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Michael 讲解 | 纽约市警方正在打击骑自行车的人

纽约市警方正在打击骑自行车的人

精听党 背景导读

在纽约这座钢筋森林里,骑行者的日常堪称一场现实版 “速度与激情”。当他们在曼哈顿街头左躲右闪于违章泊车与垃圾堆之间,在湿热与严寒交替的缝隙里争取片刻骑行自由时,一场意想不到的规则风暴正悄然袭来。

纽约警方近期将执法枪口对准了这群 “lycra 骑士”——从闯红灯、停在斑马线到戴耳机骑行,任何看似微小的违规都可能换来一张刑事传票,甚至面临出庭聆讯,处罚力度远超机动车驾驶者。这场执法风暴的导火索,是近年来呈井喷式增长的电动自行车。随着外卖经济在疫情期间的爆发,穿梭于大街小巷的电动自行车在带来便利的同时,也因超速、人行道穿行等问题成为市民投诉的焦点。

文本选自:The Economist(经济学人)
作者:Unknown
原文标题:Police are cracking down on cyclists in New York City
原文发布时间:6 Jun. 2025
关键词:电动自行车 纽约 投诉

精听党 带着问题听

1.“速度限制”用英文可以如何表达?
2. 如何理解第二段中的“miffed”?
3. 电动自行车是什么时候合法化的?

精听党 选段赏析

标题解读

Police are cracking down on cyclists in New York City

纽约市警方正在打击骑自行车的人
  • crack down 取缔,严厉打击;
    1. Police are cracking down on illegal street racing. 警方正在严厉打击非法街头赛车。

  • cyclist n. 骑自行车的人;
    1. cycle n. 自行车;摩托车;

段一从这里听

Pity the cyclists of New York City. As well as having to slalom double-parked cars and piles of rubbish, they only get a few weeks a year without oppressive humidity or frigid cold. And this spring, even their meteorological bliss has been disturbed. The New York Police Department (NYPD) has started issuing criminal summonses for bike riders committing a slew of seemingly low-level fouls. Now, if caught running red lights, stopping in the pedestrian crossing or wearing headphones, wayward cyclists must appear before a judge, even if they are not contesting the fine. If they do not, they risk arrest.

  • pity vt. 同情;
    1. You can’t help but pity the cyclists navigating such chaos. 你不禁会同情那些在混乱中穿行的骑车人。

  • slalom vt. 弯曲穿行;
    1. Cyclists have to slalom between parked cars. 骑车人不得不在停靠的汽车间穿行。

  • oppressive adj. 令人难以忍受的;
    1. The oppressive humidity makes it hard to breathe. 令人难忍的湿气让人呼吸困难。

  • frigid adj. 寒冷的;
    1. The hikers struggled in the frigid temperatures. 徒步者在寒冷的气温中苦苦挣扎。

  • meteorological adj. 气象的;
    1. Meteorological data show a trend of warming springs. 气象数据显示春季有变暖趋势。

  • bliss n. 极乐,天赐之福;天堂,乐园;

  • summonses n. 传票;

  • commit vt. 犯(罪、错);调拨,投入;(使)承诺,承担义务;

  • a slew of 大量的,许多的;

  • seemingly adv. 貌似,看似(但可能并非如此);似乎,好像(是事实);
    1. Wayward drivers often cause accidents. 不守规矩的司机经常引发事故。

  • foul n. 犯规;(马术、划船、赛跑)碰撞,缠结;

  • wayward adj. 任性的;不规则的;刚愎的;
    1. Wayward drivers often cause accidents. 不守规矩的司机经常引发事故。

  • contest vt. 争辩,提出异议;

  • fine n. 罚金,罚款;

参考译文
同情一下纽约的骑行者吧。他们不仅要像参加障碍滑雪赛一样穿梭于并排停放的车辆和垃圾堆之间,一年中还只有短短几周能摆脱闷热潮湿或刺骨严寒。而今年春天,就连这点气象上的小确幸也被打破了。纽约警察局开始对骑车人开具刑事传票,理由是他们犯下了一系列看似轻微的违规行为。如今,若被发现闯红灯、在人行横道上停车或戴耳机骑车,违规骑手即使不打算上诉,也必须出庭,否则就有被逮捕的风险。

