In the News: Rural U.S. Takes Worst Hit as Gas Tops $4 Average

NY Times read full article here

TCHULA, Miss. — Gasoline prices reached a national average of $4 a gallon for the first time over the weekend, adding more strain to motorists across the country...

But the pain is not being felt uniformly. Across broad swaths of the South, Southwest and the upper Great Plains, the combination of low incomes, high gas prices and heavy dependence on pickup trucks and vans is putting an even tighter squeeze on family budgets...


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Only one word today:
swath - 带状面积, a long broad strip or belt

For ex.
Brazil placed a swath of Amazon rain forest under government protection.