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This is my morning commute.
下面是我早上通勤的情况。
I get up, get ready, get in a car, drive to the train station, look for parking, get on a train for an hour and a half,
起床，收拾，上车，开车去火车站，找停车位，坐一个半小时火车，
arrive at Penn Station, get another train, walk five minutes, and start my work day.
到达宾州车站，再换乘另一列火车，下车走五分钟，然后开始我一天的工作。
Is this killing me?
这么长时间的通勤会要我的命吗？
Before you go and post that comment telling me to move closer,
在你准备在评论里告诉我搬家到离公司更近的地方之前，
you need to see that I'm not the only person doing this.
你要知道，并不是我一个人在这么做。
This is the train station I commute from.
这是我通勤的车站。
This place is huge and yet it's full almost every single day.
这个车站很大，但几乎每天都停得满满当当。
Just this past fall they had to rip out an entire section of trees to make more space for parking and it's still not always enough.
今年秋天他们还被迫砍掉了一批树，空出一整块地供大家停车，但有时车位还是不够。
According to US census data, the average American commute is nearly 30 minutes one way, a number that's been on the rise for the last few decades.
美国民调数据显示，平均每个美国人通勤单程就需要30分钟左右，过去几十年来这一数字还在一直上涨。
In general, people are choosing to commute further and farther than ever before.
一般而言，相比以前，现在人们通勤的时间越来越长了。
And those long grueling hours in cars, on trains, or buses can take a toll on a person's health.
然而，在汽车、火车、巴士里度过的这些漫长而劳累的时间还会对我们的健康造成重大的影响，
especially when we all hate it so very, very, much.
尤其是我们都对通勤恨之入骨的时候。
If you commute or you've been on the internet at all, you've seen the articles and maybe you've read the studies.
只要你有同样的经历或者上过网，你肯定也看过那些这方面的文章甚至是相关的学术研究。
Commuting has been linked to higher rates of obesity, stress, anxiety, depression, higher blood pressure,
这些文章或研究称，通勤可能引起肥胖、压力、焦虑、压抑，高血压，
higher rates of divorce, neck and back problems, shorter lifespans,
离婚、颈椎等问题，还会缩短人的寿命，
and you get the point: commuting long distances just isn't good for you.
好了，意思就是：远距离通勤有害无益。
But a lot of it comes down to how you do it.
但这些风险都取决于你通勤的具体方式。
For example a Canadian study of commuters in Montreal found that people who walk, bike, or hop on a train
加拿大针对蒙特利尔人通勤情况的研究表明，走路、骑自行车或者直接坐火车的人
had a higher life satisfaction than those with comparable commute times on other types of transit.
比那些耗费同等时间但选择了其他交通方式的人的生活满意度更高。
In another study, British researchers found that people who drive to work instead of using public transportation are more likely to be obese.
在另一项研究中，英国学者也发现，开车去上班的人比选择公共交通的人更容易肥胖。
Sitting in a car all day really adds the negative effects of an inactive lifestyle.
整天坐在车里会给原本就缺乏运动的生活方式带来更多负面的影响。
You're sitting for hours on end and when all is said and done it's really hard to find the time or the motivation to exercise.
这样下来，你要连着坐好几个小时，一切工作都完成之后你已经很难有时间或者动力去锻炼了。
And that's not all.
这还没完。
Research has shown that driving alone in particular can make you more miserable.
研究还显示，独自开车会让你更加痛苦。
You're alone with your thoughts for hours, often in frustrating situations,
好几个小时你都被困在自己的想法，通常还是令人沮丧的处境里，
so it's not really surprising that this is the disaster for both your mental and physical health.
所以，长时间独自开车会影响你的生理及身心的双重健康也就不奇怪了。
Yet according to a 2010 report, this is exactly how 80% of Americans commute to work every single day.
然而，根据2010年的一项报告，这就是80%的美国人每天通勤的情况。
Now by comparison, those who take public transportation are slightly healthier and slightly more satisfied with life.
相比之下，选择了公共交通的人反而会健康一点，生活满意度也会高一点。
Yet we tend to be more negative about our experience overall.
但总体来看，我们对这种经历都倾向于持消极态度。
Public transit commuters often resent the timetables.
时间表通常是公共交通通勤的一个难题。
If I don't leave work at 6 o'clock on the dot, I won't catch the 6:21.
比如，我要是不在6点整就走，我就会错过6:21的火车，
if I don't catch the 6:21 I have to get on the 6:53,
错过了6:21的火车，我就得等到6:53，
and that's the difference between me getting home at 8:00 p.m. and me getting home at 8:45.
结果就是晚上8点到家和8:45到家的区别。
Throw in things like transfers, delays, cancellations, and you have a really solid foundation for a very stressful, very annoying commute.
除此之外还有换乘、晚点、车次被取消等等等等问题，不管怎样，你都会遇到让你的通勤变得非常紧张、非常讨厌的问题。
Basically none of this is looking good for my mortality. Then why do so many of us do it?
大体而言，这些问题对我短暂的一生都不是什么好事，那为什么还有那么多人选择这种通勤方式呢？
Commuting has been viewed as a source of stress, but in fact it gives people a break.
通勤被视为压力的症结所在，但事实上，通勤反而能给人们提供放松的机会。
It's sometimes the only hour of the day that individuals have alone, to be by themselves to think, to listen to music.
有时，通勤是唯一一段我们能够独处，能够独自思考或是听听音乐的时间。
Meaning my commute isn't technically dead space in my day.
也就是说，严格意义上讲，通勤并不是我这一天的一个工作死区。
I catch up on reading, I listen to podcasts,
我可以看会儿书，听会儿广播，
I take advantage of the alone time, but I can also get work done when I need to.
我会好好利用这段独处的时间，但有需要的时候我也可以在车上做我的工作。
The change in communications has made commuting an extension of the workday or an opportunity for the individual to do things they couldn't otherwise do.
交流方式的进步也让通勤成了工作时间的延续，或者让大家能够做些在其他其他时候做不了的事情。
It's not just a way to go from point A to point B.
而不仅仅是从A点到B点的一个过程。
In other cases ,where people live in the gig economy,
除此之外，对生活在零工经济时代的人来说，
having a home that is accessible to transportation is far more important than having a home which is next to your workplace.
把家安在交通方便的位置远比把家安在公司附近重要得多。
If you're not gonna have a lifetime job let's have a lifetime home.
如果你要找一个终身的职位，那就找一个终身的家。
So is my commute actually killing me?
所以，这么长时间的通勤会要我的命吗？
Well it's certainly not the best way to spend so much of my time and it is exhausting, but you can make the most of it.
嗯……这肯定不是我度过这么长时间的最好方式，还那么累人，但你还是可以让这段时间发挥最大的价值。
And there's something to be said about coming home at the end of it all
而且，不管怎么样，这样你也还是能够到家的。
