纽约：乘地铁举止不佳或受罚

Putting Feet Up on Subway Seats Is Costly in New York

Lounging on the New York subway with feet up on the seats was costly to lazy riders fined by the city last year, police said.1

More than 7,000 riders on New York City subways were ticketed2 last year for putting feet on the seats or otherwise taking up too much space, under a law that makes bad manners a crime.

The offences, which ranged from putting a bag on a seat to blocking a door to stretching out for a nap, carry $50 fines, police said.3 In all, 7,373 riders were issued tickets in 2011 for being unable to confine themselves to4 a single seat. The law making such behavior illegal was passed seven years ago. While the crimes may seem benign, the New York Police Department said enforcement has made the subway safer.5

It is not unusual for police to find someone they have stopped for poor subway etiquette has an outstanding arrest warrant,6 said police spokesman Paul Browne.

“One of the reasons that crime in the subways has plummeted from almost 50 felony crimes a day in 1990 to only seven now is because the NYPD enforces violations large and small,”7 he said in an email.

Police often encounter “armed or wanted felons who were initially engaged in relatively minor offences, like putting their feet up, smoking, walking or riding between cars, or fare beating,” he said.8

1. lounge: 懒洋洋地站（坐、躺）着；fine: v. 对……处以罚款。

2. ticket: v. 给……开罚单。

3. offence: 违法行为，犯罪；stretch out:〈口〉躺下（睡觉或休息）；nap: 小睡，打盹。

4. confine to: 只限于……。

5. benign: 无危险的，良性的；enforcement: 强制执行。

6. etiquette: 礼仪，礼节；arrest warrant: 逮捕证。

7. plummet:（价值或数量）骤然跌落；felony: 〈律〉重罪；NYPD: =New York Police Department，纽约市警察局。

8.他说，警方经常遇到“持有武器或被通缉的重犯，他们最初犯的只是一些比较轻微的罪行，比如把脚跷起来，吸烟，在车厢之间走来走去或者骑车，还有逃票。” fare beating: 逃票。