Easing London’s Traffic While Raising Revenue 要打伦敦过，留下买路钱
- 详细资料
- 创建于 2005年8月26日
- 最后更新于 2023年12月18日
- 发布于 2011年9月13日
- 作者：Mike Lee
- 点击数：476
課文朗讀
課文中英文講解
Not long ago, a car tour of Central London’s landmarks sounded something like this: “Hey, look at Trafalgar Square!”; twenty minutes later, “Look! It’s still Trafalgar Square!”; and an hour later, “Can’t we just leave the car and walk?” Traffic was ruining Central London, and something had to be done. Therefore, the mayor of London created a system in which people have to pay five pounds every time they drive into Central London. The fee is known as a congestion charge, and cities around the world are watching to see how well it works.
不久以前，搭车游伦敦市中心的地标听起来就像这样:「嘿，看特拉法加广场!」二十分钟之后，「看，还是特拉法加广场!」然后再一小时之后，「难道我们就不能下车用走的吗?」壅塞的交通正摧毁着伦敦市中心，必须采取一些行动才行。所以伦敦市长建立了一套系统，要每次开车进入伦敦市中心的人都得付五英镑费用。这笔费用称为「塞车税」，世界各个城市都等着看塞车税的成效。
Critics of the idea argue that because people are avoiding going downtown now, stores and restaurants there have been losing business. They also claim that the motivation for having the charge is raising revenue for the city, not reducing traffic. Although it is true that some businesses have been adversely affected, and the city has raked in tens of millions of pounds thanks to the charges, many believe the plan is working.
批评这想法的人认为，市中心的商店和餐厅因为现在人们避免进城而损失了生意。他们还声称开征塞车税的动机是为了要增加伦敦市的税收，而不是为了要减少交通流量。虽然有些行业的确受到不利的影响，伦敦市也因为塞车税而捞近数千万英镑，但是还是有许多人认为这项计划行得通。
Traffic congestion in Central London has dropped by nearly thirty percent since the charge was implemented in 2003, and some surveys report that travel times have dropped by fifteen percent. Plus, the revenues generated are going toward improving public transportation, making it easier for everyone to get downtown. The success of London’s congestion charge may encourage other crowded cities to follow suit. Who knows? Maybe one day we’ll even see such an innovative approach to traffic congestion here in Taiwan’s major cities.
伦敦市中心的壅塞状况在2003年塞车税实施之后已疏解了近30%，一些调查显示行车时间也减少了15%。不仅如此，增加税收将会用来改善大众运输系统，让大家进城更方便。伦敦实施塞车税成功的例子，可能会促使其它交通壅塞的城市效法跟进。但谁知道呢?说不定哪天我们也会在台湾各大城市看到这项解决交通壅塞的创举。
－By Adam Moser
Vocabulary
landmark [ˋlænd͵mɑrk] n.（显而易见的）地标，陆标
congestion [kənˋdʒɛstʃən] n. 拥塞；挤满
implement [ˋɪmpləmənt] v. 实施；执行
generate [ˋdʒɛnə͵ret] v. 产生
innovative [ˋɪno͵vetɪv] adj. 创新的
More Information
lose business 失去生意
adversely [ædˋvɝslɪ] adv. 不利地
rake in: 大量地敛集(钱财) to receive something valuable in large amounts
follow suit 跟着做, 照别人的方式去做; 学样 to do the same as someone else has just done
Trafalgar Square - London Landmarks