EZCNN 易英网

Reengineering Traffic Control 交通号志大整顿

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

It seems that being a driver or pedestrian is more dangerous than ever. In Taiwan alone, over 2,000 people were killed and more than 170,000 were injured in traffic accidents in 2004. Around the world, 1.2 million people die every year because of traffic accidents according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Lowering these statistics is in everyone’s best interest, and governments are taking steps to solve this problem. The traditional response is to install more traffic lights, signs, speed bumps, and crosswalks on dangerous roads. However, a new breed of traffic engineers has a radical new approach to traffic engineering. Instead of adding more signs and traffic lights to busy roads and intersections, they are eliminating them entirely.

看来不管身为驾驶人或行人，都越来越危险了。2004年，单单在台湾就有超过两千人死于交通事故，另有十七多万人受伤。根据世界卫生组织统计，全世界每年有一百二十万人因交通意外而丧生。降低这些资料对每个人都有益，各国政府也正采取措施解决这个问题。传统的因应之道是在危险路段增设更多的交通灯号、标志、路障以及行人穿越道。然而，新一代的交通工程师对于交通工程有一种激进的新作法。他们不在车流量多的路段及十字路口增设更多交通标志和灯号，反而将之完全舍弃不用。

At the forefront of this movement is Hans Monderman, a Dutch traffic engineer. He believes that road design affects not only traffic flow but also driver behavior. He says that signs tell drivers that as long as they follow the rules, nothing bad will happen to them. In a sense, increasing traffic controls reduces the driver’s role in making decisions and leads to more irresponsible driving. In Monderman’s system, drivers and pedestrians are responsible for cooperating with each other.

这个运动的先锋是一位叫汉斯曼德门的荷兰交通工程师，他相信道路的设计不仅影响车流量，还会影响驾驶人的行为。他指出，路标暗示驾驶人只要他们遵守规则，什么坏事都不会发生在他们身上。就某种意义来说，增加交通控管会使驾驶人减少做决定的机会而导致更多没有责任感的驾驶行为。在曼德门规画的系统里，驾驶人和行人有责任彼此合作。

Monderman’s ideas may appear counterintuitive at first, but the results have been impressive. They have been implemented in the town of Drachten, Holland, at a notoriously busy and dangerous intersection. He tore down the traffic lights, signs, sidewalks, and pedestrian crossings, and replaced everything with a simple, open roundabout. Traffic now flows smoothly, and pedestrians and cyclists, once excluded, are part of the overall traffic flow. Monderman’s design seems effective, and it is now being considered around the world.

曼德门的点子乍看之下似乎有点匪夷所思，但是结果却令人刮目相看。在荷兰的卓拉赫顿镇，一个以交通拥塞危险而恶名远播的十字路口已经开始实行这个点子。他拆掉所有的交通灯号、标志、人行道及行人穿越道，取代而之的是一个简单开放式的圆环。现在当地的交通车流很顺畅，而且一度被排除在外的行人与自行车及机车骑士，也成为整体车流的一部份。曼德门的设计似乎有效，现在世界各地都在考虑用这个方法。

Vocabulary

pedestrian [pəˋdɛstrɪən] n. 步行者，行人

statistics [stəˋtɪstɪks] n. 统计，统计资料

radical [ˋrædɪk!] adj. 极端的，过激的

intersection [͵ɪntɚˋsɛkʃən] n. 道路交叉口；十字路口

eliminate [ɪˋlɪmə͵net] v. 消除; 去除

irresponsible [͵ɪrɪˋspɑnsəb!] adj. 不负责任的

implement [ˋɪmpləmənt]v. 实施；执行

overall [ˋovɚ͵ɔl] adj. 全部的，全面的

More Information

bump [bʌmp] n.（路面的）凸块

crosswalk [ˋkrɔs͵wɔk] n. 行人穿越道

breed [brid] n.〔人或物的〕某种类型

forefront [ˋfor͵frʌnt] n. 最前方，最前线

counterintuitive [͵kaʊntɚɪnˋtjʊɪtɪv] adj. 反直觉思考的

in a sense: 在某种意义上  considering a situation in a particular way

roundabout [ˋraʊndə͵baʊt] n. 环形交通枢纽，环形交叉

Reading Questions

1. What is the main idea of the article?

A. As time goes by, being a driver or pedestrian in Taiwan is getting safer and safer.

B. New traffic engineers believe that adding more traffic signs and lights is not the best way to solve related problems.

