Riding Along in My Automobile 百年老車的奇幻旅程 Driving around the world in a Model T is harder than it looks. 乘坐福特 T 型車環遊世界比看起來還困難。
照片來源：Wolfilser / Shutterstock.com
Dirk Regter and his wife like adventure. One day, they decided to drive Regter’s car, a 1919 Model T, around the world and collect money for charity. The Dutch couple started their trip in 2012, and they first went from the Netherlands to South Africa in 180 days. Even though they drove a car that is almost 100 years old, there was no trouble. In 2013, Regter and his wife visited North America. For 180 days, they covered 22 states and 17,000 miles. In the US, however, they got a flat tire and broken alternator▼. The third leg of their trip was through South America. There, Regter and his wife drove 16,000 miles over 180 days. After the Americas, they decided to go back to Europe. Sadly, their Model T got destroyed in an accident. Luckily for Regter and his wife, they were not hurt, but their trusty Model T had a lot of damage. They are still trying to raise money to fix their car so they can continue their journey around the world to Australia and New Zealand and then back to the Netherlands.
照片來源：Keith Bell / Shutterstock.com
德克•雷特和他的妻子喜歡冒險。有一天，他們決定駕駛雷特的車 ── 1919 年款福特 T 型車 ── 環球世界和為慈善機構募款。這對荷蘭夫婦在 2012 年展開他們的旅程，一開始於一百八十天內從荷蘭前往南非。即使他們駕駛將近一百年的車，也沒有問題。2013 年，雷特和他的妻子造訪北美洲。一百八十天裡，他們走遍二十二州和一萬七千英里。然而，他們在美國時發生車子爆胎和發電機損壞的情形。 他們的第三段旅程是到南美洲。在那裡，雷特和他的妻子在一百八十多天開了一萬六千英里。走遍美洲後，他們決定回到歐洲。不幸地，他們的福特 T 型車在一場事故中被毀壞了。雷特和他的妻子很幸運，他們沒有受傷，但是他們可靠的福特 T 型車有多處損壞。他們仍試著募款來修他們的車以便能前往澳洲和紐西蘭然後回到荷蘭，繼續他們環遊世界的旅程。
automobile n. 汽車 Do you know when the first automobile was made? 你知道第一輛汽車是什麼時候製造的嗎？
couple n. 夫婦 After the fight, the couple finally made peace. 吵完架後，這對夫婦終於言歸於好。
even though... 即使／雖然…… Even though I was wrong, you shouldn't talk down to me like that. 雖然我錯了，但你不該用那種高姿態的口氣跟我說話。
cover vt. 行過（一段路程） The marathon runner covered 30 kilometers in less than two hours. 這位馬拉松跑者不到兩小時便跑完三十公里。
get a flat tire （車子）爆胎 When I got a flat tire on the highway this morning, a kind man stopped to help me replace it. 今早我的車子在公路上爆胎時，有位好心的男士停下來幫我換輪胎。
accident n. 事故 A series of strange accidents took place in this small town. 這個小鎮裡發生了一連串的奇怪事故。
trusty a. 可靠的 I'm glad I brought my trusty Swiss Army knife. 我很高興我把我那可靠的瑞士軍刀帶來了。
damage n. 損壞 The tornado caused serious damage to the football field. 這場龍捲風對該足球場造成嚴重的損壞。
▼ alternator n. 交流發電機
名詞 leg 的相關用法 本文 "The third leg of their trip was through South America." 中的 leg 表『（旅程或賽程的）一段』，而較常見的意思是『腿』，相關片語有 cost sb an arm and a leg（花某人一大筆錢）和 pull sb's leg（開某人的玩笑）。例︰
This sports car cost David an arm and a leg. （這部跑車花了大衛一大筆錢。）
Grandpa was just pulling your leg when he said that the soup was made from horse meat. （祖父說那碗湯是由馬肉熬成的，其實是開你玩笑。）
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