黃忠雪

城市交通擁堵問題日益嚴(yán)重，尤其是市中心更是堵得水泄不通。紐約是全球目前交通最擁堵的大都市。在今年4月1日，立法者們一致同意實施擁堵收費。紐約將成為美國第一個實施擁堵收費的城市。問題是如何確保這一措施有效并順利地實施呢？

[難詞掃障]

1.congestion n. 擁塞;塞車

2.implement v. 貫徹;執(zhí)行

3.legislature floor 立法會議廳

4.at the wheel 指揮;掌舵

5.ride shotgun 保駕護(hù)航

6.exempt adj. 免除;獲豁免

7.bode ill 預(yù)示兇兆

8.on?demand car hire 按需租車

9.think?tank n. （尤指政府的）智囊團(tuán)

New Yorks congestion is among the worst in the world. Crossing midtown by car is soul?destroying. In 2016 the average speed was 47 miles per hour， not much quicker than quick walk. But relief is in sight. On April 1st， state lawmakers agreed to implement congestionpricing， making New York the first big American city to do so. By 2021 vehicles will have to pay to enter Manhattan south of 60th street.

Similar proposals were put forward many times but were always rejected. The Regional Plan Association proposed road pricing in 1996. Michael Bloombergs 2007 plan was not even debated on the state legislature floor. This time， with Andrew Cuomo， the state governor， at the wheel and Bill de Blasio， New Yorks mayor， riding shotgun， it looks as if this time is different.

Much of the detail， including how much drivers will have to pay， how they will pay and how often they will pay， have yet to be decided. New Yorkers living in the fee zone who make less than $60，000 a year will be exempt. Other drivers， including motorcyclists， the citys civil servants， disabled drivers， the trucking industry， New Jerseys governor and commuters， all want discounts， credits or exemptions， too， which bode ill.

If done right， congestion?pricing could be expanded beyond Manhattan. New York can learn from other cities. Singapore， for instance， which has had pricing for decades， adjusts prices regularly. It can also learn from mistakes. London， which carried out its pricing in 2003， strangely is only starting to charge on?demand car hire like Uber. Stockholm exempted too many vehicles， which caused a drop in fee revenue.

Other car?clogged cities considering tolls， including Los Angeles， Philadelphia， Portland， San Francisco and Seattle， are watching New York. “We really have to be a good example，” says Nicle Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute， a New York think?tank.

[Reading][Check]

In which city does the congestion charge work well？

A.London. B.Los Angeles. C.Stockholm. D.Singapore.

[Language][Study]

Ⅰ.Important vocabulary in the text

1.soul?destroying adj. 非?？菰锏?消磨精神的

2.in sight 看得見; 有望實現(xiàn)

3.proposal n. 提議;建議

4.adjust v. 調(diào)整;調(diào)節(jié)

5.regularly adv. 有規(guī)律地

6.revenue n. 財政收入;稅收收入

7.toll n. （道路、橋梁的）通行費

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the vocabulary given above.

1.It can be quite ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? to drive in the downtown since your car moves slowly.

2.A ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? about congestion charge has been put forward in New York.

3.Singapore has succeeded in carrying out congestion?pricing for decades because it ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? prices regularly.

4.If the law about implementing congestion?pricing has been passed， then the relief is ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?.