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Freewheeling Portland 无乐不作的波特兰

 

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No matter how you choose to get around in this outpost of half a million, car keys aren’t required  在这个拥有五十万居民的前哨站，无论你选择以何种方式走透透，都不需要汽车钥匙

 

When guests at Portland’s hip Ace Hotel want to break away for some urban exploring, they can borrow a Dutch-designed cruiser [bicycle] and a cycling map laced with helpful hints: Do steer clear of train tracks and yield to pedestrians; don’t blow through red lights or ride while using a cell phone.

当波特兰摩登的「艾斯饭店」住宿客人想抛开一切、来趟都市探险时，可以借一部荷兰设计的自行车和一张自行车道路线图，图上附有许多有用的建议：别靠近铁轨、礼让行人、不可闯红灯、骑自行车时也不可以讲手机等。

 

The Zoo Bombers, a tribe of Portland cyclists (and sporadic intrepid visitors), convene a few blocks from the Ace on Sunday evenings. Their agenda: Climb aboard one of the light-rail MAX trains that crisscross the metro area, get off at the Oregon Zoo, and careen downhill to their original starting point on souped-up kiddie bikes. Blood, bruises and broken speed limits are par for the course.

「动物园炸弹客」是波特兰单车族的一支（偶而也有零星游客加入），每逢周日傍晚会在离「艾斯饭店」几个路口之处集结，他们集会的行程是：搭上交叉穿梭于都会区的MAX轻轨电车，之后在「奥勒冈动物园」站下车，然后骑着改装后马力提高的孩童式脚踏车、左摇右晃冲下坡回到原来的出发点。流血、瘀青和超过速限都堪称稀松平常。

 

Normal but different  异于一般的常态

 

Founded in the mid-19th century as a shipping and logging center (which prompted one of its first nicknames, Stumptown), Portland has been a poster child for progressive urban planning for decades. And as lofty fuel prices drive destinations to tout their pedestrian- and biker-friendly attributes, the city’s extensive mass transit, green credentials and neighborhood-centric culture are gathering even more attention.

波特兰建于十九世纪中叶，以运输与伐木中心起家（因此早期有个「树墩镇」的昵称），数十年来一直都是先进都市规划的完美典范。而随着高涨的油价迫使各旅游地点以适合步行客与单车族的特点来招徕游客，波特兰广阔的公共运输、环保努力明证、以及以小区邻里为中心的文化，在在都让它获得更多瞩目。

 

“We still have parking lots filled with SUVs”, says Shelby Wood, who writes PDXgreen, a column and blog about sustainable living. “But here,” she adds, “it seems normal to do things that still strike other parts of the country as awfully different” – from raising free-range chickens in backyards to creating crosswalk “bike boxes” that let cyclists get ahead of cars at busy intersections, with the goal of reducing collisions.

薛碧．伍德表示，「我们还是有停满了休旅车的停车场。」伍德是PDXgreen这个有关永续生活方式的专栏和部落格的作者。她补充道，「但是在这里，做些仍让美国其地区瞠目结舌的异事似乎是常态，从在后院放养鸡群，到规划自行车待转区都有，后者可让自行车在繁忙十字路口可以走在汽车前头，以降低碰撞风险。」

 

 

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get around  随意走走 to travel from place to place

outpost [ˋaʊt͵post] n. 前哨基地

hip [hɪp] adj. 新潮的; 赶时髦的 very fashionable or stylish

break away 脱离; 挣脱 to move rapidly away from or ahead of a group

cruiser bicycle (这里指的是)出租自行车

cruiser [ˋkruzɚ] n. 巡洋舰; 流动出租车; 【美】警察巡逻车

lace with（饮料或食物）里掺入（少量的酒、药等）to add or intersperse with something in order to produce a certain effect

hint [hɪnt] n. 建议，指点，注意事项

steer clear of 避开

steer [stɪr] v. 行驶，行进

yield to someone 让步于, 屈服于, 向…投降 to let someone go ahead; to give someone the right-of-way

yield [jild] v. 屈服; 屈从; 让步

sporadic [spəˋrædɪk] adj. 零星的; 偶尔的; 间或出现的

intrepid [ɪnˋtrɛpɪd] adj. 勇敢的；大胆的；无畏的；坚韧不拔的 extremely brave and showing no fear of dangerous situations

crisscross [ˋkrɪs͵krɔs] v.（在…范围内）纵横交错、交叉

careen [kəˋrin] v. 倾侧；（车等）摇晃着行驶 to go forward quickly while moving from side to side

