Chances are you spend a lot of time waiting for or riding the bus, alongside dozens of strangers in often uncomfortably close quarters. Ever spent that time wondering about the lives of those fellow travelers or even whether you may be compatible with that handsome stranger or pretty passenger?
你或許常常需要花許多時(shí)間在擁擠的陌生人群中等公車，或者和一群陌生人擠公交。你是否會(huì)忍不住去猜測(cè)那些陌生乘客的生活，甚至是想象自己可以和這些俊男或美女有一段難忘的邂逅？其實(shí)真愛可能就在其中。
Now a new service, dating around the Third Ring Road, answers the question of romantic possibilities by offering passengers a friendly atmosphere in which to meet other singles over the course of three-hour journey, starting every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 pm at Gongzhufen.
現(xiàn)在一項(xiàng)名為“愛在三環(huán)”的全新服務(wù)正好可以制造這樣的浪漫邂逅，該交友班車每周二、四晚六點(diǎn)于公主墳站發(fā)車，在三個(gè)小時(shí)的車程中，活動(dòng)組織者為那些單身乘客營(yíng)造了一個(gè)很好的交友氛圍，這樣他們便可以結(jié)識(shí)其他的單身一族們。
The trip offers a relaxing space for busy office workers so they can make friends while efficiently using the service to commute home, the organizer Zhangpeng explained, saying they were inspired by seeing hundreds of people waiting to catch buses home in Guomao.
該活動(dòng)組織者張彭表示，交友公車之旅一方面為那些平日忙忙碌碌的上班族提供了一個(gè)放松的交友空間，另一方面也為他們提供了便捷的乘車方式，節(jié)省了時(shí)間。他稱該創(chuàng)意來自一群人在國(guó)貿(mào)扎堆等車的場(chǎng)景。
Zhang says that, with just over a month under their belt, they have still had trouble filling seats. the service had seen almost 100 passengers, four fifths of whom were female.
張彭回憶過去的一個(gè)月時(shí)間，他們?nèi)匀辉庥錾献瘦^低的尷尬。該活動(dòng)已接待了近百位乘客，其中五分之四是女性。
Nevertheless, Zhang says the general response has been skepticism.
但張彭也表示，人們對(duì)他們的舉動(dòng)普遍持懷疑態(tài)度。
Postgraduate student Hou Xiaosu, 24, is one of the doubters. "It's an interesting idea but I doubt if they will make money even after they've been operating for a while."
24歲的在校研究生侯曉蘇（音譯）提出質(zhì)疑說：“這是個(gè)有趣的想法，但我懷疑該活動(dòng)在運(yùn)行一段時(shí)間后，會(huì)不會(huì)變成商業(yè)性質(zhì)?！?/p>
"We will bear the cost [over 10,000 yuan a month] ourselves and stick to our free promise for at least one year," Zhang assured a magazine.
張彭在接受雜志專訪時(shí)表示：“我們會(huì)自掏腰包來承擔(dān)每月一萬(wàn)多元的開銷，我們堅(jiān)守?zé)o償服務(wù)這個(gè)承諾至少一年的時(shí)間?！?/p>
Zhang recommends making a reservation on their website, which has a timetable of all 39 stops on the route - just pick your stop and an SMS will warn you of the love bus's imminent arrival; while registering, gender should also be marked so the numbers of successfully reserved male and female passengers can be organized.
張彭建議到，該活動(dòng)可以進(jìn)行在線預(yù)約，網(wǎng)站上有行車時(shí)刻表，全程共設(shè)39個(gè)車站。你只需要選擇好你的車站，在交友公交將到時(shí)會(huì)有短信提示你。在注冊(cè)信息時(shí)會(huì)要求填寫性別，這樣一來，組織者便可以對(duì)那些成功預(yù)訂的單身男女進(jìn)行詳細(xì)安排。
There are also a few rules: girls are not allowed to sit next to each other. Passengers are issued with a "lollipop" they can use to show their interest or not as a new fellow boards the bus and makes his way down the aisle (a smiley face signals the green light). Declined men will then move on to the next girl, or if he totally fails, sit on his own.
該活動(dòng)有幾條規(guī)則：女生之間不能鄰座；當(dāng)有新乘客走過過道時(shí)，其他人可以用手中的“棒棒糖”牌子表達(dá)對(duì)方是否為自己的心動(dòng)對(duì)象（“微笑的臉”表示邀請(qǐng)對(duì)方坐在鄰座）。被拒絕的男生會(huì)走向下一個(gè)女生，如果沒有人選擇，他就只能獨(dú)自坐在一邊了。
Successful men will have to change seats every seven minutes while, at the instigation of former users, activities such as a winking game have been introduced, with prizes and forfeits. The current top prize is a woman's wedding veil, sponsored by a Suzhou couple who export wedding wear and wish to show support and encourage ladies to be proactive.
交友成功的男生每隔7分鐘左右會(huì)交換一次座位，好多過往參與者都紛紛獻(xiàn)計(jì)，表示中間可以穿插譬如眨眼游戲這樣的小活動(dòng)，并設(shè)置獎(jiǎng)品及懲罰辦法。目前一等獎(jiǎng)是一套婚紗，該獎(jiǎng)品由一對(duì)做婚紗出口生意的蘇州夫婦提供，旨在鼓勵(lì)女性積極參與。
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（來源：21世紀(jì)英語(yǔ) 編輯：Julie）
