字神帝國英語天地

 
 今日主題：War on the roads 公路之戰
 凱妃老師&派老師共同推薦：雅思聽力最好的課外教材：BBC
 康康精選雅思會考的主題，堅持每天精聽一定會進步的哦!!
 建議方法：
1. 先聽兩三遍 (不看文稿)
2. 再一句一句聽寫 (每句都要聽寫數遍，直到寫出85%以上的字)
3. 最後check文稿，看哪聽不出來，單字沒背過，還是發音不熟。
4. 堅持天天聽，就能每天進步哦。
 MP3音檔 (按右鍵可下載聽)：喜歡的同學，幫忙推或按讚哦~~
http://static.iyuba.com/sounds/minutes/58.mp3
 只有音檔怎夠，聽不懂地方，不用怕，康康幫你準備好中英文稿了：
 中英文稿：
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning 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.
大家好，歡迎來到BBC六分鐘英語學習節目：我們會在新聞中一邊講故事，一邊學單詞。我是Alice，今天我的搭檔是Rob.你好Rob。
Hi there Alice.
你好Alic。
Now, Rob are you a cyclist?
Rob,你騎單車嗎？
Yes I ride a bicycle.
是的，我騎單車。
Even on the mean streets of London?
在倫敦的窮街僻巷也騎嗎？
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.
是的--倫敦的街道對自行車來說確實很危險。2012年全英國超過110名騎自行車的人死亡，其中13名在倫敦。
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 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
這對一個城市來說已經很多了。儘管倫敦到路上畫了很多自行車專用線路，但自行車卻很少與機動車分開行駛。另外很多道路非常狹窄。但一些人認為應該是騎自行車者他們自己對這些事故負責。一部叫做“英國公路之戰”的紀錄片正在對此進行深入調查。在我們開始接下來的討論之前，Rob，我有一個問題要問你。騎車網對世界五個最適合騎自行車的城市進行了排名。在前五名之中呢，只有一個城市不在歐洲，你知道是那裡嗎？a,中國北京 b,日本東京 還是c,哥倫比亞波哥大？
I haven’t a clue really. But at a guess I’d probably say Tokyo.
這個我還真不知道。我猜應該是東京吧。
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.
按照慣例，我們會在節目結束的時候揭曉答案。現在我們來看看在英國公路上這場自行車和機動車的“戰爭”吧。
Now come on Alice, is it really a ‘battle ’?
不會吧,Alice。應該不是真的“戰爭”吧？
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.
但有些人確實是這麼想的。記者兼喜劇作家Jan Etherington認為在倫敦騎自行車的人就像穿著萊卡布料的角鬥士，萊卡是指很多騎自行車的人所穿的一種有彈性的布料。
It’s not the mode 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 their inner 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 aggressive minority that I think the cycling community should recognise and address.
這不是運輸方式的問題，而是人的問題。我覺得有些機動車駕駛者和騎自行車的人，每天一大早醒來，想的不是在路上能幫助別人做些什麼，而想著給自己找一個潛在的決鬥物件。於是那些騎單車的人就馬上帶上頭盔，穿上萊卡衣服，然後去外面準備角鬥。當然這只是少數人，但正是這些激進的少數群體應該喚起自行車協會的廣泛關注。
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.
記者Jan Etherington認為騎單車的人應該為危險騎車行為負責。她認為一些騎單車的人帶上頭盔，穿上萊卡衣服，然後出去準備角鬥。
Ah – but she did say that it’s a minority – so not all cyclists.
哈哈--但她也說那只是少數人--所以並不是所有騎單車的人都如此。
Yes she said it’s the aggressive minority – the small number of cyclists who cycle in an aggressive manner.
是的，他說是那些好鬥的少數人--那些以激進方式騎車的少數人。
Aggressive; so that’s in a dangerous and challenging way.
好鬥的，就是以一種危險、挑釁的方式。
Yes. Jan Etherington wants the cycling community to do something about aggressive cycling – she wants them to address the problem.
對。Jan Etherington想讓單車協會對這種激進的騎車方式採取些措施，她希望他們能解決這一問題。
So how do cyclists defend themselves? Aren’t cyclists just protecting themselves from dangerous motorists?
