Biking to Work
HOST:
More Americans than ever are riding their bicycles to work instead of driving. They are doing this because of gas prices, a slowing economy and concerns about the environment. Faith Lapidus tells us more. 现在更多的美国人骑车上班而不是开车。他们这样做是因为汽油价格，经济低迷还有对环境的关心。Faith Lapidus为我们报道。
FAITH LAPIDUS:
Many Americans have been leaving their cars at home and riding to work on bicycles. Andy Clark is the executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. His group supports bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation. 很多美国人把车留在家里骑自行车上班。Andy Clark 是美国自行车协会的执行理事。他的组织支持用自行车进行娱乐，保持健康，和用来交通。
Mister Clark says this is good news for the environment. He says riding a bicycle to work does not burn fossil fuel or create dangerous pollutants. Experts say the effects are the most important on short trips. The Department of Transportation says fifty percent of Americans drive eight kilometers or fewer to work. Shorter car trips release more pollution into the air for each kilometer driven. This is because the device in a car engine that reduces the harmfulness of emissions needs to warm up before it can work well.
Clark says 说这对环境来说是好消息。他说骑车不燃烧矿石燃料不会产生污染。专家说这种效果对短途旅行最重要。交通部说百分之五十的美国人驾驶八公里以下去上班。越短的驾程会产生越多的单位公里空气污染。这是因为产生污染的汽车装置在完全启动之前需要预热。
Members of Congress have supported bicycling as environmentally friendly transportation. For example, Minnesota Representative James Oberstar is a strong supporter of bicycle use. He says cities, counties, state governments and state highway transportation agencies are planning the roadways of the future. They are creating roads and paths for bicycles in cities and between communities. 国会议员们曾支持自行车作为环保交通工具。例如，明尼苏达州参议员James Oberstar 是一个强烈支持使用自行车的人。他说城市，乡村州政府和州公路运输部门正在计划未来的车道。他们正在设计供自行车使用的城市间和乡村间的道路。
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Andrew Land riding his bicycle to work in Portland, Oregon | | |
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Last year, the Pacific Northwest city of Portland, Oregon, had the highest percentage of bicycle commuters in the United States. Portland has been doing progressive city planning for many years to create special paths for bike riders. 去年西北太平洋地区的俄勒冈州的波特兰市，拥有美国最多的自行车通勤者。波特兰很多年来一直积极致力于为自行车修建特别车道。
Andrew Land is one of Portland's citizens who bikes to work every day. Mister Land is thirty-three years old and has never owned a car. He has biked to work for twelve years. Before moving to Portland six years ago, he lived in Washington, D.C. But he was hit by a car twice while biking to work there. That has not happened in Portland where there are special roads for bicycles. Mister Land bought a house near these special bike lanes. He rides almost five kilometers to work each day. He also uses the sixty-four kilometer bike path around the city.
Andrew Land 是多年骑车上班的波特兰市民。Andrew Land 今年33岁，从来没买过汽车。他骑车上班已经12年。在他六年前搬到波特兰以前，他住在华盛顿。他在华盛顿骑车上班时曾两次被汽车撞到。在有自行车专用道的波特兰这种事不会 发生。他在靠近自行车道的地方买了房子。他每天骑车近五公里上班，他也使用环绕城市的64 公里的自行车道。
Andrew Land rides a cyclocross bike. He says it combines the best parts of a racing bike and a mountain bike. You might say that Andrew Land is "into bikes." He recently attended a show of handmade bicycle frames. It was organized by thirty bicycle frame builders in Portland. And he attended a legal rights workshop for bicyclists.
Andrew Land 骑一辆越野车。他说这辆车集合了赛车和山地车的优点。你可以说Andrew Land 是个自行车迷。他最近参加了一个手工自行车架展览。它由30个波特兰的自行车架制造商组织。他也参加了一个自行车骑手的法定权利的讲习班。
(Andrew Land MUSIC
Vegetarians in the U.S.
HOST:
Our listener question this week comes from India. K. Jameel Ahmed wants to know about vegetarians in the United States. To answer this question, we first have to describe several ways Americans define a vegetarian diet.
