VOA慢速英语2019 奥运冠军博尔特携电动滑板车进军日本

Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt co-founded the company Bolt Mobility¹ last year in the U.S. Now, he is bringing his electric scooters to Japan. He hopes officials will see the environmental value in the vehicles and amend² some laws on their use.

奥运金牌得主尤塞恩·博尔特去年在美国与他人共同创立了博尔特机动公司。现在，他正带着自己的电动滑板车想要进军日本。他希望有关官员能看到这种交通工具的环保价值，并修改一些相关的法律。

Under current Japanese laws, electric scooters, also known as e-scooters, must be used on roads and have license³ plates. And riders must have a motorcycle license.

根据日本现行法律，电动滑板车只能在道路上行驶，并且必须上牌。骑手必须拥有摩托车驾照。

But Bolt Mobility wants to limit scooter use in Japan to private land, which is not required to follow traffic laws. And company representatives are talking with regulators about easing other restrictions⁴. They say Bolt scooters can reduce traffic, which can lead to lower emissions⁵. Usain Bolt hopes his celebrity⁶ can help persuade lawmakers to his company's message.

但是博尔特机动公司希望将滑板车用途限制在私有土地上，这样就不需要遵守交通法规。公司代表正在与监管机构讨论放宽其它限制。他们说，博尔特牌滑板车可以减少路上行驶的车辆，从而可以减少排放。博尔特希望利用自己的名望帮助说服议员们听从他的公司的意见。

"We're still talking and trying to figure out how to push forward and do better things for the environment, because that's where it started," he said in an interview with Reuters News Agency. "This is the future."

他在接受路透社采访时表示：“我们仍在讨论并试图找出如何推动环保，以及为环保做出更大的贡献，因为这是我们的出发点，这就是未来。”

Bolt Mobility aims to be in 20 cities worldwide by the end of 2019, and 50 cities across eight countries in 2020. Earlier this year, the company launched its scooters in New York, Paris and Washington.

博尔特机动公司的目标是2019年底前在全球20个城市开展业务，到2020年在8个国家的50个城市开展业务。今年早些时候，该公司在纽约、巴黎和华盛顿推出了滑板车。

E-scooter sharing has become popular for "last-mile" transit⁷, but they have also created problems.

共享电动滑板车已经成为“最后一英里”交通运输系统的常用方式，但是它们也带来了麻烦。

In San Francisco, riders often leave the vehicles on public walkways. Many people, including a city official, have called them a "public nuisance."

在旧金山，骑手们经常将它停在公共步行道上。包括市政官员在内的很多人称其为“公害。”

Paris has amended⁸ rules on where scooters can be ridden following two deaths and several injuries. And in Singapore, a bicyclist died after being hit by an e-scooter in September.

在发生两人死亡和多人受伤之后，巴黎修改了电动滑板车允许骑行区域的规定。在新加坡，一名骑自行车的人在9月份被电动滑板车撞倒后死亡。

In Tokyo, e-scooters are still rare. However there is a growing demand for making them more common.

在东京，电动滑板车仍然很少见。但是东京越来越希望使其更加普遍。

At the Tokyo Motor Show this month, visitors tried electric scooters built by Japanese and foreign companies. The world's largest e-scooter company, Lime, recently joined the Japanese interest group Micro Mobility Promotion⁹ Council.

在本月的东京车展上，参观者试驾了日本和外国公司制造的电动滑板车。世界上最大的电动滑板车公司Lime公司最近加入了日本利益团体微机动性促进委员会。

Under current Japanese laws, e-scooters are treated as low-powered motorcycles. A change in regulation may take some time, even with the support of some Japanese government officials.

根据日本现行法律，电动滑板车被视为低功率摩托车。即使有日本政府官员的支持，修改法律也可能需要一段时间。

An official at Japan's transportation ministry¹⁰ said, "Even though everyone says it's very convenient," safety has to be the top concern. The official did not permit use of his name because he was not authorized¹¹ to speak with the media.

日本运输省的一位官员表示：“即使大家都说它很方便，”安全也必须摆在首位。这位官员要求匿名，因为他未获授权对媒体表态。

1 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

2 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

3 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

6 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

7 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

8 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

9 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。