新奇事件簿 欧洲自行车销量超汽车

The BBC reports that in 2102, more bicycles were sold than cars in 26 out of 28 countries in the European Union. There appear to be several reasons behind this growing trend. One is because of the recession experienced in many countries after the global financial crisis. Many countries introduced austerity measures, which took away the spending power of consumers who might ordinarily have bought a car instead of a bicycle. The continuing rise in fuel prices is also making motorists think twice about driving. Another reason is that more people are getting into cycling. The BBC reports that: "The popularity of cycling appears to be going beyond the traditional 'cycling capitals' of northern Europe."

根据英国广播公司的报道，2012年，28个欧盟国家中有26国的自行车销量超过了汽车。而这一趋势背后的原因是多种多样的。其中之一是全球金融危机之后，许多国家经历了经济衰退的情况。许多国家采取了紧缩措施，从而减少了消费者的购买能力，应该买车的顾客反而买了自行车。油价的不断上升也让开车人三思而行。另一个原因是人们越来越适应骑自行车。英国广播公司报道称：“自行车的受欢迎程度似乎将超过一些有着自行车传统的北欧国家。

A whopping 50 per cent more bicycles were sold than cars. Europeans bought just 12 million cars in 2012, compared to 19.2 million bicycles. Sergio Marchionne, the head of the Italian car giant FIAT¹, said this was a sorry state of affairs for the car industry, and described it as "carmageddon". Car sales in Italy slumped² so badly that they were at their lowest levels since 1965 – a five-decade low. The head of the Italian cycling federation³ believes there has been, "a small revolution in terms of lifestyle". The head of Italian cycling manufacturer Bianchi agreed. He said: "Customers these days want bikes they can commute⁴ with, and top-of-the-range bikes. They are looking for long-term investments."

自行车的销售量比汽车多出了惊人的50%。2012年，欧洲人只购买了1200万辆汽车，自行车为1920万辆。意大利汽车巨头菲亚特汽车首席执行官马尔乔内称，这让汽车产业落入了尴尬的境地，并将汽车产业称为“恶煞车手”。意大利的汽车销量急剧下降，达到了1965年以来的最低值。意大利自行车联合会会长相信人们的生活方式将经历一场变革。意大利自行车制造商比安奇同意此观点。他说：“乘客希望骑自行车上下班，骑最好的自行车。他们期待着在自行车领域的长期投资。”

1 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

2 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。