段二从这里听

Oddly, this is a steeper punishment than drivers get for such offences. Both pedal and electric bikes are being targeted by the rules. Enforcement is up by a factor of 100 compared to this time last year. Cyclists are understandably miffed. It is “insane”, says Carl Mahaney of Open Plans, an advocacy group, since most deaths and injuries are caused by motorists. Indeed, of the 449 pedestrian deaths in the city between 2020 and 2023, electric bikes, scooters and mopeds led to just eight of them.

  • oddly adv. 奇怪地;
    1. Oddly, cyclists face harsher penalties than drivers. 奇怪的是,骑车人所受惩罚比司机还重。

  • offence n. 违法行为,犯罪;冒犯,得罪;过错,不当;

  • pedal adj. 踏板的,脚踏的;

  • target vt. 针对;
    1. The new policy targets repeat offenders. 新政策针对惯犯。

  • enforcement n. 执法;
    1. Law enforcement increased significantly last year. 去年执法力度显著增强。

  • understandably adv. 可理解地;合乎情理地;

  • miffed adj. 有点生气的,稍有点恼火的;

  • insane adj. 疯癫的,精神失常的;蠢极的,荒唐的;

  • advocacy group 倡导团体;
    1. advocacy n. 倡导;

  • motorist n. 驾车人;

  • pedestrian n. 步行者,行人;

  • scooter n.(儿童的)滑板车,踏板车;小型摩托;

  • moped n. 助动车;机动脚踏两用车;

参考译文
奇怪的是,对这些行为的惩罚比对汽车司机犯下同样错误的惩罚还要严厉。不论是脚踏车还是电动自行车都在执法范围之内。与去年同期相比,执法力度暴增了100倍。骑行者感到生气也是可以理解的。游说团体“Open Plans”的卡尔·马哈尼称此举“简直疯了”,因为大多数致命事故其实是由机动车引起的。事实上,在2020年至2023年间,纽约市共发生449起行人死亡事故,其中由电动自行车、小型摩托车和机动脚踏两用车造成的事故仅占8起。

段三从这里听

Yet cyclists are a growing nuisance. E-bikes have become ubiquitous in the city since they were legalised in 2020, coinciding with a pandemic-era rise in food delivery. Under pressure from delivery apps (and hungry New Yorkers) to bring food as quickly as possible, riders go well beyond the city speed limit. “Every New Yorker understands how frightening it is to jump out of the way as an e-bike drives on the sidewalk,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch wrote in an op-ed for The New York Post, explaining the new enforcement.

  • nuisance n. 麻烦事,讨厌的人/物;
    1. Loud construction is a nuisance to nearby residents. 吵闹的施工对附近居民来说是个麻烦。

  • ubiquitous adj. 无处不在的;
    1. Smartphones have become ubiquitous in modern life. 智能手机在现代生活中变得无处不在。

  • coincide with 与…相符,与…一致,同时发生;
    1. The protests coincided with a government announcement. 抗议活动与政府公告同时发生。

  • era n. 时代;
    1. The pandemic ushered in a new era of remote work. 疫情开启了远程工作的新时代。

  • speed limit 速度限制;

  • frightening adj. 令人害怕的;
    1. It was a frightening experience to cross that road. 穿过那条路是一次令人害怕的经历。

  • commissioner n. 局长,专员;

  • op-ed n. 专栏评论文章;

参考译文
然而,骑行者也确实日益令人烦恼。自2020年电动自行车合法化以来,它们迅速充斥城市的各个角落,与此同时,疫情推动了外卖需求激增。在来自外卖平台(以及饥肠辘辘的纽约客)的压力下,骑手们常常超速骑行。纽约市警察局局长杰西卡·蒂施在为《纽约邮报》撰写的专栏文章中写道:“每一位纽约人都明白,当电动自行车在人行道上行驶时,突然闪避是多么令人恐惧的一件事。”她在专栏中解释了这项新的执法措施。

