核心畫面

You can picture a small truck doing its round: the same road every day, one short stop after another, back at the same time each morning. Two things come out of that picture — it stops a lot, so it is slow; and it repeats, so whoever drives it stops having to think.

可以想成一台每天跑同一條路線的車:時間固定、路線固定,一家停一下、再一家停一下,早上出門,中午前回來。(這只是幫助記更多收起可以想成一台每天跑同一條路線的車:時間固定、路線固定,一家停一下、再一家停一下,早上出門,中午前回來。(這只是幫助記憶的畫面,不是在說這個詞的來歷。)從這個畫面會長出兩件事:一是它停很多站,所以慢;二是它天天重複,所以跑的人愈跑愈熟,最後不用動腦。英文的三個用法,各自抓住了其中一邊。

Two branches

一站一站停的路線

這一支抓的是畫面裡「停很多站」那一半:路線排好、停靠點固定,所以一趟要很久。

noun · B2

A train trip or a regular plane flight that stops at many places along the way, so it takes much longer than a direct one.

站站停的班次

跑到熟透的例行路程

這一支抓的是畫面裡「天天重複」那一半:同一條路走久了就沒有難度可言。

noun · B2

A journey that you make so often that it feels easy and familiar, with nothing new or difficult about it.

熟門熟路的例行路程