华尔街中级英语学习教程第1课：相遇Act4 (MP3和文本下载)

ROWLAND: This is Brighton Station. It's a busy station. Many passengers travel up to London every day from here. I'm going to talk to one or two of the passengers now. Let's talk to you first of all, please.

ROWLAND: Do you travel on the train very often?

SWISS WOMAN: Not very much. Only occasionally from where we live in the country to London.

ROWLAND: Where do you originally come from?

SWISS WOMAN: Switzerland.

ROWLAND: How do British trains compare with Swiss trains?

SWISS WOMAN: Well, the Swiss trains are very clean. On time. And always at the same hour. Each hour, which is very, very convenient. They're expensive but, so are they in England. Expensive.

ROWLAND: Are British trains getting better?

SWISS WOMAN: No. Worse.

ROWLAND: Oh dear.

ROWLAND: Here's a gentleman. Sir, where are you from?

AUSTRALIAN: Australia.

ROWLAND: What do you think of our rail service?

AUSTRALIAN: Um, seems fairly good. The trains seem reasonably clean and reasonably on time. So it's alright.

ROWLAND: How do they compare with Australian trains?

AUSTRALIAN: Er, a fair bit better I think.

ROWLAND: How have you found the British Rail staff?

AUSTRALIAN: Fairly friendly, yeah, most of the time.

ROWLAND: Splendid. Thank you very much.

ROWLAND: Madam, could I have a quick word? Where are you from?

DUTCH WOMAN: Oh, I live in England actually. I've lived here for eleven years. But I'm from Holland originally. So by comparison I think British Rail is just appalling.

ROWLAND: What's wrong with British Rail?

DUTCH WOMAN: It doesn't run on time. It breaks down half the time. You can't, you just can't rely on it. Trains are dirty.

ROWLAND: Have you experience of other railways around the world?

DUTCH WOMAN: France. Um, Holland. I think that's about it. I've travelled in Portugal a bit but not very much.

ROWLAND: And British Rail doesn't...?

DUTCH WOMAN: It doesn't compare favourably to any of those.

ROWLAND: And turning to you, do you think BR is doing quite a good job?

NORWEGIAN: I think so, yes. I don't come from this country. So, I'm just here for four weeks.

ROWLAND: Where are you from?

NORWEGIAN: Norway.

ROWLAND: And how does British Rail compare with Norwegian railways?

NORWEGIAN: I think it's pretty much the same.

ROWLAND: Do you think there's anything we can do to improve the railway service?

NORWEGIAN: I think they're quite dirty at times.

ROWLAND: Thank you very much. Thanks for your opinion.

ROWLAND: Sir, can I ask you how often do you travel on British Rail?

COMMUTER: Uh, well during the week I use it every day to go to work but not around here. I travel from Lewisham to the centre of London during the week, just...

ROWLAND: So you are a commuter?

COMMUTER: I suppose so, yes. A short distance commuter. Yes.

ROWLAND: How long does that journey take?

COMMUTER: About twenty minutes generally, yes.

ROWLAND: Do the trains normally run to time?

COMMUTER: They're normally fairly on time.

COMMUTER: But what annoys me most about that particular route and that particular service is that it is vastly overcrowded in the mornings. Um, it really is immensely overcrowded, and dangerously overcrowded.

ROWLAND: So can't you get a seat?

COMMUTER: Certainly not. Never, ever, in the morning can you get a seat from Lewisham into the centre of London.

ROWLAND: So how many people are standing in the carriages on this journey?

COMMUTER: As many as will squash in. And that's what's dangerous about it. In the light of what happened at Clapham Junction about two to three years ago. It really is appalling that that is allowed to continue.

ROWLAND: Thank you very much indeed. Thanks for talking to us.

ROWLAND: Sir, if I could just interrupt you for a second, you're reading your newspaper.

BRIGHTON COMMUTER: That's right

ROWLAND: Have you just come off the train?

BRIGHTON COMMUTER: I have, yes.

ROWLAND: And where was your journey?

BRIGHTON COMMUTER: Journey from Clapham Junction to Brighton where I live. I live here.

ROWLAND: Right. So that's from London to Brighton. Is that a journey you regularly make?

BRIGHTON COMMUTER: Yes, every day.

ROWLAND: Right. So you are a commuter?

BRIGHTON COMMUTER: I am indeed.

ROWLAND: How do you find the service?

BRIGHTON COMMUTER: Er, in the morning, good. In the evening, less good.

ROWLAND: What's wrong with the service in the evening?

BRIGHTON COMMUTER: Not always reliable, often late.

ROWLAND: How long does the journey take?

BRIGHTON COMMUTER: The journey to work takes me about an hour and fifteen minutes.

ROWLAND: Do you always get a seat on that journey?

BRIGHTON COMMUTER: Yes. I make sure I do.

ROWLAND: How, how do you do that?

BRIGHTON COMMUTER: Er, in the morning. Well in the morning, in Brighton you always get a seat anyway in the morning. In the evening I tend to cheat and sometimes sit in a first-class compartment when I shouldn't. But I do.

ROWLAND: Your secret's safe with me. And no names.

ROWLAND: Thank you very much indeed.

BRIGHTON COMMUTER: Thank you very much, thank you, good-bye.