精听党每日单词

  • crack down 取缔,严厉打击;
    cyclist /ˈsaɪklɪst/ n. 骑自行车的人;
    pity /ˈpɪti/ vt. 同情;
    slalom /ˈslɑːləm/ vt. 弯曲穿行;
    oppressive /əˈpresɪv/ adj. 令人难以忍受的;
    frigid /ˈfrɪdʒɪd/ adj. 寒冷的;
    meteorological /ˌmiːtiərəˈlɑːdʒɪk(ə)l/ adj. 气象的;
    bliss /blɪs/ n. 极乐,天赐之福;天堂,乐园;
    summonses /ˈsʌmənzɪz/ n. 传票;
    commit /kəˈmɪt/ vt. 犯(罪、错);调拨,投入;(使)承诺,承担义务;
    a slew of 大量的,许多的;
    seemingly /ˈsiːmɪŋli/ adv. 貌似,看似(但可能并非如此);似乎,好像(是事实);
    foul /faʊl/ n. 犯规;(马术、划船、赛跑)碰撞,缠结;
    wayward /ˈweɪwərd/ adj. 任性的;不规则的;刚愎的;
    contest /ˈkɑːntest/ vt. 争辩,提出异议;
    fine /faɪn/ n. 罚金,罚款;
    oddly /ˈɑːdli/ adv. 奇怪地;
    offence /əˈfens/ n. 违法行为,犯罪;冒犯,得罪;过错,不当;
    pedal /ˈped(ə)l/ adj. 踏板的,脚踏的;
    target /ˈtɑːrɡɪt/ vt. 针对;
    enforcement /ɪnˈfɔːrsmənt/ n. 执法;
    understandably /ˌʌndərˈstændəbli/ adv. 可理解地;合乎情理地;
    miffed /mɪft/ adj. 有点生气的,稍有点恼火的;
    insane /ɪnˈseɪn/ adj. 疯癫的,精神失常的;蠢极的,荒唐的;
    advocacy group 倡导团体;
    motorist /ˈmoʊtərɪst/ n. 驾车人;
    pedestrian /pəˈdestriən/ n. 步行者,行人;
    scooter /ˈskuːtər/ n.(儿童的)滑板车,踏板车;小型摩托;
    moped /ˈmoʊped/ n. 助动车;机动脚踏两用车;
    nuisance /ˈnuːs(ə)ns/ n. 麻烦事,讨厌的人/物;
    ubiquitous /juːˈbɪkwɪtəs/ adj. 无处不在的;
    coincide with 与…相符,与…一致,同时发生;
    era /ˈɪrə/ n. 时代;
    speed limit 速度限制;
    frightening /ˈfraɪt(ə)nɪŋ/ adj. 令人害怕的;
    commissioner /kəˈmɪʃənər/ n. 局长,专员;
  • op-ed /ˌɑːp ˈed/ n. 专栏评论文章;

精听党文化拓展

纽约的骑行文化既展现着城市的活力,也折射出多元社会的复杂张力。电动自行车合法化后,其成为移民外卖骑手的重要谋生工具,反映出纽约作为移民城市的经济生态 —— 许多新移民通过灵活的骑行工作融入城市肌理,形成独特的 “车轮上的生计链”。

骑行抗议活动则体现了市民参与城市治理的意识。曼哈顿街头的 “铃铛骑行团” 以集体行动表达诉求,这种街头政治文化与纽约历史上的民权运动传统一脉相承,展现了市民通过非暴力方式推动政策变革的路径。

同时,骑行规则的争议凸显了现代都市的空间伦理。当自行车道与机动车道、人行道的边界不断被讨论,本质上是对公共空间使用权的再分配。纽约的骑行文化正处于传统交通方式与新兴共享经济、环保理念的交织点,其演变将持续映射城市价值观的迭代。

精听党每日美句

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

想象力比知识更重要。

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