day 27getting around

getting around

Lay out a plan to improve a city’s transport, listing with 以及 and timing with 立刻, 曾经, 始终 and 即将; retell a story about a hill that turned green; read an argument for cities built for walking.

words to say

• 拥挤 yōngjǐ · crowded
• 高峰 gāofēng · peak, rush hour
• 堵 dǔ · to block; jammed
• 车辆 chēliàng · vehicles, traffic
• 改善 gǎishàn · to improve (conditions)
• 畅通 chàngtōng · flowing freely, unblocked
• 规划 guīhuà · plan, planning
• 设施 shèshī · facilities
• 步行 bùxíng · to go on foot
• 路线 lùxiàn · route
• 交通 jiāotōng · traffic, transport

sentences

• 早高峰的时候，路上堵得厉害。 · In the morning rush hour the roads are badly jammed.
• 下班的时候，地铁特别拥挤。 · When people finish work, the subway is very crowded.
• 新的地铁线即将开通。 · The new subway line is about to open.
• 这条路线比那条近得多。 · This route is much shorter than that one.
• 城市规划要考虑走路的人。 · City planning has to think about people on foot.

say it after the voice

• 早上七点到九点是上班的高峰，城市里的主要马路几乎都堵得走不动。 · Seven to nine in the morning is the rush hour, and almost every main road in the city is jammed solid.
• 新的地铁线路即将开通，以后从机场到市中心就只要半个小时。 · A new subway line is about to open; soon it will take only half an hour from the airport to the centre.
• 我曾经每天开车上班，后来发现骑自行车去地铁站，反而更快更省钱，也更轻松。 · I used to drive to work every day; then I found cycling to the subway station was actually quicker, cheaper and more relaxing.
• 改善交通不能只靠修路，公交车、地铁以及步行的设施都要一起考虑。 · Improving transport can’t rely on building roads alone: buses, the subway and facilities for walking all have to be planned together.

questions to answer

• 上班你喜欢坐地铁还是骑车？ · To get to work, do you prefer the subway or cycling?
• 如果没有地铁，你怎么去上班？ · If there were no subway, how would you get to work?
• 为什么大城市总是堵车？ · Why are big cities always jammed?

a passage to retell

• Once there was a little mountain village, and on the hill behind it there wasn’t a single tree. Every time it rained hard, the soil on the hill was washed into the river, and the river turned yellow and dirty. An old man in the village decided to go up the hill and plant trees every spring, ten a year. Later the village children joined him, and there were more and more trees on the hill. Twenty years went by; the hill turned green, and the river below ran clear again. So work done slowly often lasts the longest.

a passage to read aloud

很多城市在规划的时候，首先想到的是汽车：路越修越宽，桥越建越多，似乎只要车辆畅通，城市就算发达了。然而，很宽的马路常常把两边的人分开，走路的人要等很久的红绿灯，才能过一条马路。结果，人们更不愿意步行，开车的人反而越来越多。

其实，一座城市怎么样，不只看车开得多快，更要看人走得舒服不舒服。如果每条街都有树，有座位，有小商店，人们便愿意走出家门，在街上多待一会儿。比如在很多老城区，路虽然窄，街上却总是热热闹闹的。为汽车建的城市，最后只留下了车；为人建的城市，才真正有生活。