这星期我们的听众问题来自印度。K. Jameel Ahmed 想知道有关美国素食者的事情。要回答这个问题，我们先要描述一下美国人是怎样定义素食者的。
Some vegetarians do not eat any meat products or any food made from animal labor, including milk products, eggs and honey. This kind of diet is called a vegan diet. But most vegetarians include dairy products in their diet and many vegetarians eat eggs. Some people consider themselves partial vegetarians, because they do not eat meat or farm birds, but they do eat fish.一些素食者不吃任何肉制品或来自畜力的食品，包括奶制品，鸡蛋，蜂蜜。这种饮食被称作严格素食者。但是很多素食者食用鸡蛋和奶制品。一些人认为自己是部分素食者，因为他们不食用肉类和家禽，但他们吃鱼。
There are many reasons people choose to be vegetarian. Some religions such as Hinduism observe vegetarianism as part of an effort of nonviolence towards animals. Many other people have non-religious moral reasons for not eating meat. They believe that killing farm animals for food is immoral and cruel. 有很多原因是人们选择作素食者。一些宗教如印度教遵守素食主义，把素食作为不杀生的戒条。其他很多人不吃肉是因为非宗教的道德原因。他们相信杀死动物 并食用他们是不道德的也是残忍的。
Other vegetarians believe it is more healthful to eat a plant-based diet. The American Dietetic Association says that vegetarians often have lower cholesterol and blood pressure as well as lower rates of some kinds of cancer and diabetes.其他素食者认为食用亿植物为主的素食更健康。美国营养学会说，素食者一般胆固醇和血压较低，癌症和糖尿病患病率也较低。
And some vegetarians reject eating meat for environmental reasons. Some studies show that the industry of raising large farm animals leads to water and air pollution, land damage and climate change.一些素食者反对吃肉出于环保原因。一些研究显示大规模家畜养殖导致水和空气污染，土地污染和气候改变。
The Vegetarian Resource Group in Baltimore, Maryland did a study in two thousand six on the number of vegetarians in the United States. About two point three percent of the adults they questioned said they were vegetarians. Six point seven percent said that they never eat meat. This was a small study, so its results may not be very exact. But earlier studies have also found that about two percent of Americans say they are vegetarians. 马里兰州巴尔第麽素食资源团体2006就美国的素食者数量做了一项研究。大约百分之二点三的被调查者说他们是素食者。百分之六点七的人说他们不吃肉。这是个小规模调查，所以结果不一定准确。但前些时候的调查也发现大约百分之二的美国人说他们是素食者。
However, the American Dietetic Association says interest in vegetarianism is increasing. Organizations like the Vegetarian Resource Group and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals give advice on how to become a vegetarian on their Web sites. PETA also tells how to prepare meat-free food. And it lists messages from famous vegetarians including the actress Alicia Silverstone and the singer Moby.然而，美国营养学会称对素食的兴趣正在增长。一些组织如素食资源团体和善待动物组织在他们的网站上教人们怎么成为素食者。善待动物组织也教人们怎样做非肉类食物。他们也提供一些有名的素食者的信息，比如女演员Alicia Silverstone 和歌手Moby.。
Food writer Michael Pollan has a more moderate suggestion than total vegetarianism. He says Americans should eat like people did several generations ago. He says they should eat small amounts of natural, well-grown foods that are mostly plants. 食品作家Michael Pollan 有更温和的素食建议。他说人们应该像几代人之前那样吃东西。他说人们应该吃少量的自然生长的，植物为主的食物。
(MUSIC)
Darius Rucker
HOST:
Singer Darius Rucker recently released his first country album, "Learn to Live." You might recognize his voice. Rucker is also the lead singer of the popular band Hootie and the Blowfish. Darius Rucker has taken time off from the band to make his own records. Critics are praising his energetic country sound. And one of the songs on the album has made history. Shirley Griffith tells us more.
(MUSIC)
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:
That was the song "Don't Think I Don't Think About It." It is the first number one country music hit by an African American artist in about twenty-five years.
Darius Rucker said it was not difficult to make country music after years of writing rock songs. He said Hootie and the Blowfish had always been influenced by country music. He grew up listening to country music in his native South Carolina.
Rucker also said that he did not want to write country songs about drinking alcohol and chasing women. He said he is forty-two years old and his songs are about a man thinking about his life, his relationships, his children and his goals.
Here is the song "While I Still Got the Time."
(MUSIC)
Darius Rucker recently finished a performance tour around the United States. He will travel again this winter to play music from his new album. We leave you with the sharp humor of "All I Want."
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