War on the roads

 Alice: 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. 

Rob: Hi there Alice. 

Alice: Now, Rob are you a cyclist? 

Rob: Yes I ride a bicycle. 

Alice: Even on the mean streets of London? 

Rob: 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. 

Alice: 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 documentary¹ 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 

Rob: I haven’t a clue really. But at a guess I’d probably say Tokyo. 

Alice: 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. 

Rob: Now come on Alice, is it really a ‘battle’? 

Alice: 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: 

Journalist Jan Etherington: 

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.

Alice: 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. 

Rob: Ah - but she did say that it’s a minority - so not all cyclists. 

Alice: Yes she said it’s the aggressive minority - the small number of cyclists who cycle in an aggressive manner. 

Rob: Aggressive; so that’s in a dangerous and challenging way. 

Alice: Yes. Jan Etherington wants the cycling community to do something about aggressive cycling - she wants them to address the problem. 

Rob: So how do cyclists defend themselves? Aren’t cyclists just protecting themselves from dangerous motorists? 

Alice: Well cycling writer and former British racing² cyclist Michael Hutchinson thinks so. He says only idiots³ would go to war on a bicycle. 

Cyclist Michael Hutchinson: 

You do feel quite vulnerable⁴ as a cyclist. Somebody drives past inches away, the first thing it is, is frightening. I certainly don’t go to war, because frankly⁵ 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 going to win a battle with a forty ton truck. So only an idiot’s going to go to war with a bicycle. 

Alice: Cyclist Michael Hutchinson says cyclists feel vulnerable; in danger. It can be frightening when a big truck drives very close to you. 

Rob: 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. 

Alice: 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. Battalions⁶; we usually hear this word when we’re talking about soldiers. And cyclists taking up the road, two or three abreast⁷, in droves, like soldiers marching. 

Journalist Jan Etherington: 

I live in the middle of the Olympic cycling route, now from dawn to dusk at the weekend the cyclists come not as single spokes⁸ 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. 

Alice: Journalist Jan Etherington who says cyclists on London’s roads are not stopping for anyone. 

Alice: So Rob - whose side are you on? 

Rob: Well I’m a cyclist and a motorist - and a pedestrian⁹ - so I can see the problem from all sides. 6 Minute English ? bbclearningenglish.com 2012 Page 3 of 4 

Alice: 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. 

Rob: I guessed Tokyo, Japan. Come on I’ve got to be right? 

Alice: 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? 

Rob: No, I haven’t. But I’d love to. 

Alice: 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: 

Rob: Of course. We heard: 

gladiators 

aggressive minority 

to address the problem 

vulnerable 

battalions 

in droves 

Alice: Thanks Rob. And please join us again soon for more 6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com. 

Bye for now. 

Rob: Bye.

1 documentary   

adj.文献的；n.纪录片

参考例句：

• This case lacked documentary proof.本案缺少书面证据。
• I watched a documentary on the Civil War.我看了一部关于内战的纪录片。

2 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

3 idiots   

傻子，笨蛋( idiot的名词复数 )； 白痴

参考例句：

• "How I hate them-those idiots in charge of the town! “我恨极了，那班混账东西！ 来自子夜部分
• 'May the Devil carry away these idiots! “但愿魔鬼把这些白痴都抓了去！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 vulnerable   

adj.易受伤的，脆弱的，易受攻击的

参考例句：

• He volunteered to protect her as she looked so vulnerable.她看上去很脆弱，他就主动去保护她。
• The company is in an economically vulnerable position.该公司目前经济状况不稳定。

5 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

6 battalions   

n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍

参考例句：

• God is always on the side of the strongest battalions. 上帝总是帮助强者。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Two battalions were disposed for an attack on the air base. 配置两个营的兵力进攻空军基地。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 abreast   

adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地

参考例句：

• She kept abreast with the flood of communications that had poured in.她及时回复如雪片般飞来的大批信件。
• We can't keep abreast of the developing situation unless we study harder.我们如果不加强学习，就会跟不上形势。

8 spokes   

n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动

参考例句：

• Her baby caught his fingers in the spokes of the pram wheel. 她宝宝的手指被婴儿车轮的辐条卡住了。 来自辞典例句
• The new edges are called the spokes of the wheel. 新的边称为轮的辐。 来自辞典例句

9 pedestrian   

n.行人，步行者；adj.徒步的，呆板的，通俗的

参考例句：

• The criminal pushed a pedestrian down and ran away.罪犯推倒了一个行人逃跑了。
• The city built a pedestrian overpass over the highway.城里在公路上建了一座过街天桥。