It is not your imagination.
这不是你的想象。
Traffic in the U. S. is actually getting worse.
美国的交通状况确实正在恶化。
Americans drove more miles last year than any other year on record.
美国人去年的驾车里程比以往所记载的任何一年都要多。
The U. S. Department of Transportation says Americans drove nearly 3,150 billion miles last year.
美国交通部表示,美国人去年驾驶里程几乎达到了近3.15万亿英里。
That's about the same distance as 337 round trips from Earth to Pluto.
这相当于从地球到冥王星往返337次的距离。
The previous record was 3,003 billion miles in 2007 before the economic recession in high gas prices.
在高油价的经济衰退之前,美国人驾驶里程最高记录是2007年的3.003万亿英里。
The traffic increase comes at the same time as gas crisis drop significantly,
随着油价大幅下跌,交通量随之增长。
the current average gas price in U. S. is 1.77$ per gallon.
美国目前的平均油价是每加仑1.77美元。
A year ago, it was 2.31$ per gallon, it was often much higher in recent years.
一年前,价格是每加仑2.31美元,前些年油价普遍较高。
A transportation expert told the report the job growth likely plays a part as well,
一位交通专家对记者说,就业增长可能也起到了一定作用,
along with some people driving longer distances to and from work.
有些人上下班的距离比较远。
And so all this means more traffic jams on the road.
所有这些都导致了严重的交通拥堵。
The taxes A&M travel institute found rush-hour travellers spent extra 42 hours on the road lasts year because of travel delays.
德州农工大学旅游学院发现,去年,因为交通延误,乘客在高峰时段,在路上多花费了42小时。
Now that is depressing.
现在这种情形令人沮丧。
Questions 3 to 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.
请根据你刚刚听到的新闻报道回答问题3和问题4。
Question 3. What new record did the American driver set last year?
问题3: 美国司机们去年创下了哪项新纪录?
Question 4. What is depressing according to the speaker?
问题4: 根据说话者所说,什么事情令人沮丧?