BEC中級商務(wù)英語閱讀講義精選：7

管管倫敦的騎車族吧!

不久前，有一篇報道說，自行車車座會對生殖器官造成損傷性影響，經(jīng)常騎車的男性可能因此患上不育癥。這讓我太高興了。在我看來，任何阻止騎車人繁衍后代的事都是好事，應(yīng)該加以歡迎。

Some while ago I read a newspaper story saying male cyclists who rode a lot risked impotence because of the damaging effect of the saddle on their reproductive organs. It quite made my day. In my opinion, anything that stops cyclists breeding is to be welcomed as an unmitigated good.

騎自行車的人真討厭。至少，我每天在倫敦見到的那些騎車人真讓人討厭。表面上，他們看起來像是和藹可親、值得尊敬、遵紀(jì)守法的中產(chǎn)階級人士。通常情況下，也許確實如此。但這幫人蹬起自行車的那一刻，就不是那么回事兒了。

I hate cyclists. At least, I hate the ones I see in London every day. Outwardly, they may appear to be nice, respectable, law-abiding, middle-class people, and perhaps they normally are. But the moment they straddle their bikes, something snaps.

讓騎車族變壞的不僅是自以為是，而是一種根深蒂固的不公平感。一方面，他們感到自鳴得意，高人一等。另一方面，他們?nèi)菀壮鲕嚨?，這一點很傷自尊。如此不公平讓騎車族怒火滿腔，把他們變成了十足的瘋子。他們被一種復(fù)仇的欲望攫住，要報復(fù)這個殘酷、如此錯待他們的社會。

It is not just the self-righteousness that gets to them. It is a deep-seated sense of injustice. On the one hand, they feel smug and superior, yet on the other, they are constantly humiliated by the knowledge of their acute vulnerability. The unfairness of it all fills them with such outrage that they turn into complete nutters, gripped by a desire for vengeance on a world that has wronged them so cruelly.

騎車族對法律的蔑視令人吃驚。他們一向無視紅燈，讓本應(yīng)該安全無虞的過街行人險象環(huán)生。這幫人沿著單行線逆行，每天早晨竟在我們當(dāng)?shù)匦W(xué)門外跟家長和孩子玩“閃人”游戲。只要他們覺得方便，這幫人就會騎過人行交叉路口，騎上人行道。他們當(dāng)中比較好斗的，還會朝擋路人破口大喊大叫。至于那些一時誤入自行車道的汽車司機(jī)或行人，但愿老天保佑所有的人吧。

Their contempt for the law is breathtaking. They routinely ignore red traffic lights, menacing pedestrians crossing the road when it ought to be safe. They cycle the wrong way along one-way streets, notably outside our local primary school where they play dodge ’em with the parents and children every morning. They race over pedestrian crossings and along the pavements whenever it suits them, the more aggressive of them screaming abuse at anyone who gets in their way. Yet heaven help anyone, car driver or pedestrian, who strays even momentarily into a cycle lane.

這要緊嗎?當(dāng)然要緊。顯然，騎車族公然藐視法律，對公眾安全是一種威脅。另外，這也影響了倫敦的生活質(zhì)量。騎車族不僅把步行變成一種極不愉快、有時甚至嚇人的經(jīng)歷，還給人一種無法無天、混亂無序的感覺。

Does it matter? Yes, very much. Obviously, cyclists’ flagrant disrespect for the law is a threat to public safety. It also affects the quality of life in London, not just by making walking unpleasant and sometimes even frightening, but by contributing to a sense of lawlessness and disorder.

更重要的是，如果某個特定的馬路使用群體認(rèn)為自己可以凌駕于法律之上，那可是件非常糟糕的事兒。而更糟糕的是，政府和警察默許這種行為。為什么騎車族可以隨意做出違反交通法規(guī)的危險舉動?而大批警察、交通管理員和私人承包商卻要借助監(jiān)視攝像頭和其它技術(shù)，隨時準(zhǔn)備撲向開汽車的人?并因為最微不足道的違規(guī)行為，罰他們的錢，沒收他們的車、甚至加以更重的懲罰?

