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GaryLauder_2010-_gary_lauder的新_标_轮流依秩_
I only have three minutes so I'm going to have to talk fast, and it will use up your spare mental cycles, so multitasking may be hard. 我只有三分钟 所以我得说快点 这有点劳神,因为一心多用挺累人的
spare:v.节约,吝惜;饶恕;分出,分让;adj.多余的;瘦的;少量的;n.剩余;备用零件; mental:adj.精神的;脑力的;疯的;n.精神病患者; multitasking:n.多重任务处理;多重任务执行;
So, 27 years ago I got a traffic ticket that got me thinking. 我于27年前收到一张罚款单 这使我陷入沉思
I've had some time to think it over. 我想了又想
And energy efficiency is more than just about the vehicle . 节约能源不单是 改造交通工具的问题
efficiency:n.效率;效能;功效; vehicle:n.[车辆]车辆;工具;交通工具;运载工具;传播媒介;媒介物;
It's also about the road. 也是改造道路问题
Road design makes a difference, particularly intersections , of which there are two types: signalized and unsignalized, which means stop signs. 道路设计,尤其是交叉路口设计尤为重要 交叉路口无非就两种:有交通信号灯的路口 和没交通信号灯但有路标的路口
particularly:adv.特别地,独特地;详细地,具体地;明确地,细致地; intersections:n.交集,交叉点(intersection的复数形式);[交]十字路口; signalized:vt.使显眼;使著名;向…发信号;vi.发信号;
50 percent of crashes happen at intersections. 近一半的事故发生在没交通信号灯的路口
Roundabouts are much better. 环状交叉路的情况好一些
Roundabouts:adj.迂回的,绕道的;圆滚滚的;n.迂回路线;环状交叉路口;
A study of 24 intersections has found crashes drop 40 percent from when you convert a traffic light into a roundabout. 研究表明 当被测的24个交叉路口在改造成环状交叉路后 车祸事故发生率下降了40%
convert:v.转换; n.改变宗教(或信仰、观点)的人; traffic light:交通灯
Injury crashes have dropped 76 percent. 伤亡事故率下降了76%
Injury:n.伤害,损害;受伤处;
Fatal crashes down 90 percent. 恶性致命事故率下降了90%
Fatal:adj.致命的;灾难性的;毁灭性的;导致失败的;
But that's just safety. 不过这只是从安全角度考虑
What about time and gas? 时间和燃油呢？
So, traffic keeps flowing, so that means less braking, which means less accelerating , less gas and less pollution, less time wasted, and that partly accounts for Europe's better efficiency than we have in the United States. 只要交通流畅,司机就不会踩急刹车 也就不会加速,也就不会浪费燃油污染环境 也不会浪费时间 欧洲就是这样提高能源效率的 他们比美国做的好
accelerating:adj.促进的,[物]加速的;催化的; United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式)
So, unsignalized intersections, meaning stop signs, they save many lives, but there is an excessive proliferation of them. 没信号灯的交叉路口 只有信号牌,这可事关人命 但于欧洲,信号牌可是成倍的增长
excessive:adj.过多的,极度的;过分的; proliferation:n.增殖,扩散;分芽繁殖;
Small roundabouts are starting to appear. 小型环状交叉路也开始出现
This is one in my neighborhood . And they are much better -- better than traffic lights, better than four-way stop signs. 这是我住的小区 这些环状交叉路可比信号灯和指示牌好使多了
neighborhood:n.附近;地区;街坊;adj.附近的; four-way stop:n.停车前行路口;
They're expensive to install , but they are more expensive not to. So, we should look at that. 但价格却不菲 要是没有它们,我们会损失惨重,所以还是考虑一下吧
install:v.安装;设置;安置;建立(程序);
But they are not applicable in all situtions. 但不是所有路口都可以改造成环状交叉路
applicable:adj.可适用的;可应用的;合适的;
So, take, for example, the three-way intersection. 譬如说,三岔路
three-way:adj.三向的;有三人参加的;
So, it's logical that you'd have one there, on the minor road entering the major. 在次干道和主干道交会处安装 三岔路是明智之举
logical:adj.合逻辑的,合理的;逻辑学的; minor:adj.未成年的; n.未成年人; vi.副修;
But the other two are somewhat questionable . 但对于另外两个次干道来说这方法不怎么可行
somewhat:n.几分;某物;adv.有点;多少;几分;稍微; questionable:adj.可疑的;有问题的;
So, here's one. There's another one which I studied. 我研究过这个
Cars rarely appear on that third road. 车辆很少会从第三个路口开过来
rarely:adv.很少地;难得;罕有地;
And so, the question is, what does that cost us? 这意味着什么呢？
That intersection I looked at had about 3,000 cars per day in each direction, and so that's two ounces of gas to accelerate out of. 我研究的交叉路口每天各个方向大约有 3000辆车驶过 每踩一次油门会多消耗2盎司燃油
ounces:n.[金融]盎司,英两;安士(ounce的复数); accelerate:v.加快;加速;n.接受速成教育的学生;
That's five cents each, and times 3,000 cars per day, that's $51,000 per year. 每盎司耗费5美分,那么每天3000辆车 那每年就多花费51000美元
That's just the gasoline cost. There is also pollution, wear on the car, and time. 这只不过是油钱,我还没算 车排放的尾气和浪费的时间
gasoline:n.汽油;
What's that time worth? 那到底浪费了多少时间呢
Well, at 10 seconds per 3,000 cars, that's 8.3 hours per day. The average wage in the U.S. 每一辆车要耗费10秒钟,3000辆车就是-- 每天八个半小时
