Like all big cities, Paris has a traffic problem: lots of cars, lots of traffic jams and lots of pollution from exhaust fumes . So in 2007 , the city began a scheme to improve the situation.

　　像很多大城市一样，巴黎有一个很严重的交通问题：车很多，交通堵车很严重以及大量的废气污染。因此，在2007年，这个城市开始了一个改变这个状况的计划。

　　Under the Velib scheme ( ‘Velib’ comes from velo liberte, or ‘bicycle freedom’ ) people can take a bicycle, use it for as long as they want, and then leave it at the same or another bicycle station.

　　根据Velib计划（Velib这个词来源于法语 velo liberte，或者bicycle freedom）人们可以骑走一辆自行车，想用多长时间都可以，然后把自行车还到同样或者另一个自行车站点。

　　The first half-hour on the bike is free, but if you don't return it after 30 minutes, you have to pay. But it's only€l a day or€29 a year! The bicycles are heavy ( 25 kg ) and they are all grey and have baskets.

　　使用自行车的最开始的半小时是免费的，但是如果半小时你没有还回去的话，你就需要付钱了。但是一天只需要1欧元或者一年29欧元。自行车很重（25公斤），都是灰色的，有车筐。

　　There are about 20,000 of them in the city, and around 1,450 bicycle stations. So there are a lot more Velib stations than the 298 metro stations！

　　在巴黎大概有20000辆（自行车），1450个自行车站点。所以自行车Velib的站点要比298个地铁站多得多。

　　Paris is not the first city to have a scheme like this-not even in France, where Lyon started a ‘free’ bicycle scheme many years ago.

　　巴黎不是个提出这样计划的城市，甚至在法国，里昂也在很多年前开始过一个免费自行车的计划。

　　And not everybody thinks it's a great idea. One Parisian said, ‘These bicycles are only for short journeys. If people want to travel across the city, they won't use a bicycle-they'll still use their cars .’

　　并不是每个人都认为这是一个伟大的想法。一个巴黎人说，“这些自行车只适用于短期的行程。如果人们想穿越城市旅游，他们不会骑自行车，他们还是会用他们的车。”

　　A city spokesman said, ‘The bicycle scheme won’t solve all our traffic problems, of course. But it might reduce pollution levels in the atmosphere.

　　一个政府发言人说到“自行车计划当然不能解决我们所有的交通问题。但它可能会降低空气中的污染水平。”

　　Traffic, together with factory fumes, is a big problem. Everyone knows about global warming and dramatic climate changes-we know this is partly because rainforests are disappearing.

　　交通问题，还有工厂的废气，是一个很大的问题。每个人都知道全球变暖和巨大的气候变化-我们知道这其中有一部分原因是因为雨林正在消失。

　　But it's also because there’s so much pollution in the world and we can help improve the situation right here. The bikes might help people to lead a healthier life, too.

　　但还因为全世界的污染问题太严重了，我们可以帮助改善这种情况。自行车（计划）可能也会帮助人们过上更健康的生活。

　　There aren't any simple answers to traffic problems and pollution in cities. But unless we do something now, there will be more traffic jams and temperatures will continue to rise, so the problems in our environment will get worse . "

　　城市的交通以及污染问题没有任何简单的答案。但是如果我们现在不做什么的恶化，这就会有更多的交通堵塞，气温也会继续升高，我们的环境问题也会变得更加严重。”

　　来源：MSE指定教材 English In Mind (student's book 2)

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