中英双语新闻——84 The golden age of motoring is over
时间:2019-01-19 作者:英语课 分类:中英双语新闻
英语课
Liz Parle, 24, a Birmingham-born café owner, cannot drive. “I did try to learn, but I failed my test a few times,” Parle told the Guardian 1.
24岁的丽兹?帕尔乐是土生土长的伯明翰人,经营着一家咖啡馆,不会开车的她告诉《卫报》记者:“我曾经尝试学习开车,但是几次考试都没通过。”
Then she moved to London, where running a car can be a nightmare, so now she cycles everywhere.
随后她移居伦敦,在那里开车就如同噩梦一般,所以她现在到哪儿都骑着自行车。
Parle is by no means atypical. According to the Guardian, in the UK, the percentage of 17- to 20-year-olds with driving licenses 2 fell from 48 percent in the early 1990s to 35 percent last year.
帕尔乐绝不是个特例。根据《卫报》的报道, 在英国,17-20岁年龄段持有驾照的人口比例从上世界90年代初期的48%缩减到去年的35%。
Meanwhile, road traffic figures for cars and taxis, which have risen more or less every year since 1949, have continued to fall since 2007.
同时,自1949年之后每年或多或少都在增长的道路交通数据也从2007年以后持续下降。
Motoring groups put it down to oil prices and the economy. Others offer a more fundamental explanation: the golden age of motoring is over.
汽车公司们将一切归因于油价和经济状况。另一些人则给出了最根本的解释:汽车的黄金时代终结了。
“The way we run cars is changing fast,” Tim Pollard, associate editor at Car magazine, told the Telegraph, “Car manufacturers are worried that younger people in particular don’t aspire 3 to own cars like we used to in the 70s, 80s, or even the 90s. Designers commonly say that teenagers today aspire to own the latest smart phone more than a car.”
“我们开车的方式正在飞速转变中,”《汽车杂志》副主编蒂姆?珀拉德告诉《每日电讯报》记者说,“汽车制造商尤其担心现在的年轻人不会再像七八十年代甚至九十年代时我们那样,渴望拥有一辆汽车。设计师普遍认同当今的青少年更渴望拥有最新款智能手机而不是一辆汽车。”
As technology companies try to keep pace with the iPhone generation, Pollard says carmakers are also coming to terms with less possessive buyers. This has led to a different kind of ownership and the increase of rental 4 schemes.
珀拉德表示,就像科技公司设法去适应iPhone 一代一样,,汽车厂商也不得不接受购车客户减少这一事实。这已经催生了一种新的车辆所有权,并导致租车公司数量的增长。
“Peugeot, for instance, has launched a European project called Mu,” Pollard said. “You become a member and can then rent whichever Peugeot best suits your mobility 5 needs that day.”
“例如法国标致汽车在欧洲启动了一个名为Mu的项目,” 珀拉德说道。“只要成为会员,你便可以租到最适合你驾驶需求的标致汽车了。”
That means you can borrow a van to move house at the weekend. Then get into a 308 for the school run, Monday to Friday. Then hop 6 into an electric car to scoot silently around town. Then borrow a Peugeot bicycle to cycle to the pub in the evening.
那就意味着你可以在周末租借一辆货车来搬家,然后周一至周五驾驶标志308汽车去上学。接下来坐进一辆电动汽车在镇上到处漫游,再然后租一辆标志自行车,夜晚时骑车去酒吧。
“It’s an attempt to second-guess how we’ll run cars in the future, and a pilot scheme at present, but you can do this today in London. Other car manufacturers are studying similar ideas,” Pollard said.
“尽管我们试图预测人类未来的驾车方式,这在当前还只是一个试验性计划,但在现在的伦敦你就可以做。其他的汽车制造商也都在研究类似的构想。” 珀拉德说道。
David Metz is a visiting professor at the University College London’s Center for Transport Studies. He said underpinning 7 all these innovations and ideas is what he sees as a major behavioral shift among the generation of “digital natives”.
大卫?麦兹是伦敦大学学院交通运输研究中心的客座教授。他表示,在自己看来,巩固这些创新和构想正是发生在“数码人一代”身上的重大行为转变。
“They don’t care about owning things. Possession is a burden, and a car is a big investment for most people–not just the vehicle, but the permits, the parking space,” he told the Guardian.
“他们不在乎拥有一些东西。占有是一种负担,而汽车对于多数人来说是一项大投资—不仅仅是汽车本身,还存在牌照和停车位问题。”他告诉《卫报》记者。
And a survey conducted by the British Department of Transport earlier this year supports what Metz said. The survey showed that the proportion of men in their 30s who drive has remained steady, while twentysomethings appear to be putting off getting behind the wheel until it’s absolutely necessary.
今年年初英国交通部所做的一项调查证实了麦兹的观点。调查显示30来岁的开车男士人数比例保持稳定,然而二十多岁的年轻人似乎决定将开车这一问题推迟延后,除非是万不得已。
“It’s not just about the cost,” Metz said. “Other factors that are more speculative 8 are that there are more people in higher education, which typically takes place in urban centers where the car isn’t part of the mix. Then people stay on in these urban centers.”
“这不只是花费问题,”麦兹说道。“更值得深思的因素则是越来越多的人接受高等教育,同时他们读书的地点一般都在市中心,而汽车跟这两者都不搭边。人们就选择继续呆在市中心。”
Metz added there’s nothing wrong with wanting a little house in the country, and a car to get you to and from it. Yet there is something reckless in restricting new buildings to a particular form of transport, especially if that form of transport shows signs of decline.
麦兹还表示,想拥有一座乡间小屋和一辆可以载你出入的车辆,这本没什么问题。但是将新房子限制于一种特殊交通形式中,这就多少有些草率了,特别是这种交通方式正显示出减退的趋势。
“There’s this idea of a green metropolis 9, where land values are high so there’s less space to heat, and where electric vehicles are viable 10, because the trips taken are shorter,” Metz said.
“这是一个关于绿色都市的理念。那里地值高昂因此停车空间有限,而又因为路程较短,所以驾驶电动汽车在那里是切实可行的。”麦兹说道。
“If we’re living in a world that is urbanizing globally, this is worth considering.”
“如果我们生活在一个全球城市化的世界里,这个问题值得思考。”
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者
- The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
- The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。
n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准,许可,颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )
- Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句
vi.(to,after)渴望,追求,有志于
- Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
- I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。
n.租赁,出租,出租业
- The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
- We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。
n.可动性,变动性,情感不定
- 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。
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过
- The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛,看谁单足跳跃最快。
- How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远?
n.基础材料;基础结构;(学说、理论等的)基础;(人的)腿v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑(墙等)( underpin的现在分词 );加固(墙等)的基础;为(论据、主张等)打下基础;加强
- Underpinning this success has been an exemplary record of innovation. 具有典范性的创新确保了这次成功。 来自辞典例句
- But underpinning Mr Armstrong's technology changes is a human touch. 但阿姆斯特朗技术变革的支柱是人情味。 来自互联网
adj.思索性的,暝想性的,推理的
- Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
- The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大,不应理会。
n.首府;大城市
- Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
- He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。