倫敦新型雙層巴士設計驚豔亮相
What is red but green, open but closed and old but new? Answer: London's stunning new double-decker buses.
The traditional red double-deckers are a symbol of London. Their iconic status was sealed in 2008 when one bus made the longer-than-usual trip to Beijing to collect a very special passenger: the Olympic Flame.
Now a new bus design has been unveiled and it has been wowing Londoners.
The new bus uses more efficient green technology and has two staircases and an open platform, enabling people to hop on and hop off. It also has a unique asymmetric design for the front end, which gives it a futuristic look.
Despite its innovations the design is not all new. Its exterior is very reminiscent of London's faithful old double-decker, the Routemaster.
In December 2005 the original Routemaster was withdrawn from general service for accessibility and environmental reasons, but it can still be seen on two heritage routes in London.
In July 2008 a competition was launched by the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, to design a new Routemaster bus for the capital. There were over 700 entries, with several designers jointly winning the £25,000 prize.
The new double-deckers, which have three doors to speed up boarding, are expected to be in service in 2012.
Mr Johnson said: "This iconic new part of our transport system is not only beautiful, but also has a green heart beating beneath its stylish, swooshing exterior".
He expects cities around the globe to be "beside themselves with envy" for what he described as a "stunning red emblem" of 21st-century London.
什麼東西既是紅色的又是綠色的（環保）？既封閉又開放？既是傳統的又是新的？這就是倫敦推出的極具看點的新型雙層巴士。
傳統的紅色雙層巴士是倫敦的象徵。2008年，一輛雙層巴士不遠萬里前往北京，去搭載一位非常特殊的乘客——奧運聖火，而雙層巴士的標誌性地位也由此築就。
如今，一款新型雙層巴士的設計驚豔亮相，贏得了倫敦人的盛讚。
新型雙層巴士使用更爲節能的環保科技，設有兩個樓梯和一個可讓人們“跳上跳下”的開放式平臺，巴士前端還設計成獨特的不對稱結構，極爲新潮。
儘管新型雙層巴士有所創新，但也並非徹底變樣。它的外觀與服務倫敦多年的老款巴士——“馬路主人”十分相像。
由於乘用的方便性和環保等原因，老款“馬路主人”於2005年12月退出了倫敦街頭，但現在人們仍可在倫敦保留的兩條“遺產“線路上看到它的身影。
2008年7月，倫敦市市長鮑里斯•約翰遜發起了一項新款“馬路主人”設計大賽。比賽共收到700多份設計作品，最終有幾位設計者共同獲得了2.5萬英鎊的大獎。
新型雙層巴士設有三個車門，以加快上下車速度。新型巴士預計將於2012年投入使用。
約翰遜說：“倫敦公交系統這一標誌性的新成員不僅外觀漂亮，而且在它時尚、旋弧形的外表之下，還有一顆‘綠色’的心。”
約翰遜稱，新型雙層巴士是21世紀的倫敦“最具魅力的紅色象徵”，還稱世界各地的城市一定會“十分嫉妒”。
Vocabulary:
double-decker bus：雙層巴士，
asymmetric：not identical on both sides of a central line; unsymmetrical; lacking symmetry（不均勻的，不對稱的）
futuristic：of or pertaining to the future（未來派的，想象未來的）
swooshing：moving with or make a rustling, swirling, or brushing sound（嗖嗖地迅速移動）
beside oneself: beside oneself, almost out of one's senses from a strong emotion, as from joy, delight, anger, fear, or grief（發狂，忘形於。beside oneself with joy：欣喜若狂）
