我的英文龜速之旅～～交通工具之共享車

接下來很多又臭又長的文章，每天除了工作，至少3小時以上5篇以上的長文、設定比考試時間更短的一些自律訓練技巧

對於已經很久沒有讀書的人來說，重新拿起課本和參加考試，是一個挑戰！！

每篇文章，都要花更久的時間和體力，很羨慕國際學生裡，才18歲的同學～

看到一些文章說自己很久沒唸書，2個月拼到各項考試滿分，原本是很沮喪。但是，想想：每個人起步不同，我們是笨鳥，一步一腳印的扎跟，成果給堅持和有決心的人！

以下出處來自上課進修的教材～～

Modern Urban Transportation As cities around the world become more and more crowded, urban residents everywhere face the same pressing question: how to best get around busy city streets? In many cities where cars used to be the preferred mode of transportation, an increasing number of people are turning to bicycles as an affordable and environmentally-friendly way to commute. This renaissance of bicycles has in turn led to the emergence of a number of complementary services and products, each with its own pros and cons.

随着世界各地的城市变得越来越拥挤，各地的城市居民都面临着同样紧迫的问题：如何最好地避开繁忙的城市街道？在汽车曾经是首选交通方式的许多城市，越来越多的人开始转向自行车作为一种负担得起且环保的通勤方式。自行车的复兴反过来又导致了一些互补的服务和产品的出现，每一种服务和产品都有自己的优点和缺点。 Many people do not want the trouble of taking care of their own bicycles or perhaps only occasionally want to travel by bike. In response to this need, a modern bicycle rental service, bike-sharing, has been appearing in more and more locations. The concept is quite simple. Docking stations with many bicycles are located throughout a town or city. If a person wishes to use a bicycle, they simply insert their credit card to unlock a bicycle from the docking station and then ride it to another docking station near their destination. All maintenance is taken care of by the bike-sharing company, so in this respect, it is worry-free for the user. In addition, frequent users can pay flat monthly fees for expanded use of the shared bicycles so that it becomes an even more economical option.

很多人不想麻烦照管自己的自行车，或者可能只是偶尔想骑自行车旅行。为了满足这种需求，越来越多的地方出现了现代自行车租赁服务——共享单车。这个概念很简单。带有许多自行车的停靠站遍布整个城镇或城市。如果一个人想骑自行车，他们只需插入信用卡，从停靠站解锁自行车，然后骑到目的地附近的另一个停靠站。所有的维护都由共享单车公司负责，所以在这方面，用户是无后顾之忧的。此外，频繁使用共享单车的用户可以每月支付固定费用以扩大共享单车的使用范围，从而成为一种更经济的选择。

