VOA标准英语2010年-Bike Lanes Open on America's Main Stre

Bike lanes opened recently on Pennsylvania Avenue, the wide boulevard that runs from the White House to the US Capitol.

They were painted several weeks ago on Pennsylvania Avenue, the wide boulevard that runs from the White House to the U.S. Capitol. Recently, a group of VIP cyclists went for a test ride.

Among them were Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty and Democratic Congressman¹ Earl Blumenhauer, from the bike-friendly city of  Portland, Oregon, who pedals to his office on Capitol Hill every day.

Fenty wore the colorful racing² tights of his amateur bike team, and Blumenhauer had a bike helmet on his head in the style of a World War I helmet. They cruised down the bike lane like pros³.

 

The mayor pointed⁴ to a bike taxi, or pedicab, up ahead.

"The pedicabs are going to love these bike lanes," he said, about having a bike taxi shuttle service along Pennsylvania Avenue.

New bike lanes

The ride finished at the other end of the 1.2-mile (2-kilometer) stretch of the avenue — at Freedom Plaza⁵ — where thousands of avid⁶ cyclists rallied for more bike lanes and better safety measures. They cheered when Blumenhauer took the stage.

"These aren't just bike lanes on America's most famous street. It's an expression that what you are all about, has come of age," the congressman said. "All of you who are here burning calories instead of fossil fuel, when we're having 'drill baby drill' acted out in the Gulf⁷, indicates the wisdom of what you're trying to do."

The only fuel being burned on Freedom Plaza was the edible⁸ kind. Cyclists devoured⁹ mounds¹⁰ of free bananas and bagels handed out by event organizers.

Many people said they had given up driving cars because of unpredictable gas prices, which reached record highs two years ago. Some are frustrated¹¹ by gridlocked streets and choked highways. Others cited a desire to get some exercise on the way to their desk jobs.

But one thing is clear, Washington and other urban centers are filling up with pedal-driven vehicles — not only bikes and bike taxis — but also reclining bikes, hand-driven tricycles for the disabled and infant trailers attached to bikes for adults.

Embracing cycling

"America is embracing cycling," Blumenhauer said after the rally. "We're watching from coast to coast, what's happening in New York City, what's happening in Chicago. I was just in Philadelphia. Cycling has doubled in their city."

Suzanne Allen is a recent convert to pedal power.

"I just moved to the city two years ago, and I'm just amazed at how many people are on bikes here," she said. "It almost seems like it should be the opposite, that when you're out in the suburbs, there's sort of less traffic."

Here in Washington D.C., Mayor Fenty's administration plans to nearly double the 45 miles of commuting¹² lanes in the city and create the largest bike sharing program in the United States.

More than 2 percent of workers in Washington commute¹³ by bike. That is about twice the national average. In some neighborhoods, the figure is closer to 5 percent.

 

More than 2 percent of workers in Washington, DC commute by bike.

Motorist concerns

Still, that is a fraction of the workers who commute by car.

Many motorists are hardly pleased that Pennsylvania Avenue has been narrowed from eight to six lanes to make space for bikes.

"We are only raising serious questions about how this should be configured and how this should be designed in a way that safely accommodates motorists and bicyclists and pedestrians¹⁴ too," said John Townsend, a spokesman for AAA, the American Automobile¹⁵ Association.

He blames much of the current gridlock in downtown Washington on the complete closure of the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, which is right in front of the White House. That was implemented¹⁶ in the mid-1990s because of security concerns in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing.

"The District of Columbia still hasn't recovered from that," Townsend said.  "You cannot get from here to there anymore. And that's the concern. Now if you remove complete lanes on Pennsylvania Avenue, from the White House to the Capitol, would you replicate¹⁷ that nightmarish scenario¹⁸ in terms of gridlock?"

Still, many people are growing frustrated by how dependent they are on cars in their daily lives.

A study by the University of California Berkeley found that Americans spend five times more on driving than on exercising.

On his way back from the rally, Peter Harnick said he bikes to work for many reasons.

"Oh, I do it for the exercise, to fight air pollution, to save fuel. It feels good," he said. "Sometimes, it's the best part of my day."
 

1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

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 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

6 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

9 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

10 mounds   

土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆

参考例句：

• We had mounds of tasteless rice. 我们有成堆成堆的淡而无味的米饭。
• Ah! and there's the cemetery' - cemetery, he must have meant. 'You see the mounds? 啊，这就是同墓，”——我想他要说的一定是公墓，“看到那些土墩了吗？

11 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 commuting   

交换（的）

参考例句：

• I used the commuting time to read and answer my mail. 我利用上下班在汽车中的时间来阅读和答复给我的函电。
• Noncommuting objects are as real to the mathematicians as commuting objects. 对于数学家来说，不可交换的对象与可交换的对象是一样真实的。

13 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

14 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

16 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

17 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

18 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。