发布时间 : 星期六 文章外研版高中英语必修4Module1-Module6 Cultural Corner课文逐句翻译更新完毕开始阅读0f4fed03a8956bec0975e3fd
并非所有的预言都能成真。许多预言是错的，并且有些还是大错特错。下面就是人们在20世纪对21世纪所作出的一些错误的预言： 飞机
“将不会有从纽约飞往巴黎的飞机。” 奥维尔·赖特，1908。 电脑
“我认为将会有一个大约有五台电脑的世界市场。” 托马斯·沃森，IBM主席，1943。 衣服
“从现在起30年后人们将穿纸制的衣服，穿过两三次后就可以把它们扔掉。” 《流年杂志》，1957。 月球上的人类
“因为预测在20世纪70年代会有第一批到月球的移民，现在正在修建几种类型的建筑物，当人类在月球上时，他们需要住在里面。”
阿诺德·B. 贝拉克在《未来变化》中，1962。 甲壳虫乐队
“我们不喜欢他们的歌声，吉他音乐即将过时。” 反对甲壳虫乐队的台卡唱片公司，1962。 家庭机器人
“到2000年之前，家庭主妇们可能会有一个盒状的机器人，它的顶部有一只大眼睛，它还有几只胳膊和手，身体两边还有又长又窄的用来四处移动的脚。”
《纽约时报》，1966。 钥匙
“到20纪世80年代中期人们将没有必要把钥匙藏在门口的擦鞋垫下面了，因为那时将不会有钥匙了。”
电脑科学家克里斯多弗埃文斯，《微机黄金时代》，1979。
M2B4 Cultural Corner
The London Congestion Charge伦敦的交通拥堵费
Beijing isn't the only city with traffic problems. 北京不是唯一有交通阻塞问题的城
市。You can get stuck in a traffic jam anywhere in the world.在世界任何地方你都可能遭遇堵车。 The worst problems occur in cities which are growing fast, such as Sao Paolo in Brazil and Lagos in Nigeria. 发展快的城市问题最严重，如巴西的圣保罗和尼日利亚的拉各斯。But even cities in developed countries such as the US suffer. Los Angeles, which was built with the motor car in mind, 但甚至在一些像美国这样的发达国家的城市里也有这样的问题。洛杉矶，and is famous for its six-lane highways, is now the USA's most congested city.一座在建设时就考虑了机动车辆并以其六车道公路闻名的城市，现在却是美国交通最拥挤的城市。
In Europe most capital cities were planned and built before cars, 大多数欧洲
的首都城市在小汽车大量涌现之前就已规划建设好了，and city centre traffic jams have been part of daily life for a long time.因此市中心的堵车长久以来成为人们日常生活的一部分。 The situation in central London, where drivers spent fifty percent
of their time in queues, became so bad that the local government decided to do something about it.伦敦市中心的交通状况变得如此糟糕，司机们要用
50%的时
间来排队，于是当地政府决定就此采取一些措施。 In February 2003 the Mayor of
London, Ken Livingstone, introduced a \congestion charge\—a tax for cars entering the centre of the city.2003
年2月，伦敦市长肯?利文斯通宣布进入市中心的车
要交“交通拥堵费”。
The idea is simple: every car coming into the centre has to pay ￡5 a day.想法很简单：每辆进入市中心的车一天要交5英镑的费用。 Drivers can pay the charge at any of 10,000 pay points in the capital before 10 p.m. 司机们可以在晚上10点之前在首都的10000个收费点中的任何一个上缴该费用。As the cars come
into the centre, video cameras record their registration numbers, and these are checked with a list of drivers who have paid the charge for that day. 进入市区的
小汽车都会被摄像机拍下车牌号码，用以检查当天司机是否缴费。People who do not pay the charge will face a fine of ￡80.不缴费者将会面临80英磅的罚款。
Most Londoners are not happy with the idea. 大多数伦敦人对此都不开心。They agree that London has a traffic problem, but the congestion charge is expensive, and limits their freedom ...他们承认伦敦存在交通问题，但是“交通拥堵费”太
高，而且限制了他们的自由??
But does the congestion charge work? 但是“交通拥堵费”发挥作用了吗？A survey carried out at the end of 2003 suggests it does. 2003
年年底进行的一项
调查结果显示效果很不错。After only six months, traffic coming into central London was reduced by about 30 percent, and journey times by 15 percent.仅仅只是6个月之后，进入伦敦市中心的车减少了约30%，旅程的次数减少了15%。 More
people used public transport to get to work, and bicycles were suddenly very popular. 更多的人乘公共交通工具上班，自行车突然流行起来。What's more, central London shops did not lose business even though there were fewer cars.更
值得一提的是，虽然车少了，但伦敦市中心的商铺并没有减少营业额。
But there are a few people who think the charge should be much higher, for example rich businessmen who work in the city centre and can easily afford it. 但
是，有些人认为收费应该更高，（因为）像那些在市中心工作的富有的商务人士能轻松支付此项费用。This would keep even more cars out of central London, and the roads would be nearly empty. 这（收费更高）会避免更多的车辆进入伦敦市中心，道路也几乎会是空的。However, there are no plans to increase the charge.但是，伦敦还没有提高该费用的计划。
M2B4 Cultural Corner译文
M2B4 Cultural Corner The London Congestion Charge
Beijing isn't the only city with traffic problems. You can get stuck in a traffic jam anywhere in the world. The worst problems occur in cities which are growing fast, such as Sao Paolo in Brazil and Lagos in Nigeria. But even cities in developed countries such as the US suffer. Los Angeles, which was built with the motor car in mind, and is famous for its six-lane highways, is now the USA's most congested city.
In Europe most capital cities were planned and built before cars, and city centre traffic jams have been part of daily life for a long time. The situation in central London, where drivers spent fifty percent of their time in queues, became so bad that the local government decided to do something about it. In February 2003 the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, introduced a \congestion charge\—a tax for cars entering the centre of the city.
The idea is simple: every car coming into the centre has to pay ￡5 a day. Drivers can pay the charge at any of 10,000 pay points in the capital before 10 p.m. As the cars come into the centre, video cameras record their registration numbers, and these are checked with a list of drivers who have paid the charge for that day. People who do not pay the charge will face a fine of ￡80.
Most Londoners are not happy with the idea. They agree that London has a traffic problem, but the congestion charge is expensive, and limits their freedom ...
But does the congestion charge work? A survey carried out at the end of 2003 suggests it does. After only six months, traffic coming into central London was reduced by about 30 percent, and journey times by 15 percent. More people used public transport to get to work, and bicycles were suddenly very popular. What's more, central London shops did not lose business even though there were fewer cars.
But there are a few people who think the charge should be much higher, for example rich businessmen who work in the city centre and can easily afford it. This would keep even more cars out of central London, and the roads would be nearly empty. However, there are no plans to increase the charge.
M2B4 Cultural Corner译文 伦敦的交通拥堵费
北京不是唯一有交通阻塞问题的城市。在世界任何地方你都可能遭遇堵车。发展