As users of bike-share programs soon discovered, however, the docking-station system has some flaws. The first is that there are not always docking stations where people need them, such as close to their homes or close to their workplaces. Even if a docking station is within 10 or 15 minutes’ walking distance of someone’s destination, this added walking time essentially takes away one of the main reasons for riding a bicycle in the first place. Furthermore, during busy times, someone planning on using a shared bicycle might arrive at a docking station only to find it empty. Alternatively, having ridden the bicycle to their destination, people sometimes discover that the docking station where they intended to drop off the bicycle is already full, leaving them with an inconvenient problem to deal with. 但是，正如共享单车计划的用户很快发现的那样，对接站系统存在一些缺陷。首先是人们需要它们的地方并不总是有对接站，例如靠近他们的家或靠近他们的工作场所。即使停靠站距离某人的目的地只有 10 或 15 分钟的步行距离，但增加的步行时间基本上消除了骑自行车的主要原因之一。此外，在忙碌的时候，计划使用共享单车的人可能会到达停靠站却发现那里空无一人。或者，当人们将自行车骑到目的地后，有时会发现他们打算停放自行车的停靠站已经满了，这给他们带来了一个不便的问题。 Consequently, some companies have been experimenting with the next stage in the evolution of bike-sharing: dock-less bike-sharing. With this system, each bicycle is equipped with a GPS tracking device. Users can locate and unlock the bicycles with an app on their smartphones and then ride away. When they are done, they can leave the bicycle in any location they wish. In theory, this kind of bike-sharing seems ideal. In reality, however, it has created an entirely new set of problems where it has been tried. Unfortunately, many users just dump their bicycles wherever it is convenient, such as in the middle of a sidewalk or in public parks. More commonly, huge piles of bicycles often accumulate at popular locations such as subway stations, creating an ugly mess for citizens and city planners. 因此，一些公司一直在试验共享单车发展的下一阶段：无桩共享单车。有了这个系统，每辆自行车都配备了 GPS 跟踪设备。用户可以使用智能手机上的应用程序定位并解锁自行车，然后骑车离开。完成后，他们可以将自行车停放在他们想要的任何位置。理论上，这种共享单车似乎很理想。然而，实际上，它在尝试过的地方产生了一系列全新的问题。不幸的是，许多用户只是把他们的自行车丢在方便的地方，例如在人行道中间或在公园里。更常见的是，大量的自行车经常堆积在地铁站等热门地点，给市民和城市规划者造成难看的混乱局面。 But bicycles, whether privately owned or rented, are not the first choice of many commuters. Some people do not like the physical effort that comes with riding a bicycle, especially over longer journeys. For people who want the convenience of a bicycle without effort, electric scooters and e-bikes have become popular choices. As the names suggest, these vehicles have their own small electric motors, making them both inexpensive to recharge and environmentally friendly. Although there is a high initial cost in purchasing an e-bike or electric scooter, in the long run they are a good investment for many users.

但自行车，无论是自有还是租用，都不是很多通勤者的首选。有些人不喜欢骑自行车带来的体力劳动，尤其是长途旅行。对于想要骑自行车方便又不费力的人来说，电动滑板车和电动自行车已成为流行的选择。顾名思义，这些车辆有自己的小型电动机，使它们既充电便宜又环保。尽管购买电动自行车或电动滑板车的初始成本很高，但从长远来看，它们对许多用户来说都是一项不错的投资。

At the same time, like all forms of transportation, these electric vehicles have their own drawbacks. One of the main issues concerns speed. For instance, as a hybrid between a bicycle and a full-sized traditional scooter with a proper engine, e-bikes find themselves in an uncomfortable middle ground. On the one hand, e-bikes are too small and too slow to be used on main roads with cars and motorcycles. On the other hand, the typical e-bike can travel at much faster speeds than those of the average cyclist with whom they share bike lanes and bicycle paths. As a result, e-bike users often come into conflict with riders on traditional bicycles, and many municipalities have enacted laws to restrict their use.

同时，与所有交通工具一样，这些电动汽车也有其自身的缺点。主要问题之一涉及速度。例如，作为自行车和配备适当发动机的全尺寸传统踏板车的混合体，电动自行车发现自己处于一个不舒服的中间地带。一方面，电动自行车太小太慢，无法在有汽车和摩托车的主要道路上使用。另一方面，典型的电动自行车的行驶速度比与他们共享自行车道和自行车道的普通骑车人的速度快得多。因此，电动自行车用户经常与骑传统自行车的人发生冲突，许多城市已颁布法律限制其使用。

i- Some ways in which the system’s flaws can affect users

ii- Inventors who have created faster transport networks

iii- The re-emergence of bicycles in urban areas worldwide

iv- A new kind of bicycle that can be used with less exertion

v- The high costs of moving from urban to suburban areas

vi- Reasons why bicycle rental services have become popular

vii- Conflicts between users of different kinds of bicycles

viii- A technological solution that itself has various problems

ix- Ways to fix bicycle components that have stopped working

x- The impact of the sharing economy on people in cities

i- 系统缺陷影响用户的一些方式

ii- 创造更快交通网络的发明家

iii- 自行车在全球城市地区的重新出现

iv- 一种使用起来更省力的新型自行车

v- 从城市搬到郊区的高成本

vi- 自行车租赁服务流行的原因

vii- 不同种类自行车使用者之间的冲突

viii- 本身存在各种问题的技术解决方案

ix- 修复停止工作的自行车部件的方法

x- 共享经济对城市居民的影响