世界节假日博览 第153期:世界无车日

 　　World Car-Free Day is a very important holiday on the environmental calendar. Every September 22, governments, green groups and ordinary citizens highlight the damage cars are doing to the Earth. The day is a reminder¹ that we do not need to rely so much on cars. Those who take part hope others will realize we do not have to accept our car-dominated society. Carlos Pardo from Colombia's Sustainable Urban Transport Project summed things up, saying: "World Car-Free Day is not only a celebration of fun ways to get around the city, but a demonstration² of what is possible: unclogged streets, clean air, and city traffic participants with their usual stress levels turned down drastically³."

　　世界无车日是环保日程上的重要节日。每年9月22日，政府、环保组织和普通市民都会强调汽车对地球的危害。世界无车日提醒我们不必过分依赖汽车。那些参与这一节日的人希望别人会意识到：我们不必接受汽车为主导的社会。来自哥伦比亚可持续城市交通项目的卡洛斯·帕尔多总结说“世界无车日不仅是赞美城市中的步行是种有趣的出行方式，同时也展现着一切皆有可能：畅通的街道、洁净的空气、城市道路上的人们日常紧张程度戏剧性地下降。”

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　　World Car-Free Day aims to take a sizeable number of cars off the streets for all or part of a day. This will give people a chance to see what their town might look like with a lot fewer cars. The idea for this day came in October 1994 at the International Accessible Cities Conference in Toledo, Spain. The first national campaign was held in Britain three years later. The European Union adopted the idea in 2000. Today, as many as 100 million people in over 1,500 cities worldwide celebrate this day. There are many critics of the day. They say it is a one-day gimmick⁴ and does not make people give up their cars for the rest of the year. They say what is needed is a move towards a more sustainable city transportation system.

　　世界无车日的目标是在全天或一天的某一时段内减少街道上的大量汽车。这也给人们机会来观察车辆减少时城镇的样子。1994年10月，西班牙托莱多的国际城市访问会议上有人提出了世界无车日的想法。三年后在英国举办第一次全国性的活动。2000年欧盟采用了这一想法。如今，世界范围内1500多个城市的1亿人庆祝这一节日。但也有很多人批评这一节日。他们说世界无车日只是一天的游戏，并不能使人们在其他时间放弃开车。他们说迫在眉睫的是推进一个更具可持续性的城市交通系统。

　　1.Green groups 环保组织

　　例句：Green groups awarded the country their Fossil⁵ of the Year award for its performance in Durban.

　　由于在德班的表现，加拿大还获评环保组织评选的“年度顽固不化奖”。

　　2.rely on 依靠

　　例句：Therefore, we are not to rely on feelings, but to have faith in the facts.

　　因此，我们不能依靠我们的感觉，而是要将信心建立在事实上。

　　3.sum up 总结

　　例句：If one had to sum up 2009 in one sentence, it was the year in which elephants bred like rabbits.

　　如果要用一句话来总结2009年，那就是：这是大象像兔子一样繁殖的一年。

　　4.give up 放弃

　　例句：The Coast Guard had given up all hope of finding the two divers⁶ alive.

　　海岸警卫队已放弃了两名潜水员生还的全部希望。

1 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

2 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

3 drastically   

ad.极端地，严厉地

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。
• Next year's budget will have to be drastically pruned. 下一年度的预算将大幅度削减。

4 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

5 fossil   

n.化石，食古不化的人，老顽固

参考例句：

• At this distance of time it is difficult to date the fossil.时间隔得这么久了，很难确定这化石的年代。
• The man is a fossil.那人是个老顽固。

6 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。