经济学人:骑行在伦敦 车轮上的野心

 　　Cycling in London

　　骑行在伦敦

　　Wheel ambition

　　车轮上的野心

　　Gradually, the capital is becoming a better place for cyclists

　　渐渐地，首都变成了一个更适宜骑行的地方

　　TWO things are commonly seen atop the head of Boris Johnson, London's mayor: a mop of unruly, peroxide-blond hair and a cycling helmet. Since coming to office in 2008 Mr Johnson has tried to make London a better city for two-wheeled transport. He has been only partly successful. But on February 4th Transport for London, the city's road and rail authority, signed off on two “cycle superhighways” that will be the mayor's most visible legacy¹ to his city.

　　伦敦市长鲍里斯·约翰逊头上总顶着两样东西：染过的蓬乱金发和自行车头盔。自从2008年上任以来，约翰逊就试图让伦敦成为一个更适宜两轮交通的城市。他仅成功了一部分。但在2月4号，该市的道路铁路当局—伦敦交通局同意建设两条“自行车超级高速公路”，这将是市长为该市留下的最显而易见的馈赠。

　　骑行在伦敦.jpg

　　Cycling in London is less pleasant than in many European cities. Main roads teem² with lorries; winding³ back streets are hard to navigate⁴. The number of bicycle journeys has nonetheless doubled since 2000. Nationally, just 2% pedal to work. In Hackney, in London's East End, fully⁵ 9% do. But the capital's cyclists mostly seem to resemble Mr Johnson. Only 2% of women cycle to work in London, compared with 5% of men. Blacks and other ethnic⁶ minorities are reluctant to do it, too.

　　在伦敦骑行和许多欧洲城市相比，并没那么愉快。主要大道上挤满了卡车；里弄小巷又很难导航。尽管如此，骑自行车出行的次数自2000年以来还是翻倍了。就全国而言，仅有2%的人骑自行车上班。在伦敦东部的哈克尼区，有近9%的人这样做。但首都的自行车骑行者貌似大多数都和约翰逊相似。在伦敦仅2%的女性骑行上班，与之相比男性有5%。黑人和其他的少数族裔也不愿骑行。

　　The mayor oversaw⁷ the introduction of a bike-hiring scheme, which was started by his predecessor⁸ but quickly became known as the “Boris bike”. He pushed for bright blue cycle paths on some busy roads. But the new cycle highways are far more ambitious and permanent. One will run east-west through the City and the West End. Another will run two miles from Elephant and Castle in the south to Farringdon in north London.Four existing routes will also be improved, while around 30 of the city's busiest junctions⁹ will be made a bit less perilous¹⁰.

　　市长监督着自行车租借计划的引进，这是由他的前任开启的，但后来很快就被称为了“鲍里斯自行车”。他积极推进在一些繁忙道路上建设宝蓝色的自行车通道。但新的自行车高速公路要更具有野心也更持久。一条将东西横穿整个城市和伦敦西区。另一条从南边的象堡到北伦敦的法灵顿，延伸两英里。四条已存的道路也将升级，与此同时该市约30个最繁忙的交叉路口将被整顿，变得没那么危险。

　　The new superhighways ought to be much safer than London's existing cycle lanes. A raised pavement will keep cyclists away from cars and lorries. Junctions will be redesigned and some parking bays—including a few for the disabled—will be removed. Cars will be prevented from turning down certain streets. Similar schemes exist elsewhere: since 2007 around 30 miles of protected cycle lanes have been created in New York. In Amsterdam, where lanes have existed for decades, old people and women are far more inclined to cycle.

　　新的超级高速公路应该比伦敦现存的自行车道更安全。高于一般路面的自行车道将使骑行者与汽车和卡车保持距离。交叉路口将会被重新设计，一部分包括少量残障人士专用的停车位将被移除。在某些特定街道汽车不允许掉头。类似的计划在其他地方也可以看到：自2007年，纽约建造了约30英里的受到保护的自行车道。在阿姆斯特丹，自行车道已存在了数十年，老人和女性尤其倾向于骑自行车出行。

　　Greens have long lobbied for cycle paths on the grounds that moving people out of cars cuts air pollution. A series of highly publicised accidents, including one involving a newspaper journalist, and several deaths in the city have also put pressure on the mayor to make London safer.

　　环保主义者基于人们不开汽车可以减少空气污染的观点，很早就在游说要建设自行车道。包括一名新闻记者以及几起死亡事故在内的一系列受到大众关注的交通事件也给市长施加了压力，要使伦敦变得更安全。

　　And the social transformation¹¹ of the capital has encouraged officials to smile on cyclists. The population of inner London is rebounding¹² as affluent¹³ folk move in (see article). The new inhabitants want cleaner streets and fewer cars, which are viewed as suburban¹⁴. Cycling was once a means of transport for the poor. But it has become an important marker of an affluent world city, argues Isabel Dedring, the deputy mayor for transport. “There's more pressure on cities to be nice places to live,” she says.

　　伦敦的社会变革也促使政府官员对骑行者展露笑颜。随着富人的搬入，伦敦中心的人口数正在回升。新的居民想要更干净的街道和更少的汽车，这看起来更像郊区。骑自行车曾是穷人的交通方式。但这已变成了富裕的国际都市的一个重要标志，交通部副部长伊莎贝尔·黛德林如是说。她表示：“城市面临的更大压力是如何变得更宜居。”译者：王颖 校对：胡雅琳

　　1.reluctant to 不甘心情愿做

　　We were reluctant to start the long trudge¹⁵ home.

　　我们很不愿意踏上如此漫长艰辛的回家之路。

　　Scientific institutions have been reluctant to take corrective action.

　　科学机构一直不愿作出更正。

　　2.seem to 似乎

　　I seem to fritter my time away at coffee mornings.

　　我似乎把时间全都浪费在咖啡早茶会上了。

　　He rubbed and rubbed but couldn't seem to get clean.

　　他擦了又擦，可就是擦不干净。

　　3.push for 急切、强烈地要求

　　In its push for economic growth it has ignored projects that would improve living standards.

　　在努力实现经济增长之时，它忽略了那些能提高生活水平的项目。

　　He and Dermott Reeve almost made a complete pig's ear of the final push for victory.

　　他和德莫特·里夫几乎把获胜的最后一把努力彻底搞砸了。

1 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

2 teem   

vi.(with)充满，多产

参考例句：

• Good ideas teem in her head.她的头脑里好主意极多。
• Fish teem in the Chinese waters.中国近海鱼产丰富。

3 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

4 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

8 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

9 junctions   

联结点( junction的名词复数 )； 会合点； （公路或铁路的）交叉路口； （电缆等的）主结点

参考例句：

• Metals which were mutually soluble would tend to give strong junctions. 可互溶的金属趋向于产生牢固的结合点。
• Some adhering junctions are present as narrow bands connecting two cells. 有些粘附连接以一窄带的形式连接两个细胞。

10 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

11 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

12 rebounding   

蹦跳运动

参考例句：

• The strength of negative temperature concrete is tested with supersonic-rebounding method. 本文将超声回弹综合法用于负温混凝土强度检测。
• The fundamental of basketball includes shooting, passing and catching, rebounding, etc. 篮球运动中最基本的东西包括投篮，传接球，篮板球等。

13 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

14 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

15 trudge   

v.步履艰难地走；n.跋涉，费力艰难的步行

参考例句：

• It was a hard trudge up the hill.这趟上山是一次艰难的跋涉。
• The trudge through the forest will be tiresome.长途跋涉穿越森林会令人疲惫不堪。