on the road, behind a wheel 的意思是

2018浙江卷阅读理解C中的一个句子，不了解 on the road, behind a wheel 的意思是：

Modern America was born on the road, behind a wheel.

有关上下文如下：

ModernAmericawas born on the road, behind a wheel. The car shaped some of the most lasting aspects of American culture：the roadside diner, the billboard, the motel, even the hamburger. For most of the last century, the car represented what it meant to be American—going forward at high speed to find new worlds. The road novel, the road movie, these are the most typical American ideas, born of abundant petrol, cheap cars and a never-ending interstate highway system, the largest public works project in history.

Modern America was born on the road, behind a wheel.

on the road 和 behind a wheel，都是“比喻义”。

先说字面意义：

1. on the road： 是“在公路上”。注意，road 跟 street 不同，前者重在指“交通”的公路或高速路。street 主要指城镇里面的街道。

2. behind a wheel：在“坐在方向盘后面”。注意，这里 wheel 不是车轮，而是驾驶室里的方向盘。

关于比喻义：

一定不可以根据字面翻译：现代美国诞生于公路，方向盘后面。

一个国家诞生在公路上—— 暗指交通发达；

一个国家诞生在方向盘后面—— 暗指每人都开车，汽车居多。

结合句子整体意思，应该如此翻译：

“ 现代美国以交通发达、汽车海量而闻名于世。”

关于 behind a wheel，我在为出版社翻译外研版（新版）高中英语课本时，恰巧碰到了这个词组：

behind a wheel：字面“坐在方向盘后”——引申“开车”。课本句子如下：

I’ve also been taking driving lessons，and in fact I will be taking my driving test on the very day I turn 18. My mum worries about me being behind a wheel.

我也一直在上驾驶课，事实上，我将在我年满十八岁的那一天参加驾驶考试。我母亲总担忧我开车。（这是我的翻译）