More important, it is bad enough that a particular group of road users should regard themselves as above the law; it is much worse that the government and police should connive in it. Why should cyclists be allowed to commit dangerous traffic offences at will while vast numbers of police, traffic wardens and private sector contractors, assisted by spy cameras and other technology, are ready to pounce on car drivers for even the most trivial violations and punish them with heavy fines, the confiscation of their vehicles or worse?

倫敦早該整治一下騎車族的行為了。我無意阻止人們騎車，可我確實希望騎車族能夠認(rèn)識到，頭盔上環(huán)繞的綠色光環(huán)，并不能讓他們成為不用遵守交通法規(guī)的特殊群體，就像不能因為騎自行車去超市就有權(quán)偷東西而不受罰一樣。

It is time London cracked down on cyclists’ behaviour. I do not want to stop people cycling but I do want them to realise that the green halo hovering over their helmets does not put them in a special category of road users to whom no laws apply, any more than cycling to the supermarket gives them the right to shoplift with impunity.

我知道，這么做有困難。目前，很難懲罰違規(guī)的騎車人。警察攔下一個騎車闖紅燈的人，騎車人留下個假名、假地址就走了，依舊在單行路上逆行，誰也沒辦法。

I realise the difficulty. At present, it is difficult to punish cyclists for breaking the law. The police stop a cyclist for jumping a red light, she gives them a false name and address and off she goes, the wrong way up a one way street. There is nothing much anyone can do.

其實，還是有辦法的?，F(xiàn)在，應(yīng)該對自行車頒發(fā)牌照。所有16歲以上使用公共道路的騎車人，都應(yīng)該持有牌照。他們并不用通過考試獲得牌照，但這個制度必須自負(fù)盈虧，讓申請者出錢。如果不出錢的話，騎車族就是在馬路基建上揩油的人。目前，馬路使用費主要是由汽車使用者交納的。如果你想到這點，就知道我這個要求并不過分。

Except, there is. It is time to introduce cyclist licensing. All cyclists over the age of 16 using public roads should be required to hold a licence. They would not need to pass a test to obtain one but the system would have to be self-financing, requiring applicants to pay a fee. This is not asking much when you consider that cyclists are otherwise freeloaders on road infrastructure that is overwhelmingly paid for by motorists.

發(fā)放牌照可以改變執(zhí)法，騎自行車的人要隨身攜帶牌照，以此提供身份證明。如果違規(guī)人不能出示牌照，那么就在當(dāng)事人出示牌照之前，把其自行車沒收。與開汽車的人一樣，如果騎車族危及行人或其它道路使用者安全，就要在其牌照上做個記錄，違規(guī)三次就要加以取締。

Licensing would transform enforcement. Cyclists would be required to carry their licences with them at all times, providing proof of their identity. Those stopped for an offence who failed to produce one would have their cycles confiscated until they did so. As with motorists, cyclists endangering pedestrians or other road users would have their licences endorsed, with three offences leading to a ban.

如今，騎車族上人行道要罰款30英鎊。這種微不足道的罰款也應(yīng)大幅提高。只有這樣，執(zhí)法才能在財政上自給自足。與開汽車的人一樣，倫敦各個區(qū)政府可以雇用一些交通管理員，對騎自行車違規(guī)者加以追究和罰款，也可以把這項工作外包給私人承包商。

Today’s piffling fines – ￡30 for riding on the pavement – should also be drastically raised. Then, enforcement could become self-financing. As with motorists, local authorities could employ teams of wardens to hunt down and penalise errant cyclists, or else turn the job over to private contractors.

我知道，不是所有的騎車人都不好。就在幾個月前，我還看見一位騎車人在紅燈處停了下來。不過，如果我們對騎車族的厭惡少一些，那些好的騎車人也可以從上述措施中受益。這就是我要改變的事情。我主張，現(xiàn)在就對自行車實施牌照制度，以塑造一個更安全，更公平，總而言之，更文明的社會。

I realise not all cyclists are bad; just a few months ago, I saw one stop at a red light. But the good ones will benefit from these measures if the rest of us hate cyclists less. So that is what I would change. I would introduce cyclist licensing now, for a safer, fairer and altogether more civil society