【一起听英语】马路上的战争
马路上的车越来越多，在车多的马路上，自行车道甚至会被挤占，这是真的吗？
Alice: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning 1 English: we’ll be
talking about a story in the news and learning some vocabulary along the way.
I’m Alice and joining me today is Rob. Hi Rob.
Rob: Hi there Alice.
Alice: Now, Rob are you a cyclist?
Rob: Yes I ride a bicycle.
Alice: Even on the mean streets of London?
Rob: I do indeed – London streets are very dangerous for cyclists. Over 110 cyclists
have been killed on the UK’s roads in 2012, 13 of them in London.
Alice: That’s quite a lot for one city. Although there are many cycle paths painted onto
roads in London, bikes are rarely separated from the traffic. And many roads
are very narrow. But some people think it’s the cyclists themselves who are to
blame for accidents. A documentary 2 called ‘The War on Britain’s Roads’ has been
investigating the issue. Before we find out more, a question for you Rob. The
website Bicycling.com has made a list of what it thinks are the best cities for
cycling in in the world. Only one in the top five isn’t in Europe. Can you guess
where it is. Is it:
a. Beijing, China
b. Tokyo, Japan
c. Bogota, Colombia
Rob: I haven’t a clue really. But at a guess I’d probably say Tokyo.
Alice: As usual we won’t hear the answer till the end of the programme. Now more
about this ‘battle’ between cyclists and motorists on Britain’s roads.
Rob: Now come on Alice, is it really a ‘battle’?
Alice: Well some people think so. Here’s Jan Etherington a journalist and comedy
writer who thinks cyclists in London behave like gladiators in lycra – that’s the
stretchy material a lot of cyclists wear:
Journalist Jan Etherington:
It’s not the mode 3 of transport, it’s the people. I think there are motorists and there are cyclists,
who wake up in the morning not thinking if I can help somebody as I go along my way, but
finding 4 their inner 5 gladiator. They immediately, in the cyclists case, put on the helmet and
lycra and go out to war. And it’s a minority, but it’s the noticeable 6 aggressive minority that I
think the cycling community should recognise and address.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2012
Page 2 of 4
Alice: Journalist Jan Etherington who thinks that cyclists are to blame for dangerous
cycling. She thinks that some cyclists put on their helmet and lycra and go out
to war.
Rob: Ah – but she did say that it’s a minority – so not all cyclists.
Alice: Yes she said it’s the aggressive minority – the small number of cyclists who
cycle in an aggressive manner.
Rob: Aggressive; so that’s in a dangerous and challenging way.
Alice: Yes. Jan Etherington wants the cycling community to do something about
aggressive cycling – she wants them to address the problem.
Rob: So how do cyclists defend themselves? Aren’t cyclists just protecting themselves
from dangerous motorists?
Alice: Well cycling writer and former British racing 7 cyclist Michael Hutchinson thinks so.
He says only idiots 8 would go to war on a bicycle.
Cyclist Michael Hutchinson:
You do feel quite vulnerable 9 as a cyclist. Somebody drives past inches away, the first thing it is,
is frightening. I certainly don’t go to war, because frankly 10 I’m not going to win.
I’m wearing maybe lycra or maybe on my to work in t-shirt and a pair of jeans, I’m not going
to win a battle with a forty ton truck. So only an idiot’s going to go to war with a bicycle.
Alice: Cyclist Michael Hutchinson says cyclists feel vulnerable; in danger. It can be
frightening when a big truck drives very close to you.
Rob: I agree. A forty ton truck driving very close to you, while you’re trying to cycle
on a narrow street, can be very frightening.
Alice: Jan Etherington though, still says that cyclists need to change their behaviour.
She thinks that since the London Olympics, the problem has got worse where
she lives, because more and more people are cycling on the roads. And she uses
more battle language. Battalions 11; we usually hear this word when we’re talking
about soldiers. And cyclists taking up the road, two or three abreast 12, in droves,
like soldiers marching.
Journalist Jan Etherington:
I live in the middle of the Olympic cycling route, now from dawn to dusk 13 at the weekend the
cyclists come not as single spokes 14 but in batallions. There are two or three abreast of them,
and they come in droves. They’re not stopping for anyone. A cyclist on a bike at 30mph is a
dangerous machine.
Alice: Journalist Jan Etherington who says cyclists on London’s roads are not stopping
for anyone.
Alice: So Rob – whose side are you on?
Rob: Well I’m a cyclist and a motorist – and a pedestrian 15 – so I can see the problem
from all sides.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2012
Page 3 of 4
Alice: And have you had a chance to think about the question I asked at the beginning
of the programme. Bicycling.com made a list of the cities it thinks are best for
cycling in. Only one in the top five wasn’t in Europe.
Rob: I guessed Tokyo, Japan. Come on I’ve got to be right?
Alice: Well, actually it’s Bogota, Colombia. The top five cycle cities according to that
website are: Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Copenhagen, Denmark, Bogota in
Colombia, Barcelona, Spain and Berlin, Germany. Have you cycled in any of
those cities Rob?
Rob: No, I haven’t. But I’d love to.
Alice: I love to cycle in any city that’s quite flat. Beijing or Berlin would be my
favourites. Well, thanks so much, Rob. And before we go, would you read us
some of today’s words and phrases:
Rob: Of course. We heard:
gladiators
aggressive minority
to address the problem
vulnerable
battalions
in droves
Alice: Thanks Rob. And please join us again soon for more 6 Minute English from
bbclearningenglish.com.
Bye for now.
Rob: Bye
- When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
- Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
- This case lacked documentary proof.本案缺少书面证据。
- I watched a documentary on the Civil War.我看了一部关于内战的纪录片。
- Wearing jeans is out of mode at present.现在穿牛仔裤过时了。
- His mode of doing business is offensive to me.他干事情的方式叫我很不喜欢。
- The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
- That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。
- The label is on the inner side of the box.标签贴在盒子内侧。
- Other people seek the mountains for renewal of their inner lives.另一些人到深山中去，寻求新的精神生活。
- The effect of the medicine is not yet noticeable. 药的效果还不显。
- There's been a noticeable improvement in his handwriting.他的书法有了明显的进步。
- I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
- The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。
- "How I hate them-those idiots in charge of the town! “我恨极了，那班混账东西！ 来自子夜部分
- 'May the Devil carry away these idiots! “但愿魔鬼把这些白痴都抓了去！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
- He volunteered to protect her as she looked so vulnerable.她看上去很脆弱，他就主动去保护她。
- The company is in an economically vulnerable position.该公司目前经济状况不稳定。
- To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
- Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。
- God is always on the side of the strongest battalions. 上帝总是帮助强者。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- Two battalions were disposed for an attack on the air base. 配置两个营的兵力进攻空军基地。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- She kept abreast with the flood of communications that had poured in.她及时回复如雪片般飞来的大批信件。
- We can't keep abreast of the developing situation unless we study harder.我们如果不加强学习，就会跟不上形势。
- The park closes at dusk.公园在黄昏时关闭。
- At dusk bats appear in vast numbers.蝙蝠于傍晚时分大批出现。
- Her baby caught his fingers in the spokes of the pram wheel. 她宝宝的手指被婴儿车轮的辐条卡住了。 来自辞典例句
- The new edges are called the spokes of the wheel. 新的边称为轮的辐。 来自辞典例句
- The criminal pushed a pedestrian down and ran away.罪犯推倒了一个行人逃跑了。
- The city built a pedestrian overpass over the highway.城里在公路上建了一座过街天桥。