souped-up 改装的(使马力或速度增加) making mechanical changes to something, especially a car, to make it unusually powerful

soup [sup] v.【俚】增加（发动机等）的马力（或效率）[（+up）]; made more powerful

kiddie [ ˈkɪdi ] n. 小孩; (= kiddy)

prompt [prɑmpt] v. 促使; 引起; 导致

poster child 模范人物，典型代表（亦作 poster boy 或 poster girl，由慈善募捐海报中的儿童之意引申而来）a person who is a prominent example or type of something; the perfect example or representative of something

lofty [ˋlɔftɪ] adj. 高耸的，极高的

destination [͵dɛstəˋneʃən] n. 目的地，终点 the place designated as the end (as of a race or journey)

tout [taʊt] v. 招徕顾客；兜售

attribute [ˋætrə͵bjut] n. 属性；特性，特质

green [grin] adj. 关心生态的；关心环保的 relating to the protection of the environment

credential [krɪˋdɛnʃəl] n.（常复数）国书；凭据；证书 a document attesting to the truth of certain stated facts

strike [straɪk] v. 打动，感动，给……以印象 to affect or overcome with strong emotion

awfully [ˋɔfʊlɪ] adv.【口】极度地；非常地

free-range [ˋfri͵redʒ] adj.（家禽）自由放养的 relating to farm animals that are allowed to move around outside and are not kept in cages

crosswalk [ˋkrɔs͵wɔk] n. 行人穿越道；斑马线

 

 

 

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Forget the rental car  用不着租车

 

Among the smitten is Paul Kahn, a Philadelphia lawyer who has just arrived in Portland via Amtrak from Seattle. After hopping a MAX train for a seven-minute ride from downtown to lushly forested, 130-acre Washington Park, Kahn and his wife, Janet, are now ensconced on a free shuttle bus.

费城律师保罗．康恩也是对波特兰大为倾倒的人士之一，他才刚从西雅图搭乘美国国铁抵达波特兰。康恩与太太珍娜搭上MAX轻轨电车，花了七分钟从主商业区到占地一百三十英亩、林木蓊郁的「华盛顿公园」后，如今又安稳地坐在免费接驳巴士上。

 

“We never considered renting a car, because Portland’s so compact and easy to get around,” says Kahn.

康恩表示，「我们从没考虑过租车，因为波特兰不大、很容易到处走透透。」

 

Along with the Max trains that whisk visitors from airport to downtown in 40 minutes, a sleek, tourist-friendly spoke of Portland’s public transportation system is its expanding network of streetcars. Launched in 2001, the Czech-made cars run every 12-15 minutes and cost $1.75 to ride all day. They link downtown with the newly developed South Waterfront, where a $4 aerial tram ride delivers million-dollar views of the Willamette River, Mount Hood and the downtown skyline.

除了将访客快速地从机场运送到主商区只要四十分钟的MAX轻轨电车外，波特兰公共运输系统另一时髦、适合观光客的交通轮辐，就是不断扩张的有轨电车网。波特兰电车于二００一年启用，捷克制的电车每天十二到十五分钟一班，一日券为一点七五美元。电车连结了市中心和新开发的南部水岸区，该区车资四块美元的空中缆车，让人可以一览堪称拥有百万美元美景的威廉特河、胡德山及市中心天际线等景观。

 

Streetcars also have played a prominent role in the Pearl District’s evolution from an industrial landfill to a trendy loft- and condo-laced enclave. The Pearl District is still home to much-beloved Powell’s City of Books, which sprawls up to four stories high over an entire block and claims to be the world’s largest independent bookstore.

珍珠区之所以能从一个工业掩埋场蜕变为充满时尚气息、在周遭独树一帜、挑高、隔间少的建筑（译注：英文的 loft 原指阁楼、仓库或厂房，后来一些艺术家开始把宽敞挑高的库房改装成工作室，如今可泛指挑高、隔间少的建筑）和公寓林木的区段，电车在其中也扮演了重要角色。珍珠区仍是广受喜爱的「鲍尔书城」所在地，书城有四层楼高，占据一整个街区，号称是世界上最大的独立书店。

 

Over the river  河的另一岸

 

Whether they’re on foot, rental bike or public transportation, most Portland visitors without cars confine their expeditions to downtown and other areas west of the Willamette. But tourists who venture across one of the 10 bridges that span the river in or near the city center will gain an even better appreciation of the town.