那麼騎單車的人又是怎麼保護自己的呢？他們是不是應該遠離那些危險的機動車？
Well cycling writer and former British racing cyclist Michael Hutchinson thinks so. He says only idiots would go to war on a bicycle.
自行車作家，前英國自行車賽車手Michael Hutchinson認為確實如此。他說只有傻瓜才會在騎自行車的時候打架。
You do feel quite vulnerable as a cyclist. Somebody drives past inches away, the first thing it is, is frightening. I certainly don’t go to war, because frankly 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 goingto win a battle with a forty ton truck. So only an idiot’s going to go to war with a bicycle.
當你騎自行車的時候，你會覺得很容易受到攻擊。有人在距你幾英尺的地方開車，你的第一感覺就是恐懼。我當然不會去和機動車開戰，因為坦白說，我也贏不了。我可能穿著萊卡的衣服，或者穿著T恤和牛仔褲準備上班，我才不會和一輛40噸重的卡車較量呢。所以只有傻瓜才會在騎自行車的時候和機動車過不去。
Cyclist Michael Hutchinson who says cyclists feel vulnerable; in danger. It can be frightening when a big truck drives very close to you.
賽車手Michael Hutchinson說騎單車的人會感到易受攻擊、處境危險。當有卡車在他們周圍近距離行駛時，他們就會感到恐懼。
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.
這一點我同意。當你在一條狹窄的道路上行駛，而有一輛重達四噸的卡車在離你很近的距離行駛，你會感到非常的恐懼。
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; we usually hear this word when we’re talking about soldiers. And cyclists taking up the road, two or three abreast, in droves, like soldiers marching.
Jan Etherington還說騎單車的人需要改變一下他們的舉止行為。她覺得自從倫敦奧運會之後，她所生活的地方就變得越來越糟糕，因為越來越多的人開始在公路上騎自行車。並且她還用了更多的軍事用語，比如“軍營”，我們在說到士兵的時候會用到這樣的詞彙。騎單車的三兩成群，並排在馬路上行駛，就像士兵在行軍打仗一般。
I live in the middle of the Olympic cycling route, now from dawn to dusk at the weekend the cyclists come not as single spokes 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.
我住在歐林匹克自行車賽路線的中心，每週末從早到晚，騎單車的人就會成群結隊的出來，並排行進。他們三兩成群的並排駕駛，並成群結隊的出現。不給任何人讓路，一輛自行車如果行以每小時30公里的速度行駛，就會變成一個危險的機器了。
Journalist Jan Etherington who says cyclists on London’s roads are not stopping for anyone.
Journalist Jan Etherington說倫敦路上的自行車不給任何人讓路。
So Rob – whose side are you on?
那麼Rob你的立場是什麼呢？
Well I’m a cyclist and a motorist – and a pedestrian – so I can see the problem from all sides.
我呢，既是一個騎單車的人，也是一個機動車駕駛者，同時還是一名行人，所以我會從各個方面全面的看待這個問題。
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.
那現在你有沒有想好在節目開始時我問你的問題呢？騎車網列出了一個最適宜騎單車的城市排名，在前五名中只有一個不再歐洲，是哪一個呢？
I guessed Tokyo, Japan. Come on I’ve got to be right?
我猜是日本東京，快告訴我吧，我肯定是對的，是吧？
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?
其實呢，應該是哥倫比亞波哥大。網站上所列出的前五名城市分別是：荷蘭的阿姆斯特丹，丹麥的哥本哈根，哥倫比亞的波哥大，西班牙的巴賽隆納還有德國的柏林。Rob你有沒有在這些城市中騎過單車？
No, I haven’t. But I’d love to.
還沒有過，不過我倒很想去體驗一下。
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:
我喜歡在地勢平坦的城市裡騎單車，我最喜歡北京或柏林。謝謝Rob來參加今天的節目。在節目結束之前，可不可以給大家讀一下今天的單詞和短語。
Of course. We heard: gladiators, aggressive minority, to address the problem, vulnerable, battalions, in droves
當然，我們聽到了：gladiators，aggressive minority，to address the problem，vulnerable，battalions，in droves
Thanks Rob. And please join us again soon for more 6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com. Bye for now.
謝謝Rob,請大家登陸bbclearningenglish.com，趕快加入六分鐘英語吧。我們下周見。
Bye.
再見！