BLANDING， Utah， May 22 ― The sky is still dark over the canyon（n. 峽谷） lands of southeastern Utah at 5：30 a.m.， but two dozen Navajo（n.納瓦霍人 美國最大的印第安部落） students are already preparing for school. Their bus driver， William Mustache， is circling his yellow rig， checking the running lights before setting out through the backcountry（窮鄉(xiāng)僻壤） dawn to fetch them.

　　Lasting nearly two hours， Mr. Mustache's route is one of the longest， dustiest， most ①bone-rattling school bus rides in the nation.

　　Bouncing its way along the washboard（n. 洗衣板） roads of the Navajo reservation and a two-lane blacktop（n.瀝青質(zhì)原料， 柏油路） north to Lyman Middle School and San Juan High School in Blanding， a 67-mile trip， Mr. Mustache's 24-seater rattles the students mercilessly and kicks up a dust cloud that showers them with a powder of red clay. Yet students and driver form a tight community aboard the bus， and speak of the discomforts with stoicism（禁欲主義；堅(jiān)忍，淡泊）。

　　“It lasts forever； it's boring，” said Chelsie Atene， an eighth grader who climbs aboard at Mr. Mustache's second stop. “But I'm with friends， and a lot of times it's fun.”Every morning 440，000 yellow buses carry 24 million American students to school. On nearly every bus， students squabble（為瑣事爭吵；口角） and flirt（vi.調(diào)情）。 They giggle， snigger and snooze.

　　But because school districts are closing down thousands of small country schools across the nation， experts say the bus rides taken by poor rural students like those on Mr. Mustache's route are getting longer and rougher.

　　The average one-way （adj.單程的）commuting time for American adults is less than 25 minutes. But Craig B. Howley， a professor at Ohio University， found in a 2001 five-state survey of elementary principals that it was common for rural children to spend 90 minutes on buses getting to school.

　　②“Apparently being rural and poor is sufficient justification， in practice， to impose long rides on some young children，” Dr. Howley wrote. In a recent interview， he said that many bus rides for rural children had grown more punishing since his report. Here in the San Juan district， which sprawls（爬行， 蔓生， 蔓延） across 8，000 square miles of southeastern Utah desert， bus rides have long been among the nation's longest， though the construction of several new high schools has helped.

　　But in some states， including Idaho， Kentucky， North Dakota and Ohio， the bus routes are getting longer. In West Virginia， where the authorities have closed hundreds of rural schools， long bus routes have become a political issue.

　　The West Virginia Legislature shelved（vt. 擱置（議案等）， 暫緩考慮） action this year on a bill limiting bus rides to 30 minutes for elementary school students and an hour for high school students. Long bus rides persuade many students to drop out， advocates for children say.

　　“Some of these kids endure rides that are just horrendous（adj.可怕的， 驚人的），” said Linda Martin， who leads a private group that lobbies（vt.對(duì)（議員等）進(jìn)行疏通活動(dòng)） to prevent school ③______.

　　That could describe Mr. Mustache's route， which begins on a windswept knoll （n. 小山丘）outside his house on the Navajo reservation. At 5：45 a.m. the other day， he released the parking brake and set out along a dirt track.

　　His teenage son， Watson， and daughter， Evangeline， climbed aboard outside their grandmother's house a quarter-mile away， looking sleepy. Chelsie and two other students boarded five minutes later.

　　Over the next half-hour， Mr. Mustache traversed the sandy， one-lane roads of an arid（adj.干旱的； 貧瘠的， 荒蕪的， 草木不生的） and largely treeless highland， where the horizon was broken only by windmills and telephone lines. At one stop， two girls wrapped in Navajo blankets seemed embarrassed by the presence of a photographer. “Don't take any pictures，” one said.

　　Minutes later， Mr. Mustache slowed the bus to allow 15 Herefords（n.赫里福種的食用牛） to cross.

　　After the last pickup in that sector， Mr. Mustache accelerated to 40 m.p.h.， and the bus became a deafening cacophony（n.刺耳的音調(diào)， 不協(xié)和音， 雜音） of rattles and squeaks， noisier than any subway car. Windows were closed but chattering， and a snowstorm of dust sifted（在…… 上撒 （胡椒等）） fine silt（粉土， 粉沙） onto every surface.

