Dialogue - Traffic jams 交通堵塞

dì liù shí kè jiāo tōng dǔ sè
第六十课 交通堵塞
Lesson Sixty Traffic jams

The number of cars on Beijing's roads recently hit a staggering 4 million. As a result, it has become a real nightmare for those who have to drive across the capital city during the rush hours. Of course, one does not often have to take a car. The subway system in Beijing is efficient, and you can always enjoy a bike ride on sunny days.

 lì li: nà na dǎ diàn huà lái shuō, tā jīn tiān yào wǎn yī diǎnr dào.
丽丽：娜娜打电话来说，她今天要晚一点儿到。
Lili: Nana phoned to say that she will be a little late today.

mài kè: tā zěn me le?
麦克：她怎么了？
Mike: What's the matter?

lì li: tā chéng zuò de gōng jiāo chē bèi dǔ zài bàn lù shàng le.
丽丽：她乘坐的公交车被堵在半路上了。
Lili: The bus she took is stuck in traffic.

mài kè: tài zāo gāo le! zhè jĭ tiān zǎo shàng dǔ chē tè bié yán zhòng.
麦克：太糟糕了！这几天早上堵车特别严重。
Mike: That's terrible! The traffic is really bad in the morning these days.

lì li: shì a. yīn wéi shàng zhōu mò gāng gāng xià guò yī chǎng xuě, sī jī men dōu fàng huǎn le xíng chē sù dù yǐ fáng dǎ huá.
丽丽：是啊。因为上周末刚刚下过一场雪，司机们都放缓了行车速度以防打滑。
Lili: Yeah. Because it snowed last weekend, motorists are now driving at a lower speed than usual to avoid skid accidents.

mài kè: què shí shì zhè yàng. zuì jìn jiāo tōng shì gù pín fā, wǒ kāi chē de shí hòu yě xiǎo xīn yì yì de.
麦克：确实是这样。最近交通事故频发，我开车的时候也小心翼翼的。
Mike: Indeed. Quite a few traffic accidents have recently taken place. I have to be more careful when driving.

lì li: yī dàn fā shēng le shì gù, shì gù chē liàng tíng zài lù shàng, jiù huì zǔ ài jiāo tōng.
丽丽：一旦发生了事故，事故车辆停在路上，就会阻碍交通。
Lili: Once there's a car accident, the vehicles involved will probably stop on the road and block traffic.

mài kè: méi cuò. yīn wéi shì gù ér yǐn qǐ de jiāo tōng dǔ sè, wǒ zhè ge yuè dōu yù dào liǎng huí la.
麦克：没错。因为事故而引起的交通堵塞，我这个月都遇到两回啦。
Mike: Yeah. This month I've been caught in two traffic jams caused by car accidents.

lì li: nǐ yù dào jiāo tōng dǔ sè de shí hòu yī bān huì zuò shén me?
丽丽：你遇到交通堵塞的时候一般会做什么？
Lili: What do you usually do when you are stuck in traffic?

mài kè: wǒ huì tīng tīng guǎng bō dǎ fā shí jiān. yǒu shí hòu jiāo tōng tái de zhǔ chí rén huì zhǐ dǎo tīng zhòng zěn yàng gǎi biàn lù xiàn néng gèng jié shěng shí jiān.
麦克：我会听听广播打发时间。有时候交通台的主持人会指导听众怎样改变路线能更节省时间。
Mike: I listen to the radio to kill time. Sometimes the traffic radio host will tell the audience how to switch routes to save time.

lì li: wǒ tōng cháng zuò dì tiě shàng bān. suī rán xià le dì tiě hái yào zǒu shí fēn zhōng cái néng dào gōng sī, dàn qǐ mǎ bù huì yù dào dǔ chē.
丽丽：我通常坐地铁上班。虽然下了地铁还要走十分钟才能到公司，但起码不会遇到堵车。
Lili: I usually go to work by subway. It takes me another 10 minutes to walk to the office from the station, but at least there's no traffic jam.

mài kè: ér qiě zuò dì tiě bǐ jiào huán bǎo.
麦克：而且坐地铁比较环保。
Mike: And it's more environmentally friendly to travel by subway.

lì li: méi cuò. wǒ dǎ suàn děng dào tiān qì zhuǎn nuǎn jiù kāi shǐ qí zì xíng chē shàng bān. zhè yàng bù dàn gèng jiā huán bǎo, ér qiě zài yě bù yòng dān xīn dǔ chē wèn tí le.
丽丽：没错。我打算等到天气转暖就开始骑自行车上班。这样不但更加环保，而且再也不用担心堵车问题了。
Lili: That's true. I plan to go to work by bike when it turns warmer. Bike riding is even greener, and there's no need to worry about traffic jams.

New Words
生词

公交车 gōng jiāo chē: bus
打滑 dǎ huá: skid
交通事故 jiāo tōng shì gù: traffic accident
阻碍交通 zǔ ài jiāo tōng: block the traffic
听广播 tīng guǎng bō: listen to the radio
听众 tīng zhòng: audience
路线 lù xiàn: route
地铁 dì tiě: subway
环保 huán bǎo: environmentally friendly
自行车 zì xíng chē: bike