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Benjamin: Excuse me, what’s the screen near your steering wheel for?
Taxi driver: It’s a portable TV. It’s a popular thing now.
Benjamin: Oh, that’s new to me. So what’s on everyday?
Taxi driver: News about current affairs, documentaries, music, movies, noncommercial ads and so on.
Benjamin: Is there anything interesting?
Taxi driver: Yes, there are something good and informative. I think that many people underestimate the value of TV in education.
Benjamin: I agree. Are there any commercials on the TV?
Taxi driver: Of course. Because the TV stations need to make money from commercials between the programs.
Benjamin: That makes a lot of sense. Does the TV work well?
Taxi driver: Not always. It depends on the transmission of the satellite signals.
Benjamin: I got it. Do you pay for the programs?
Taxi driver: Yes, 50 Yuan per month.
Benjamin: It is a little bit expensive, but it’s worth it.
Taxi driver: Yeah. You know driving is boring. TV can get me out of the fatigue of driving.
Benjamin: It can also entertain your passengers like me.
Taxi driver: That’s the point.
聽看學
本杰明：不好意思，請問一下，你方向盤旁邊的那個屏幕是干什么的啊?
出租車司機：這是個移動電視，現在非常流行。
本杰明：對我來說這真是個新鮮事物。那每天這上面都在播放什么節目呢?
出租車司機：實事新聞、紀錄片、音樂、電影和公益廣告等等。
本杰明：有有趣的節目嗎?
出租車司機：有啊，這上面有些東西非常好，而且信息量也非常大。我認為很多人都低估了電視在教育方面的價值。
本杰明：我同意。那這種電視上有商業廣告嗎?
出租車司機：當然有啊。因為電視臺需要從節目中間插播的廣告賺取利潤。
本杰明：似乎是這樣。那這個電視運作得正常嗎?
出租車司機：不是一直都好。這取決于衛星信號傳輸的好壞。
本杰明：我懂了。那你需要付費嗎?
出租車司機：要付費的。一個月50塊錢。
本杰明：費用有點貴，但是卻很值。
出租車司機：是啊，你知道，駕駛是非常乏味的。電視可以解除我開車的疲勞。
本杰明：而且它還能給像我一樣的乘客帶來快樂。
出租車司機：你說對了。
Recitation 經典背誦
Benjamin: I found that there was a small screen near the taxi driver’s steering wheel. The taxi driver told me that was a portable TV. And news about current affairs, documentaries, music, movies, noncommercial ads were shown on it. Also he had to pay 50 Yuan per month for the programs.
生詞小結
steering wheel 方向盤
portable adj. 輕便的
current adj. 目前的
informative adj. 提供豐富資料的
commercial n. 商業廣告
transmission n. 傳輸
satellite n. 衛星
fatigue n. 疲倦，疲勞
entertain vt. 娛樂
語素 Material
NYC Taxi Cabs
Taxi cabs are both loved and hated by New Yorkers. They serve as a quick and easy means of transportation across Manhattan, a route not amply served by the subways. The downside with having an abundance of cabs is the traffic that results. Most traffic-jams in mid-town are speckled with many of the 12,o53 yellow cabs that serve the city.
紐約的出租車
對于出租車，紐約的市民是又愛又恨。出租車在曼哈頓是一種快捷的交通工具，在這一地區地鐵不是很普遍。而大量的出租車的弊端就是導致交通問題。在市中心，大部分交通堵塞都是因為服務城市的12053輛黃色出租車部分擁堵在一起造成的。
Taxi Fares in New York
Cabs are cash only and it’s a good idea to have small bills because the cabbies can’t usually break anything higher than $20. While cabs are relatively expensive for a single person, it can actually be a bargain with 3 or more riders. The rates for taxicabs are as follows:
Initial fare: $2.00
Each 1/5 mile (4 blocks): $0.30
Each 1 minute idle: $0.20
Night surcharge: $0.50(after 8 p.m. until 6 a.m.)
Additional riders: FREE
紐約出租車費
打出租車需要付現金。因為出租車司機通常無法換開多于20美金的錢，所以說隨身準備零鈔是必要的。但是對于個人來說，打出租車比較貴，與其他三個或是更多的人一起搭乘一輛車比較合算。費用如下：
起步費：2.00美元
每0.2英里(4個街區)：0.30美元
每等待一分鐘：0.20美元
晚上行車要加收：0.50美元(晚上8點到第二天早上6點)
其他的乘客：免費