　　All the banging and shaking takes its toll on the district's 60 buses， said Jed Tate， the bus maintenance supervisor. Rivets（n. 鉚釘） tear out of the chassis（底盤， 底架， 底板）， light bulbs shatter， and dust chews through brake drums and seat covers.“I suppose it grinds（磨， 碾， 研； 磨碎） up the kids' clothes， too，” he said. Amid the din（n.噪音； 嘈雜聲， 喧鬧聲）， students remained largely silent. A couple of them bounced along in fitful slumber（n.睡眠； 微睡）。 But when Mr. Mustache wheeled the bus onto a blacktop reservation road， the ride grew smoother， the sun streamed over the Sleeping Ute mountains， and students began to chat.

　　Tyron Wells， a 17-year-old junior who boarded the bus with his hair brushed up with gel， sat sullen and quiet. But after Shymaine Miller， a dark-eyed ninth grader wearing blue capris， boarded the bus and took the seat immediately behind him， he became more animated.

　　She pulled out a mirror and applied eyeliner. She had difficulty clasping a bracelet（n. 手鐲） around her left wrist， so he reached over the seat to help her. Later she passed him a note and smiled. He read it and smiled back.

　　Three seats away， Danaman Begay， a 15-year-old sophomore， sat with his knees propped（vt.支撐， 維持） against the seat in front of him. He had boarded the bus outside a cluster of one-story homes where his grandparents and father， a heavy equipment operator， keep cattle and sheep as well as turkeys and geese.

　　Danaman rises at 5 a.m.， he said， and runs two miles through the darkness to a windmill， then returns home and washes up. He usually has time to play the piano for a few minutes， he said.

　　“The hardest thing about the bus ride is sitting still for so long，” Danaman said. It is also difficult for him， however， because the school is riven（vt.撕開， 劈開） with cliques（n.私黨， 小圈子， 派系， 閥） and his friends do not ride his bus. ④最近在公車上他和其他孩子打架了who were bullying（vt.威嚇， 威逼） a younger child.

　　Shortly after the bus crossed the San Juan River， it climbed steeply through a canyon and followed a long， slow rise across high desert. The sun was high in the sky， and to the east， the snowcapped peaks of the San Juan mountains glimmered in the distance.

　　Outside Blanding， the blacktop broadened to four lanes， and the roadside sage（鼠尾草） and tumbleweed（風(fēng)滾草） gave way to asphalt（n.瀝青； 柏油） parking lots and chain-link fences. The bus rolled past a store selling Indian jewelry， a Super 8 motel， a Mormon church， and up a slope to the rambling brick buildings of San Juan High School. Mr. Mustache parked next to the football field.

　　⑤Students _____ out， groaning. They _____ their legs， ______ dust from their clothes， and ______ for classes， which begin at 8 a.m.

　　At 3：30 p.m.， students gathered outside Mr. Mustache's bus for the ride home. Weariness prevailed. Even before the bus was out of town， half the students were asleep. Some cradled their heads in their arms. One boy lay on the seat， his feet splayed（vt.，vi.展開， 張開（手掌等）） in the aisle（n. 走廊，側(cè)廊）。 Watson， Mr. Mustache's son， was curled in a fetal position on a rear seat. Nobody was doing homework.

　　“A bus is just not a good environment for study，” said Douglas Wright， the district superintendent. Utah educators have not tried to calculate the effect of bus rides on student achievement， Mr. Wright said. “But there's definitely going to be an impact when a student loses four hours out of his day，” he said. “Some students who ride the bus do extremely well. Others don't.”

　　Danaman said he struggled to complete homework aboard the bus. He reads， but has given up trying to complete written assignments amid all the dust and rattling， he said.

　　“Teachers kept saying they were too sloppy，” he said.

　　Students stared in boredom at the bus's shadow， racing through the roadside pinion bushes. One boy drew pictures on his arm.

　　“You've got a hole in your pants（n.褲子；男用短襯褲）！” one girl shouted at another.“Shut up！” her friend retorted， amid gales of laughter.

　　The bus turned off the blacktop and began its deafening rattle. Chelsie's hoop earrings bounced beneath her lobes（n. 耳垂，）， and her makeup became blotched（vt.弄臟， 涂污） with road dust.

　　Half an hour later， the bus groaned to a stop outside the settlement that is home to her and a schoolmate， Shaun Pelt， who was fast asleep. Chelsie slapped him hard.“Get up！” she said. He roused himself， and they staggered off.

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