸置疑，交通业是我们经济中的支柱行业。”我很清楚他的意思。在如今这个时代，交通出行已是生活中必不可少的部分。

Public transportation is defined as a service that is available for use by the general public. It is a cheaper and environmentally friendly alternative. It is not a transportation service that you can arrange privately to suit your own personal convenience (although you may, to a certain extent, such as paying for a cabin or suite on a train or ship) since you have to consider other passengers who are riding and making similar arrangements with you.

公共交通被定义为能为大众所使用的一种服务。它是一种相对便宜并且对环境有利的出行方式。公共交通不是那种根据个人需求而随意安排的交通服务(虽然在某种程度上也可以这样做，比如说你可以付钱包下火车或船上的一个包厢)，因为你需要考虑那些和你一起并和你做相似安排的其他乘客们。

I have experienced first-hand how important public transportation is.

公共交通有多重要，我亲自经历过，所以深有体会。

I live in Saipan, a US territory and the closest things we have to public transportation are tourist and school buses. You have to have your own car or bike, rent a car, or pay upfront for a taxi to go from point A to point B. Otherwise you end up basked(使沐浴)in sweat and sunburn traveling to work every day. When I first came here, I walked. I walked going to and from work. I walked to the store and lugged(使劲拉)my heavy groceries back to the house. I walked to church and I barely got to go to places farther than a twenty-mile radius from my house since I did not own a car then, and I considered renting a car and riding a taxi such an expense for a starting single mother like I was at that time.

我住在美国塞班，在那里只有游客公交和学生公交这种公共交通工具。你不得不拥有自己的私家车或者自行车，或者租一辆汽车，或者付费搭乘的士从一个地方到另一个地方，否则你就只能每天走去工作，太阳当空，大汗淋漓。当我刚来这里的时候，去哪儿我都步行，我步行上下班，步行去商店，然后徒步拖着大包小包的东西回家。我步行去教堂，由于没有小汽车，而且租辆小车或者打的对于当时我这样一个年轻的单身妈妈来说是笔不小的开支，所以我很少去离家超过20英里远的地方。

For me, public transportation is very important because of the following reasons:

1. It saves money.

According to research done by the American Public Transportation Association(美国公交协会), individuals can save up to $9,515 annually by parking their cars at home and using public transportation instead. In this economy, saving money has become a main concern in most households. With the rising prices of fuel and other vehicle-related expenses, doing the public commute(通勤) to work and school certainly saves money.

于我而言，公共交通非常重要，主要是因为以下几个原因：

1.节约开支

根据美国公共交通协会的一项研究，如果把车停在家里而使用公共交通工具，每个人每年可以节省9515美元。在如今的经济形势下，如何攒钱已成为大部分家庭关注的主要问题。随着油费的不断上涨和其他与车辆相关的开销日益增大，使用公共交通上下班和去学校毫无疑问能节省很多钱。

2. It helps the environment.

When you switch from driving your car to taking public transport, you are reducing your carbon footprint(碳足迹;碳排放量)and making a great step forward in saving the environment. The environmental costs of individuals using their cars every day have done massive damage to the environment and if the majority or all individuals like you and me use public transport instead, think of what good we could do for the environment.

2.有利于环境

当放弃开小车而改乘公共交通工具时，你正在减少二氧化碳的排放量并为拯救地球环境而贡献自己的力量。开私家车出行对环境造成极大的破坏，如果大多数人都能像你我这样使用公共交通工具的话，那么我们的环境就会好多了。

3. It will wean(使戒除)us out of energy dependence.

According to a paper made by Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue and Dr. Claude Comtois, transportation accounts for(占比例;解释)approximately 25% of world energy demand and for more than 62% of all the oil used each year. Ninety-five percent of transportation is almost completely reliant upon petroleum products with the exception of railways using electrical power. While the use of petroleum for other economic sectors, such as industrial and electricity generation, has remained relatively stable, the growth in oil demand is mainly attributed to the growth in transportation demand.

3.逐步减少对能源的依赖

根据Jean.Paul Rodrigue和claude comtois博士所写的一篇文章，交通所耗费的能源大概占世界能源需求的25%，每年的耗油量超过62%。除了铁路使用电力外，95%的交通基本上完全依赖于石油产品。而其他使用石油的经济领域，诸如工业和电力行业都保持相对稳定，石油的需求日益增加主要归因于交通需求的增长。

When we strengthen our public transportation services, we are consequently lessening this oil demand and dependence. It will also motivate us to consider alternative energy and fuel resources.

当我们加强公共交通服务时，相应地也在减少对石油的需求和依赖，这同时也激励我们考虑可替代的能源和燃料资源。

4. It provides ease and convenience.

Having public transportation definitely eases some of the burdens of people who do not have cars or prefer not to own one. They are provided with choices to use public transport. Public transportation also provides valuable services not just to local inhabitants in the area but to tourists as well. When a tourist visits a place, which does not have public transportation, their choices are limited and the experience they get is limited, too.

4.为人们提供舒适感和便利

使用公共交通毫无疑问会减轻那些没有车或者不打算买车的人们的压力。他们可以选择使用公共交通工具。公共交通不仅为当地的居民而且也为游客提供服务。当游客来访一个没有公共交通工具的地方，他们的选择就会受限，他们的旅游经历也会受到相应的限制。

All in all, public transportation improves our way of life, strengthens the community, provides new jobs for the public and gives us a cleaner environment.

总而言之，公共交通改善我们的生活，加强社区之间的联系，为公众提供新工作，并且还给予我们一个更加清洁美好的环境。