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  3. The continent that invented the car will turn its back on its creation today with the staging of a “carfree day” in more than 15

The continent that invented the car will turn its back on its creation today with the staging of a “carfree day” in more than 15

admin2010-06-30  31
问题    The continent that invented the car will turn its back on its creation today with the staging of a “carfree day” in more than 150 European towns and cities, many of them grappling with major problems of pollution and congestion.
   【61】 Towns across France and Italy, as well as in the Swiss channel of Geneva, will launch initiatives to promote the use of public transportation or close off their centers for the day, admitting only pedestrians, roller-skaters, buses and environmentally friendly electric vehicles. Cities taking part including Rome, Florence, Bologna and Venice, as well as Paris, which will close off a huge swathe of its central area and turn the Place de la Concorde square and the tourists haunt of Montmartre into vast pedestrian zones.
   Around 14 million urban dwellers will be affected by this gut protest against the car, and there are plans to make it a Europe-wide affair next year. The European Commission “has responded favorably to our proposal to finance the preparation for the day across the (European) community,” said French Environment Minister Dominique Voynet. The one day campaign, entitled "In Town, Without My Car," was launched in France last year after a series of pollution alerts in Paris and amid growing frustration at the strangulation of the city’s narrow streets by the automobile.
   【62】Paris’ problems are mirrored in major cities from London and Berlin to Amsterdam and Naples, which were designed for the horse and carriage but are reeling from the assault of the internal combustion engine. More than 190 million vehicles are on the roads in Western Europe, and the tally is growing at the rate of 3 million a year. Parts of the ancient cities of Rome, Florence and Naples are subject to gridlock at peak times. In Paris, the beginning and end of the holiday season is marked by nightmarish traffic jams. In parts of central London, the traffic moves slower at rush hour than during the reign of Queen Victoria a century ago.
   【63】 Environmentalists say the love affair with the car carries an enormous price in terms of time wasted in traffic jams and damage to public health. “The cost is colossal. It can be estimated, although no one wants to do it,” said Bruno Rebelle, director-general of Greenpeace France, which wants the damage inflicted by the car to be identified and borne by the maker and user. European governments are already pumping billions of dollars into building bus lanes, improving underground train systems and introducing gas or electric-powered cars in a bid to wean drivers from their vehicles.
   【64】 Traffic management systems are becoming smarter and researchers hope the Internet, coupled with satellite global positioning systems, will prove to be a fantastic tool to advise car users on how to avoid congested routes. But European capitals are also looking at tough, coercive measures that would have been unthinkable just five years ago. These include levies On the most polluting cars, taxes on cars that enter city centers at peak times or are carrying less than two or three people and an outright bar on auto access to some zones. Thierry Proteau, director of communications at the European Automobile Manufactures Association in Brussels, is concerned that the automobile could become a scape goat. European car makers signed a voluntary agreement with the European Commission last year to reduce emission of carbon dioxide from about 180 grams per kilometer to 140 grams per kilometer by 2008, he said. 【65】 As for congestion," coercive measures against the car will not resolve the problem. You have to work on the improving road infrastructure and other equipment, "he said.
【63】
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答案环境保护论者们说，人们对汽车的恋恋不舍因为交通阻塞所浪费的时间和其对公众健康造成的危害而使人们付出高昂的代价。
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