VOA标准英语2012--Bikeshare Program Makes Cycling Lifestyle Easy

Bikeshare Program Makes Cycling Lifestyle Easy

This is one of the many Bikeshare locations in southeast Washington. Renting a bike is as easy as 1.2.3. All you have to do is put in your credit card. Once the card is accepted, select the type of membership¹. The system will print your receipt and a code to unlock² the bicycle. Enter that code in this digital lock, the light turns green and you are ready to roll.
Annual members get a plastic key, which goes into this electronic lock. Returning the bicycle is also easy. You can go to any Bikeshare location and push the bike back into the rack.
Washington's local government started this program in September 2010. Today there are 134 stations with 1,100 bicycles in the nation's capital and the neighboring city of Arlington, Virginia.
Chris Holben is the project director of Washington's Capital Bikeshare program. The program offers a wide variety of membership options - for a single day, 3 days, one month, or a full year. Holben says the number of annual memberships³ is increasing.
"We have about 20,000 annual members who can walk up take a bike out," said Holben. "We also had about 90,000 visitors use our bikes. Those were tourists or people here for the day".
During the last year these bicycles have been used for one million rides.
Holben says a membership survey shows that 5 percent of those who use Bikeshare would have used cars if bikes were not available. He says this works out to 50,000 fewer automobile⁴ trips.
In the developing world, many people regard bicycles as the ride of the poor and see a car as a symbol of status. Holben says what he calls "national heroes" can help counter that image.
"I think one of the main things is you need some champions at either the high political level or a higher social level, who can promote cycling whether for health reasons or get people out of the car," added Holben. "You would also need somewhere safer for them to bike so whether that's the government or the municipalities providing trails or spaces just for cyclists."
Two other Washington suburbs, Montgomery County, Maryland, and the city of Alexandria, Virginia, have now approved plans to join the network, which is slated⁵ to grow to 288 stations and 2,800 bikes by the end of 2012.

1 membership   

n.成员资格，会员全体，从属关系

参考例句：

• I must renew my membership of the sailing club.我必须延续我的航海俱乐部会员的资格。
• He made up his mind to apply for membership in the Party.他决心申请入党。

2 unlock   

v.启示，揭示，开...的锁

参考例句：

• The border police required the traveler to unlock his luggage.边防警察要求旅客打开行李。
• We heard somebody unlock the door.我们听见有人开门锁。

3 memberships   

n.全体会员( membership的名词复数 )；会员身份，会员资格

参考例句：

• The memberships of this committee are stacked to give the majority party substantial control. 有人在这个委员会的组成上搞了鬼，以使多数党取得相当多的控制权。 来自辞典例句
• You can specify security group memberships for this user. 您可以为此用户指定安全组成员身份。 来自互联网

4 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

5 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。