【英语语言学习】适用于儿童骑行的自行车

DON GONYEA, HOST:

So the Tour de France starts next weekend in Britain. But over in Paris, the next generation of riders will be able to start training. Based on the popularity of the city's bike-share program for adults, parents can now rent wheels for children as young as 2. Officials say the program won't cost Paris a cent and might help build a new generation of environmentally conscious citizens and - and perhaps a few bike racing¹ champions. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley has this report.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE²: Velib, which stands for velo, or bicycle, liberte, has been such a success that there are high hopes for its little successor, P'tit Velib. Along the banks of the Seine, at a mile-long stretch known as Les Berges, there are no cars allowed - only barges³ and sightseeing boats ply⁴ the river. That's where this P'tit Velib concessionary, Joel Sick, has set up his rental⁵.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: He has a lot of cute, little bikes here - teeny, little bikes.

BEARDSLEY: Sick shows his collection. Forty shiny, new velos that come in three different sizes, along with the training wheel option. The smallest, called a hobby horse, has no pedals at all. Sick says it allows 2-year-olds to push themselves along and develop their balance.

JOEL SICK: (Through translator) In Paris, people don't usually have kids' bikes. They keep them in their country house if they have one. And if you have several kids, you cannot fit all the bikes in your apartment. So this rental scheme is really meeting a need.

BEARDSLEY: When school's out for the summer next week, Sick plans to give bike lessons. But today, in the gray, Paris drizzle⁶, he wonders if anyone will show up. A client is coming.

HERMINIE NOUGARET: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: It's a great idea. We looked for you and found you, says 70-year-old Herminie Nougaret, who's brought along her 6-year-old godson, Omar Tall. Despite the weather, Nougaret says she wants Omar to be able to ride with no cars around.

So far, there are five P'tit Velib rental locations around the city, all in secure, spacious⁷ places - the river, the canal, and at the city's biggest parks. Jean Francois Martins is Paris deputy mayor for sports and tourism.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEAN FRANCOIS MARTINS: For a little Parisian - a little, tiny Parisian, it's very hard to find a safe place to learn how to ride the bicycle because, you know, streets are dangerous.

BEARDSLEY: Martin says it's also about building an environmentally friendly city for the future.

MARTINS: If we can make the bicycle like a reflex or something very natural, even when you are young, it will be for the next generation.

BEARDSLEY: Because an advertising⁸ firm is involved in the scheme, the prices are affordable⁹ for customers. And it costs the city nothing. Three-year-old Oscar arrives back at the stand to return his bike with training wheels. His mom, Sonia Bayeda, is thrilled.

S. BAYEDA: It's the first time you had the opportunity to ride a real bicycle. And so we're very happy with that idea of the city of Paris.

BEARDSLEY: Yes, agrees father Jean Guillaume Bayeda, to a point.

J. BAYEDA: I think this is the sign they don't have so many new ideas.

BEARDSLEY: Bayeda says the city is simply duplicating the grown-up scheme. He says he'd rather see more daycare centers. But 3-year-old Oscar Bayeda seems sold on it.

O. BAYEDA: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: I love the little bike with the pink helmet, he says, running over to get on his P'tit Velib. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.

1 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。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 barges   

驳船( barge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tug is towing three barges. 那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
• There were plenty of barges dropping down with the tide. 有不少驳船顺流而下。

4 ply   

v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲

参考例句：

• Taxis licensed to ply for hire at the railway station.许可计程车在火车站候客。
• Ferryboats ply across the English Channel.渡船定期往返于英吉利海峡。

5 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

6 drizzle   

v.下毛毛雨；n.毛毛雨，蒙蒙细雨

参考例句：

• The shower tailed off into a drizzle.阵雨越来越小，最后变成了毛毛雨。
• Yesterday the radio forecast drizzle,and today it is indeed raining.昨天预报有小雨，今天果然下起来了。

7 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

8 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

9 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。