wage:v.发动;n.(通常指按周领的)工资;
is $20 an hour. That is 60,000 per year. 美国平均每小时工资为20美元,年工资是6万美元
Add that together with the gas, and it's $112,000 per year just for that sign in each direction. 再加上油钱就是11万2千美元 这就是交通路标的耗资
Discount that back to the present, at five percent: over two million dollars for a stop sign, in each direction. 再加上近年来的5%的通货膨胀 总额超过200万 这就是在每个方向安装一个路标的成本
Discount:n.折扣;vt.低估;打折扣;打折出售
Now, if you look at what that adjacent property is worth, you could actually buy the property, cut down the shrubbery to improve the sight line, and then sell it off again. 再看看路口周围的地价 你基本上可以拿这200万买下周围的地皮 砍掉灌木丛开阔一下视野 然后转手卖出
adjacent:adj.邻近的,毗连的; shrubbery:n.灌木;[林]灌木林; improve:v.改进;改善;
And you'd still come out ahead. 还小有盈利
So, it makes one wonder, "Why is it there?" 我们不禁想:为什么？
I mean, why is there that stop sign in each direction? 为什么要在每个方向装路标呢？
Because it is saving lives. So, is there a better way to accomplish that goal? 因为救人要紧。那有没有更好的方法呢？
accomplish:v.完成;实现;达到;
The answer is to enable cars to come in from that side road safely. 答案就是确保车辆 安全地从另一边驶出
enable:v.使能够;使有机会;使成为可能;使可行; side road:n.支线;叉道;旁路;
Because there are a lot of people who might live up there and if they're waiting forever a long queue could form because the cars aren't slowing down on the main road. 因为那边有很多住户 车多了难免会排成一条长龙 因为主干道上的车速较快
queue:n.行列;(存储的数据)队列;v.(人、车等)排队等候;(使)排队;列队等待;
Can that be accomplished with existing signs? 现有的条件下能做到这一点吗？
accomplished:adj.完成的;有技巧的;有学问的;v.完成;(accomplish的过去分词和过去式)
So, there is a long history of stop signs and yield signs. 交通路标的历史悠久
yield:n.产量;产出;利润;v.屈服;让步;放弃;提供;
Stop signs were invented in 1915. 标志“停”于1915年问世
Yield signs in 1950. But that's all we got. 标志“让”出现在1950年。我们就只有这两种路标
So, why not use a yield sign? 为什么不用“让”呢？
Well the meaning of yield is: you must yield the right-of-way . 因为“让”意味着离开主线
right-of-way:n.通行权;(交通上的)优先权;
That means that if there are five cars waiting, you have to wait till they all go, then you go. It lacks the notion of alternating , or taking turns. 就是说,要有5辆车等,你也得等 直到那5辆车开了,你才能走, 没什么换道啊,转弯啊
notion:n.观念;信念;理解; alternating:adj.交替的;交互的;v.使交替;依次(alternate的ing形式);
And it's always on the minor road allowing the major one to have primacy . 通常主干道有 优先权
primacy:n.首位;卓越;大主教的职位;
So, it's hard to create a new meaning for the existing sign. 所以,现行的交通指示牌很难衍生出新意思
You couldn't suddenly tell everyone, "Okay, remember what you used to do at yield signs? Now do something different." 没人能突然宣布: 看到“让”是不要“让”
That would not work. 这可不行
So, what the world needs now is a new type of sign. 所以我们需要的是 新型信号
(Applause) （鼓掌）
So, you'd have a little instruction below it, you know, for those who didn't see the public service announcements. 对于那些不看公共服务告示的人 新型路标下面还带有指示
public service:n.公共事业;公营事业;公益事业(或服务);政府;
And it merges the stop sign and yield signs. 是“停”和“让”的综合体
merges:v.合并(merge的第三人称单数);
It's kind of shaped like a T, as in taking turns. 是 T 字形的
And uncertainty results in caution. 司机一旦不确定,就会提高警惕
uncertainty:n.不确定,不可靠;
When people come to an unfamiliar situation they don't know how to deal with they slow down. 人们在不熟悉的环境下不确定时 会减速慢行
unfamiliar:adj.不熟悉的;不常见的;没有经验的;
So, now that you are all "Road Scholars " ... 那大家现在都是道路专家了
Scholars:n.学者们(scholar的复数);
(Laughter) （笑）
don't wait for that sign to be adopted , these things don't change quickly. 但别指望这会很快实现,这个过程总是漫长的
adopted:adj.被收养的;被采用的;v.采用;接受;(adopt的过去式和过去分词);
But you all are members of communities , and you can exercise your community influence to create more sensible traffic flows. 作为社区的一员 每人都有义务 确保交通的合理顺畅
communities:n.社区;社会;团体;共有(community的复数) community:n.社区;[生态]群落;共同体;团体; influence:n.影响;势力;感化;有影响的人或事;v.影响;改变; sensible:adj.明智的; n.可感觉到的东西;
And you can have more impact on the environment just getting your neighborhood to change these things than by changing your vehicle. Thank you very much. 你我皆能为环境保护作出贡献 只需以身作则,影响身边的人 大家一起行动来改善交通工具吧。谢谢
impact:n.影响;效果;碰撞;冲击力;v.挤入,压紧;撞击;对…产生影响;
(Applause) （鼓掌）