英国新闻听力 伦敦新巴士惊艳亮相

London's New 'Green' Red Buses 伦敦新巴士惊艳亮相

What is red but green, open but closed and old but new? Answer: London's stunning¹ new double-decker buses.

The traditional red double-deckers are a symbol of London. Their iconic status was sealed in 2008 when one bus made the longer-than-usual trip to Beijing to collect a very special passenger: the Olympic Flame.

Now a new bus design has been unveiled and it has been wowing Londoners.

The new bus uses more efficient green technology and has two staircases and an open platform, enabling people to hop² on and hop off. It also has a unique asymmetric³ design for the front end, which gives it a futuristic look.

Despite its innovations the design is not all new. Its exterior⁴ is very reminiscent of London's faithful old double-decker, the Routemaster.

In December 2005 the original Routemaster was withdrawn⁵ from general service for accessibility and environmental reasons, but it can still be seen on two heritage routes in London.

In July 2008 a competition was launched by the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, to design a new Routemaster bus for the capital. There were over 700 entries, with several designers jointly⁶ winning the ￡25,000 (244,000 Yuan) prize.

The new double-deckers, which have three doors to speed up boarding, are expected to be in service in 2012.

Mr Johnson said: "This iconic new part of our transport system is not only beautiful, but also has a green heart beating beneath its stylish⁷, swooshing exterior".

He expects cities around the globe to be "beside themselves with envy" for what he described as a "stunning red emblem⁸" of 21st-century London.

However, Mr Johnson has not yet persuaded everyone to climb on board. The mayor has been criticised by some for the high cost of the new buses. A normal double-decker bus costs around ￡190,000 (around 1,900,000 Yuan) but it has cost ￡7.8m (76,000,000 Yuan) to design and build five new ones.

大家来猜一下，是红色的，又是绿色的，是开放的却又是封闭的，是旧的却又是新的，这是什么呢？答案是：伦敦惊艳的新双层巴士。

传统的红色双层电车是伦敦的象征。这个标志性身份在2008年，一辆巴士穿越千山万水前往北京搭载一个特殊乘客时盖上印章，这个特殊的乘客就是奥运圣火。

现在，一种让伦敦人惊叹的新的巴士设计揭开了面纱。

这种新的巴士使用更加高效的环保技术，拥有两个楼梯和一个开放的平台，方便乘客跳上跳下。同时，前端还是独特的不对称设计，看上去非常新潮。

尽管比较有创新意识，然而该设计并不是全新的。这种巴士的外部是非常怀旧的伦敦古老的双层电车“马路大师”的形象。

2005年12月，出于便于使用和环保方面的原因，最初的“马路大师”退出大众服务。但是在伦敦的两条游览路线还是可以见到它们的身影。

2008年7月，伦敦市长Boris Johnson发起了一项竞赛，为首都设计一款新的“马路大师”。共有700多名参赛者，几名设计师共同获得了25,000英镑(244,000元人民币)的奖金。

这种新的双层巴士有三个车门，可以增加上下车的速度。预计将在2012年开始提供服务。

Johnson说：“我们交通体系中这个标志性的部分不仅非常漂亮，而且在它流行的旋弧形外观下还隐藏着一颗绿色环保的心脏。”

他认为，全球的城市都将因为21世纪伦敦“令人惊艳的红色标志”而极度羡慕。

然而，Johnson还未能说服每个人登上这辆巴士。由于这种新巴士高昂的费用，伦敦市长受到一些人的批评。普通双层巴士只需耗费190,000英镑(1,900,000元),但是这种新的巴士从设计到建造，五辆巴士已经耗费了780万英镑(76,000,000元)。

1 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

2 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

3 asymmetric   

a.不对称的

参考例句：

• Most people's faces are asymmetric. 大多数人的脸不对称。
• We have made no reference to asymmetric carbon atoms. 我们未曾涉及不对称碳原子。

4 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

5 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

6 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

7 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

8 emblem   

n.象征，标志；徽章

参考例句：

• Her shirt has the company emblem on it.她的衬衫印有公司的标记。
• The eagle was an emblem of strength and courage.鹰是力量和勇气的象征。