C. No governments are happy about dealing with worsening traffic problems.

D. Traffic flows even more smoothly with better designed traffic signs.

2. According to Monderman, what influences do traffic signs have on drivers?

A. Drivers become more aware of their responsibilities for traffic safety.

B. Most drivers think they are useless and they don’t care about obeying the signs at all.

C. They can reduce the number of people driving on busy roads.

D. Drivers make fewer decisions on their own because they depend upon the signs too much.

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Monderman’s ideas?

A. They seem impractical, and no other nations would be likely to take them into consideration.

B. They state that pedestrians alone should be responsible for the overall traffic flow.

C. People haven’t seen them implemented in any part of the world.

D. He would use a simple, open roundabout to take the place of traditional intersections.

 to take the place of: 代替 to be substituted for. 

課文中英文講解

Hans Monderman’s ideas on solving traffic problems by eliminating traffic controls seem like backward thinking, but the results are impressive. In Christanfield, Denmark, traffic signs in the city’s major intersection were removed, and the ___1___ of serious accidents fell from three a year to zero. A study conducted in Wiltshire, England, found that after removing the center lines from roads, accidents dropped ___2___ 35 percent. In West Palm Beach, Florida, several major streets were narrowed and traffic signs were taken down. Traffic slowed down, but moved ___3___. Furthermore, pedestrians were able to walk through the street, and that ___4___ led to more shops being opened and increased property values.

曼德门想藉由取消交通管制来解决交通问题的点子似乎是反向思考，但却成效斐然。在丹麦的克里斯汀菲尔德市，其主要十字路口的交通号志被拆掉，结果当地重大交通事故发生率，由一年三起，降到完全没有。一份英国威尔特郡做的研究显示，自从去除马路上的中线以后，意外发生的比例下降了35%。在佛罗里达州的西棕榈滩地区，一些主要道路改窄，交通标志也被拆除。当地交通变慢了，但是却行进地更顺畅。此外，行人可以走路过街，这种情况便导致更多店家开张及房产升值。

There are several reasons why this new approach is working. In traditional traffic engineering, the car is king. Pedestrians are segregated, and roads are designed to maximize speed. In Monderman’s approach, the separation___5___ pedestrians and vehicles is blurred. Right of way is negotiated by eye-contact, not by traffic signals. This makes drivers themselves more responsible and careful, ___6___ fewer accidents.

有几项原因使得这种新方式可以行的通。传统的交通工程里，车辆是老大，行人被隔离了，而且道路是设计来让速度发挥至极限。依照曼德门的方法，行人与车辆之间的区隔变模糊了。道路优先权是由目测而不是交通号志来决定，这能让驾驶人本身更负责谨慎，进而导致更少的意外。

Critics of Monderman’s ideas argue that driving habits, ___7___ culture, vary from place to place. ___8___ his approach may work in some communities, some believe it won’t in places with ruder driving cultures, like New York or Boston. Perhaps not, but, according to Monderman, there has never been a fatal accident on any of the roads he has designed. It’s hard to argue with success like that.

批评曼德门想法的人认为开车习惯就像文化一样，因地而异。尽管他的方法在某些地区行得通，有些人相信这种方法在一些像纽约或波士顿等驾驶文化比较粗鲁的地方就行不通。这也说不定，但是依照曼德门的说法，他设计的道路从来没有发生过任何致命的意外。有这样的成就，是很难与之辩驳的。

－By Darshan Tyler

Vocabulary

blur [blɝ] v. 变模糊

negotiate [nɪˋgoʃɪ͵et] v. 谈判，协商

vary [ˋvɛrɪ] v. 变化

fatal [ˋfet!] adj. 致命的

More Information

backward thinking 逆向思考

segregate [ˋsɛgrɪ͵get] v. 分离; 分隔

right [raɪt] n. 权利

in turn 按顺序; 依次; ; 逐个地

Answer