雅思词汇课文（21）· Urban Transport and Congestion 城市交通与拥堵
城市与交通主题，约 350 词，融入 30 个雅思核心词。
🎧 课文朗读音频（约 1 分钟）
📖 课文 Text
Urban Transport and Congestion
Los Angeles is famous for its traffic jams. A 2023 study found that the average Los Angeles driver spent 95 hours stuck in congestion that year — more than two full working weeks. Yet Los Angeles is not exceptional. Moscow, Mumbai and Bogotá all report similar figures. As cars multiply and cities densify, urban transport has become one of the defining headaches of modern life.
The private car was once celebrated as the height of freedom. Today, it is a victim of its own success. Streets designed for a few thousand cars now carry millions. Parking spaces occupy vast swathes of urban land. Air pollution from vehicle exhausts contributes to asthma, heart disease and premature death. Time lost in traffic costs economies billions annually.
Cities are responding with a toolkit of measures. London introduced a congestion charge in 2003; drivers now pay £15 a day to enter the city centre. Singapore has gone further, using electronic pricing that varies with demand. Paris, Madrid and Athens have restricted older, more polluting vehicles. Meanwhile, cities from Bogotá to Seoul have built hundreds of kilometres of dedicated cycle lanes.
Public transport is equally important. