[ti:The Many Kinds of Roads] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:01.20]This week, we answer a question from a reader [00:05.32]about the many words used for different kinds of roads. [00:10.84]Here’s the question: [00:13.08]What are the differences between avenues, roads, streets, [00:18.84]lanes, drives, ways, trails, boulevards and highways? [00:27.64]Well, that is a good question and one [00:31.24]that even some native speakers wonder about. [00:35.24]Let’s talk first about roads. [00:39.36]A road is a long piece of hard ground [00:43.08]built between two places so people can walk, [00:47.04]drive or ride easily from one place to the other. [00:53.40]Roads can be paved or even made of dirt or stone. [00:59.32]Roads exist in cities, towns and rural areas. [01:05.04]They can be large or small. [01:07.80]The word “road” is the most general of today’s terms [01:11.96]and is sometimes used in place of “street” [01:16.32]or “highway” or other related words. [01:21.40]A street is a public road in a city or town [01:25.80]that has buildings on one or both sides of it. [01:30.56]Sometimes, we use the word “street” for many kinds of roads. [01:36.60]Streets often run across avenues, which are wider streets. [01:43.72]Let’s take the borough of Manhattan in New York City. [01:48.56]It has more than two-hundred numbered streets [01:52.96]that run east to west. [01:56.04]42nd Street is one example. [01:59.88]Manhattan also has 12 numbered avenues [02:04.68]that run north to south. [02:08.08]An example is 5th avenue. [02:11.92]An avenue is a very wide street, usually inside a city. [02:18.68]In Manhattan, most avenues are around 30 meters wide [02:24.60]while the streets are narrower. [02:28.40]Now, let’s talk about smaller streets: lanes and ways. [02:35.08]A way is a small side street [02:38.28]that is connected to a larger street. [02:42.28]And a lane is a very narrow street or path. [02:48.00]Ways and lanes are often found in residential areas. [02:54.60]A boulevard is a wide and usually important city street [02:59.92]that often has trees, grass, or flowers [03:04.84]planted down its center or along its sides. [03:11.16]“Drive” is used in the name of some public roads. [03:17.52]Drives may be big or small. [03:21.68]In Manhattan, for example, there is FDR Drive – a six-lane highway. [03:29.88]Highways are paved main roads that have several lanes [03:35.00]for traffic and connect cities, towns and other areas. [03:41.84]Vehicles on highways drive at higher speeds [03:46.32]than they do on other kinds of roads. [03:51.20]And finally, we have trails. [03:55.96]A trail is usually a rough path through a field or a forest. [04:03.32]Some trails are for people and animals to walk or ride on. [04:10.12]Others are for outdoor activities, like hiking and bicycling. [04:15.92]And that’s Ask a Teacher. [04:19.00]I’m Alice Bryant. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM