英语听力精选进阶版 6119

Two Wheels or Four? 双轮还是四轮？

What's the furthest you have ever cycled?

Perhaps you cycle to school or to work, or maybe at most a short cycling trip with friends?

How would you feel about spending months on the road travelling solo from the UK to China, by bike?

For British cyclist Pete Jones, camping rough and cycling long distances through inhospitable terrain¹ are second nature.

A veteran of expeditions through places such as the Tianshan mountains and the Tibetan plateau, Mr Jones is currently undertaking² a mammoth³ trip across the Eurasian continent from Britain to China.

Having lived on and off in Xinjiang for three years, and having visited the country many times since 1992, Pete Jones is no stranger to China.

But he says many people there are puzzled by his passion for cycling, asking why he would choose to cycle when he can afford a car.

Indeed, while there are an estimated 400 million bicycles in China, where it has long been the preferred form of transport, rapid economic growth has fuelled an explosive expansion in car ownership.

Edward Genochio, another British cyclist who completed a 41,000km trip to China and back, said one of his aims was to "promote cycling as a safe, sustainable and environmentally benign⁴ means of getting about."

In the UK, the last few years have seen a rise in the number of people choosing two wheels over four, with some estimates saying the number of people cycling to work has almost doubled in the last five years.

Politicians also see cycling as a way to boost their eco-credentials, with people such as London mayor Boris Johnson often riding to work under his own steam.

But we may have to wait some time before we see him emulating⁵ Pete Jones in attempting to cycle all the way to China.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

trip 旅行，旅游

travelling solo 单人旅行

camping rough 野外露宿

inhospitable terrain 不适合人居住的地带

second nature 第二天性

veteran 经验丰富的人

expeditions 远征，探险

plateau 高原

mammoth 巨大的，庞大的

on and off 断断续续的

puzzled 不明白，感到疑惑

rapid economic growth 快速的经济发展

fuelled 刺激

explosive expansion 爆发性的扩张

car ownership 汽车拥有率

sustainable 可持续性

environmentally benign 有利于环境

boost their eco-credentials 促进他们的环保凭据

under his own steam 靠自己的力量来完成某件事

emulating 仿效

1 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

2 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

3 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

4 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

5 emulating   

v.与…竞争( emulate的现在分词 )；努力赶上；计算机程序等仿真；模仿

参考例句：

• The possibilities of producing something entirely new by emulating nature's very wide crosses are enticing. 用自然界的非常广泛的杂交方法创造出全新植物种的可能性是诱人的。 来自辞典例句
• The human emulating this archetypal patterning will be quite the accomplished businessperson. 这类原型模式者会是一个很成功的商人。 来自互联网