必修三 P36 Unit 8 Lesson 3 White bikes on the road

“White Bikes” on the Road

“白色自行车”在路上

1   People in Amsterdam have been enjoying the benefits of cycling for years. The idea began about 50 years ago, and was first known as “white bikes”. Amsterdam is a good city for cycling because it’s flat and therefore convenient for bikes. There are also plenty of places for bicycle parking and most streets in the city centre have a bicycle path. Because of its convenience for bicycles, Amsterdam has become very popular with cyclists—an amazing 38% of all trips are made by bike. Some people even call Amsterdam “the City of Bicycles”.

多年来阿姆斯特丹的居民一直享受着骑自行车的益处。这源于大约50年前，最初被称为“白色自行车”的想法。阿姆斯特丹是个适合骑行的城市，它地势平坦方便骑行。也有很多地方可以停放自行车，市中心的大多数街道都有自行车道。由于为骑行提供便利，阿姆斯特丹非常受骑行者的欢迎——有高达38％的出行是使用自行车。有些人甚至称阿姆斯特丹为“自行车之城”。

2    Where did the idea of “white bikes” come from? In the 1960s, a group of cycling fans came up with an idea. They believed that it would be better for everybody if cars weren’t allowed in the city centre and only bicycles were. They were hopeful that this would help to save energy, reduce pollution and provide free public transport. The group painted hundreds of bicycles white and placed them in many areas around Amsterdam for people to use. Anyone was allowed to take them and use them for short journeys. People would leave the bike in the place where they finished their journey, so that someone else could then take it and use it from there. Soon after, however, problems came up and the “white bikes” all disappeared—thieves stole them all in a matter of weeks!

“白色自行车”的概念来自哪里呢？20世纪60年代，一群骑行爱好者提出了一个想法。他们认为，如果市中心不允许使用汽车而只能用自行车，这会让所有人都受益。他们希望这样能够节约能源，减少污染并提供免费的公共交通。这群人将数百辆自行车涂成白色放置在阿姆斯特丹的许多地方供人们使用。任何人都能够骑这些自行车做短途出行。人们在行程结束时就地停放自行车，以便其他人能继续使用。然而不久就出了问题，“白色自行车”全都消失了，小偷在几周内偷光了所有的车！

3   In 1999, the “white bikes” returned to Amsterdam—this time with a computer tracking system to record their every move! To take a bicycle, you had to put in a special card. The new “white bikes” were not actually white but painted in bright colours. The bikes were parked at special parking places. Thus people who wanted to use them had to take them to another special parking place near their destination and leave them there.

1999年，“白色自行车”回到了阿姆斯特丹，这次安装了电子跟踪系统以记录它们的“一举一动”！要使用自行车，必须插入专用的卡片。新的“白色自行车”实际上不是白色的，被涂上了鲜艳的颜色。自行车要停放在专用的停车场。因此，使用者到达目的地之后，必须将自行车停放到附近的专用停车场。

4   Thanks to the ideas and efforts of many people, like the cycling fans of the 1960s and those who enabled the return of “white bikes”, you can now enjoy clean air and easy transport in central Amsterdam.

由于这个创意以及众多人的努力，例如20世纪60年代的骑行爱好者和那些让“白色自行车”回归的人，现在人们可以在阿姆斯特丹的市中心享受清新的空气和便利的交通。

Nowadays, the idea of “white bikes” has pedalled its way around the world and there has been a global increase in bike-sharing.

如今，“白色自行车”的概念已经在世界范围内广泛传播，全球的共享单车也在增加。

5  In China, more and more cities have their own “white bike” programmes. Both the locals and tourists like to use shared bikes because bike-sharing is a cheap and easy way to save energy, reduce air and noise pollution, and enjoy the benefits of exercise in cities. However, problems can also develop, like the theft of bikes and parking issues. Fortunately, people are trying different ways of solving those problems. Where will bike-sharing go in China? You decide.

在中国，越来越多的城市拥有了自己的“白色自行车”计划。本地人和游客都喜欢骑共享单车，因为共享单车简单又便宜，可以节省能源、减少空气和噪音污染，使人享受在城市里运动的益处。然而，问题也随之而来，例如自行车被盗和停放问题。幸运的是，人们正在尝试不同的方法来解决这些问题。在中国，共享单车未来会走向何方？这由你来决定。