我们的城市交通

教师之友网

我们的城市交通



（节选自《中级核心英语》第一单元）



Kernel Lessons Plus

A post-intermediate course

Robert O’Neill

All rights reserved by Longman Group Limited

Eurozentren 1973

声明：以下文字仅用作英语学习交流，不能部分或全部地复制用于商业目的！







Unit 01  Traffic in Our Cities



This is a traffic jam. Most of these people are trying to get to work. They all work in the city but few of them live there. They are feeling very angry and frustrated at the moment because the traffic is hardly moving. Traffic jams like this happen every day. The problem is getting worse all the time.



This policeman is directing traffic in the centre of London. He does this every day. He often suffers from headaches. He simply does not get enough oxygen.



Professor Colin Campbell is a famous traffic expert. He believes that most of our cities are dying. “Most of our cities are being destroyed by the motor car,” he is saying. At the moment he is being interviewed on television.





This newspaper article presents another aspect of the traffic problem.



Mother says “It’s a scandal!”



Craven Road looks like a thousand other roads. But Mrs. Nora Clay describes it as “a scandal and a death trap”. She is organizing a protest march.



Her eight-year old son, Donald, walks along Craven Road every day and crosses it on his way to school. More than 100 other schoolchildren do the same thing. The road is also used by heavy lorries and other motor traffic all day long. Yesterday Donald was knocked down by a lorry and almost killed.



“The road’s far too dangerous for children to cross alone,” his mother said. “There aren’t even any traffic lights there! The authorities know how dangerous it is but they never do anything about it! Two other children were knocked down at the same place last month. One of them was almost killed.”



Mrs. Clay’s son is still in hospital. “He’s suffering from shock but luckily no bones were broken,” a doctor said.





Professor Collin Campbell is being interviewed about traffic in our towns:



Our cities are dying physically. In most city centres some of the oldest and finest buildings are crumbling; literally falling into pieces. On the one hand, the foundations are being shaken by all the heavy traffic and, on the other hand, the bricks and mortar are being eaten away by the fumes from the traffic. It’s a slow process but it’s going on even though you can’t see it.



Far more serous things are happening. The buildings can always be replaced but what about the air? You can hardly breathe it any more in our cities. And think of the noise. Nowadays most city centres are simply too noisy to live in. We’ve got to live with the motor car but we’ve got to become its master and not its slave.





Linda Blake is a young journalist. She is going to an interview for a job with the EBC:



The interview was at 10 o’clock. The company’s headquarter was near Marble Arch, in the centre of London.



She got on a bus at 9:15. It was a No. 79. The conductor asked for her fare. She told him she was going to Marble Arch.



“We don’t go to Marble Arch. This is a 79. You want a 79A,” he said. Then he told her she could catch a 79A at the next stop.



She got off and waited at the next stop. She looked at her watch. She did not have very much time. Another woman was at the stop, too. She told Linda that the 79A did not stop there but up the road.



Then she asked Linda where she wanted to go.



“Marble Arch,” Linda answered. “You want an 89B, then, not a 79A!” the woman said.



Linda got on an 89B. It was now 9:45. Marble Arch was only a mile away. She asked the conductor how long it took to get there.



“It takes about half an hour this time of the day. It’s all the traffic. If you’re in a hurry, you ought to take the underground or walk. It’s much faster!” the conductor answered.





hxiejun评论：



（1）西方发达国家昨天发生的事情，许多正在今天的发展中国家上演。



（2）很怀念刚学英语的时候，课本上常出现“My father is a peasant.” “My mother is a nurse.” “My brother is a worker.”之类的对话，年岁大了之后，有机会和国外友人练习英语对话，才知道国外友人对“peasant”一词非常的不熟悉，曾经纠正我，说英语中经常用的词是“farmer”；现在回想起这个小小的经历，真是有些感慨，中国现在有几个“farmer”？中国大陆的英文教科书还是原先那样么？