原标题：考研英语精读2023-10-13期|英语考研阅览笔记|文末获取（pdf版+word版+mp3）

city transport: slow coaches

can a franchise system save the buses?

【1】 as well as a ticket, you need patience to ride the 72 bus in leeds. the commuter line to bradford is notorious for delays and cancellations: by one estimate it is late 80% of the time. other services are almost as bad. tough luck, too, if you bought a pass for one company and a rival’s bus turns up. operators don’t allow transfers.

【2】 britons still rely heavily on the humble bus, taking over 3bn local journeys on them each year. it remains an especially popular means, notably in cities, of getting people to work. and if yet more used them, they would provide a lowish-cost way to reduce both congestion and pollution: the centre for cities, a think-tank, says that getting 10,000 car drivers on buses instead for a year, for a daily 7km journey, would cut 20,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

【3】london aside, however, many bus networks are in a poor state. since deregulation in the 1980s, cities have struggled with them. typically companies turn a profit on a few popular routes, but local authorities subsidise other lines. rising fares and reduced services have gradually put off passengers. in the past three decades or so bus journeys in england as a whole fell by nearly half, even as they soared in london.

【4】one problem is regulation. competition law stops companies in a given city from co-ordinating their routes and timetables, leading to disjointed services. nearly 40 companies ran routes in greater manchester in 2022, for example. although buses at times have their own lanes, congestion means they move more slowly. greener journeys, a lobby group, suggests bus speeds have dropped by an average of nearly two-fifths in the past half-century.

【5】the government wants more people on buses, so six years ago passed a law giving ten metropolitan mayoralties the power to switch to london-style franchising: bringing bus services back under public control, with a transport authority deciding on timetables, prices and more. take-up, however, has been as

slow as the dreaded 72. only greater manchester has shifted: its first buses start running under a franchise system this month, with the whole fleet changing by 2025. transport for greater manchester promises lower prices and emissions. liverpool may follow next.

【6】mayors have been reluctant for two reasons. one is the cost and hassle of swapping to a franchise model: officials lack expertise to oversee services, given complex regulations. they worry, too, about legal action from existing operators. it has taken manchester several years to prepare its change, which is expected to cost ￡135m, or five times the ￡27m it spends each year on bus subsidies.

【7】 second, cities must still support unprofitable routes within the franchise systems that they run. in london, before the pandemic hit, ￡722m was diverted annually from the tube and passed on to the buses. other cities lack such a handy source of funding. help from central government has also fallen in the past decade. the campaign for better transport, a lobby group, says national funds for buses now provide only a small portion of local authorities’ needs. metropolitan mayors are anxious to find ways to get buses moving again. they will watch manchester closely to see if the franchise system can work successfully beyond london.

①短语：1.原文：tough luck, too, if you bought a pass for one company and a rival’s bus turns up.

词典: turn up呈现，到来，出头

例句：more than 4,000 exhibitors from 100 different countries turned up this year.

本年共有来自100多个国家的4000多家展商参展。

2.原文：since deregulation in the 1980s, cities have struggled with them.

词典: struggle with疲于唐塞，困难处置

例句：passengers struggle with bags and briefcases.

乘客费劲地提着大包小包。

3.原文：rising fares and reduced services have gradually put off passengers.

词典: put off 唐塞，搪塞； 使失掉快乐喜爱（或热心）；使恶感，使疏远

例句：his personal habits put them off.

他的自个习气让他们恶感。

4.原文：competition law stops companies in a given city from co-ordinating their routes and timetables, leading to disjointed services.

词典: stop sb from doing sth 阻挡或人做某事

例句：motherhood won’t stop me from pursuing my acting career…

做了母亲并不会阻挡我持续寻求我的演艺作业。

②长难句

1. 原文：and if yet more used them, they would provide a lowish-cost way to reduce both congestion and pollution: the centre for cities, a think-tank, says that getting 10,000 car drivers on buses instead for a year, for a daily 7km journey, would cut 20,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

分析：主句主谓宾为“they would provide a lowish-cost way”；if引导条件状语从句“if yet more used them”，if条件句和主句运用了虚拟口气，标明“与如今实际相反”；冒号后的语句主谓宾为“the centre for cities says that…”；“that getting… emissions”为宾语从句。

译文：假定越来越多的人嫠坐公交车，这种低本钱的交通方法将可以削减拥堵和污染：智库城市中心（centre for cities）标明，假定1万名轿车司机改乘公共轿车，每天进行7公里的行程，一年下来将削减2万吨碳排放。

2. 原文：it has taken manchester several years to prepare its change, which is expected to cost ￡135m, or five times the ￡27m it spends each year on bus subsidies.

分析：主句为“it has taken manchester several years to prepare its change”，it为方法主语，真实的主语为“to prepare its change”；“which is… times”为非捆绑性定语从句；“it spends each year on bus subsidies”为定语从句，省掉了联络词that。

译文：曼彻斯特花了数年时刻为变革作预备，估计将耗资1.35亿英镑，恰当于其每年公交补助（2700万英镑）的5倍。

③写作技巧：

if yet more used them, they would provide a lowish-cost way to reduce both congestion and pollution.

假定越来越多的人嫠坐公交车，这种低本钱的交通方法将可以削减拥堵和污染

生词: congestion n.拥塞；塞车

在写作中表达“堵车；交通堵塞”时，咱们可以用traffic jams, traffic congestion, traffic gridlock, congested traffic, clogged traffic等。

“减轻交通堵塞”可以说ease traffic congestion。

例句：the streets are wedged solid with the chaos of poorly regulated parking and near-constant traffic gridlock.

因为乱泊车以及交通堵塞不断，大街被堵得严严实实。

④布景常识：

英国是最早选用ppp方法的国家，打开较老到。ppp是英文“public- private-partnership”的首字母缩写，中文译为“公私协作制”或“公私合营”，是一种“政府和民营公司”协作的方法。再具体一点，是指政府与民营公司在公共基础设备缔造和供给公共效能等方面的协作。据晓得，在上世纪80年代早年，英国的基础设备和公共效能是以政府为主导的。从上世纪80年代前期初步，撒切尔夫人主政的政府大规划出售国有公司，全部建议私有化变革。自上世纪80年代起，英国政府把80%以上的基础设备和公共效能项目都私有化了。

期间粗心：

【1】英国公交常常晚点和撤消。

【2】公交车仍然是英国人上班首选的交通东西。

【3】除了伦敦，英国公交网络情况欠安。

【4】英国公交监管机制糟糕。

【5】政府答应各城市学习伦敦公交方法，但采用的城市很少。

【6】缘由之一在于法规凌乱，官员短少有关专业常识。

【7】其二在于短少资金。

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