GRE周末双语趣味阅读 伦敦步行者打破全国性趋势

2016年12月09日14:47 来源：互联网

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Walking in London——Footfalls

漫步伦敦：足音

Urban pedestrians buck a national trend

伦敦步行者打破全国性趋势

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LONDON is a city made for walking. Unlike, for instance, Los Angeles its centre is easily accessible on foot. Outer boroughs are no more than an hour or two away. Its curved streets, in contrast to the rigid grid of New York, welcome idle wanderers and busy commuters alike. But despite traffic queues and teeming underground carriages most prefer to drive or to squeeze on to the Tube to get around the city. This is starting to change.

伦敦是个适合步行的城市。不像洛杉矶这样的城市，伦敦市中心对步行者来说很方便。步行去外区也不会超过一两个小时。伦敦蜿蜒的街道和纽约方正平直的街道形成鲜明对比，迎接着悠闲的流浪汉和忙碌的上班族。尽管道路很堵、地铁很挤，但大部分人还是喜欢驾车或挤地铁在城市穿梭。这一切都将开始改变。

Between 2001 and 2011 the number of trips made daily on foot in London increased by12%.Nearly a third of the Londoners sampled made a continuous walk of 30 minutes once a week between 2010 and 2011 to get from place to place, rather than for exercise. Each day6.2m walks are made across the city.

2001年到2011年间，每天在伦敦步行的人数增长了12%。在此期间，被调查的伦敦人中有将近三分之一的人一个星期内至少有一次超过30分钟的步行体验，不是为了锻炼身体，而是单纯为了从一个地方到另一个地方。每天有620万人在城市步行。

And both rich and poor walk a similar amount. In areas such as Kensington and Chelsea 11%walk for at least 30 minutes five times a week or more. In Tower Hamlets 12% of residents do. One of the largest changes in the city over the past decade is the number of pedestrians, says Michèle Dix of Transport for London (TfL), which runs the city's transport networks. On July 10th TfL launched the Roads Task Force, with plans to spruce up pavements.

在步行上，穷人和富人都差不多。在肯辛顿-切尔西区，11%的人一周内至少会有5次超过30分钟的步行体验。在陶尔哈姆莱茨区，有12%的居民也会这么做。伦敦交通局(负责伦敦交通网络的运营)的米歇尔·迪克斯说，过去十年这座城市最大的变化是行人的数量。7月10日，伦敦交通局发动道路工作组，有计划地修缮人行道。

Several reasons account for the walking boom. The number of Londoners increased by 12%from 7.3m in 2001 to 8.2m in 2011, and Tube trains are broiling and overcrowded. But other factors also encourage pedestrians. In 2004 Ken Livingstone, then mayor of London, vowed to make London a “walkable city”. Some of his plans were carried on by Boris Johnson, the current mayor. These include a scheme to create clearly-marked maps for use across the city. Of 33boroughs in London 22 now have the distinctive yellow-branded signs on their streets. All TfL-owned property (such as Tube stations and bicycle-hire points) is covered by the scheme. This deters tourists from popping on the Tube to travel one stop from Covent Garden to Leicester Square, a distance of 0.3m (0.5km) says Tony Armstrong of Living Streets, a charity for pedestrians.

行人的暴增有好几个原因。从2001年的730万到2011年的820万，伦敦人口增长了12%，地铁变得又热又挤。但是其他几个因素也在鼓励着人们步行。2004年，伦敦市长肯·利文斯通承诺把伦敦建成一座步行城市。他的一些计划被现任市长鲍里斯·约翰逊继续执行。伦敦33个区中的22个在街道上树立了独特的黄色标志牌。伦敦交通局所有的财产(比如地铁和租车点)都包含在计划之内。Living Streets(一个为行人设立的慈善机构)的托尼·阿姆斯特朗说，这打消了游客从科芬园到莱斯特广场这一站路(仅500米)也要乘坐地铁的念头。

Streets are also becoming more pedestrian-friendly. Exhibition Road in South Kensington was redeveloped in 2011.Pavement curbs were removed and tarmac replaced by granite bricks. Fewer cars now go down the road, which stretches from Hyde Park to the museums and restaurants around the station, encouraging swarms of pedestrians. In June plans to develop a walkway by the Thames in Vauxhall were announced, turning a neglected part of London into something resembling the High Line in New York (which transformed a disused railway track into a lively public garden).

步行也变得越来越方便。南肯辛顿的会展路于2011年重新开发。路边石被移除，柏油路也被花岗石路面代替。车站附近这条从海德公园延生到博物馆和餐馆的路上车子更少了，这也有利于人们步行。六月，一系列将位于泰晤士河边沃克斯豪尔工厂内的一条走道建成类似于纽约高线公园(一个充满生气的公园，由一条废弃的铁路改造而成)的计划正式宣布。

Londoners may also be more aware of the advantages of walking. Health campaigns like the NHS's “Live Well” emphasize that walking is the easiest form of exercise. Rubber wristband pedometers, such as “FitBit” and “FuelBand”, are also increasingly popular.

伦敦人也可能更清楚走路的好处。像NHS(英国国家医疗服务体系)“Live Well”这样的健康宣传活动都在强调走路是最简单的一种锻炼方式。“FitBit”和“FuelBand”这些品牌的橡胶腕带计步器也越来越受欢迎。

But the capital is bucking the national trend. Although in 2011 walking was up across the country, it has seen an overall decline of 27% in Britain since 1995.This is partly caused by fewer children walking to school. And while rural rambles are still popular, fewer people are walking to their weekly grocery shop. Many more are shopping online. Local authorities want to change this. Pedestrians spend an average of ￡373 ($571) a month, compared with ￡226 for drivers, according to data from TfL. Ailing high streets and town centres need to win back walkers. Learning from London's incentives would be a start.

但是，发生在首都的这一切与全国趋势不符。虽然2011年全国步行的人数有所上涨，但总体来说却比1995年减少了27%。部分原因可能是走路去上学的孩子更少了。在农村走路仍然很常见，但每周走路去杂货店买东西的人却变少了。更多的人选择网上购物。地方政府想要改变这种状况。伦敦交通局的数据表明，步行者平均每月花费373英镑(571美元)，而驾车者每月只花226英镑。状况不佳的商业大街和城镇中心应该赢回这些步行者。学习来自伦敦的激励机制将是个开端。

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