不管是步行、租自行车或是搭大众运输，大多数没有步工具的波特兰观光客都把行程局限在主商业区及威廉特河西岸各区。然而，跨出河上十座在市中心或市中心附近的任何一座桥，会更容易欣赏到这个城市之美。

 

Lower Burnside Avenue has gone from industrial zone to a magnet for foodies and indie music fans. They can chow down off lamb sandwiches at Le Pigeon, catch a performance at the Doug Fir Lounge – described as “Paul Bunyan’s vacation home in outer space” – and crash next door at the retro-hip Jupiter Hotel.

博恩赛下街已从工业区转变为吸引美食爱好者与独立乐迷流连忘返之地，他们可以在「鸽子餐厅」大啖羊肉三明治，在被形容为「保罗．班扬在外层空间的度假屋」的「冷杉音乐吧」看表演，然后住宿在隔壁复古时髦的「朱彼特饭店」。（译注：保罗．班扬是美国民间故事中的伐木工，体型高大、力大无穷。冷杉音乐吧是因其大量采用原木的室内装潢风格而有此外号。）

 

“I’d been in the airport about 45 seconds when I decided to stay,” say Joe Bass, who moved here four years ago. “You can bike or ride the bus everywhere.”

「我在机场四十五秒后就决定要留下来，」乔．巴斯表示。他是在四年前搬来波特兰，「你可以骑着自行车或搭公交车到处走。」

 

−by Laura Bly

 

 

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smitten [ˈsmɪtn] adj. 被迷住的; 着了迷的; 神魂颠倒的

smite [smaɪt] v. 使极度不安；折磨；使神魂颠倒[H][（+by/with）] to affect sharply with great feeling

Amtrak [ˋæmtræk] n. 美国铁路公司

compact [kəmˋpækt] adj. 小巧的；小型的

whisk [hwɪsk] v. 迅速移动；突然带走

sleek [slik] adj. 雅致的；时髦的；豪华的

spoke [spok] n. (车轮的)辐条；轮辐

streetcar [ˋstrit͵kɑr] n.【美】（市内）有轨电车

waterfront [ˋwɔtɚ͵frʌnt] n.（城市中的）滨水区

aerial [ˋɛrɪəl] adj. 空中的

tram [træm] n. 吊车; 煤车；矿车

skyline [ˋskaɪ͵laɪn] n.（建筑物等在天空映衬下的）空中轮廓线

loft [lɔft] n.（仓库、工场等上面的）不分隔的楼面

condo [ˋkɑndo] n.【口】各户有独立产权的公寓（大楼）, condominium

enclave [ˋɛnklev] n. 被包围的领土 an enclosed territory that is culturally distinct from the foreign territory that surrounds it; a group of people who are different from the people living in the surrounding area

confine [kənˋfaɪn] v. 限制；使局限[（+to）]

expedition [͵ɛkspɪˋdɪʃən] n. 远征；探险；考察

appreciation [ə͵priʃɪˋeʃən] n. 领会；了解；认识

magnet [ˋmægnɪt] n. 有吸引力的人（或物）[（+for/to）]

foodie [fudɪ] n.【俚】美食家，美食主义者

indie [ˋɪndɪ] adj. 非主流的; 独立制作的 describes music made by small companies, which are not owned by larger companies

chow [tʃaʊ] v.【俚】吃

retro [ˋrɛtro] adj. 复古的; 怀旧的

 

 

 

单词发音

 

Vocabulary Focus

freewheeling [friˋhwilɪŋ] adj.【口】无禁忌，无约束的 not limited by rules or accepted ways of doing things

blow through 匆忙离开; 闯 to go very quickly through something without stopping

convene [kənˋvin] v. 集会；聚集 for a group of people to come together for a meeting

par for the course 意料之中（的事）；司空见惯 indicating when an event or situation is not good but is normal or as you would expect

ensconced [ɛnˋskɑnst] adj. 舒服地坐于…的; 安坐的 positioned safely or comfortably somewhere

chow down 大块朵颐 to eat a lot of food; Informal to eat heartily

crash [kræʃ] v.【俚】（免费）宿夜；睡 to sleep, or to stay at a place temporarily

 

 

 

Portland Map.pdf

 

HiDef-Portland's "Max" Light Rail At the Saturday Market & Downtown Clips

 

  

The Ace Hotel: Portland

 

 

Portland MAX Train Light Rail Station At The Zoo

 

 

Kiddie Bicycle Cross Crusade 2012 : Portland

 

 

'Time to Swim' - Shook Twins - Doug Fir Lounge - 6-30-2011

 

 

bike boxes

 

Metro Transit Ride: Portland Aerial Tram

Video Tour: Portland's Pearl District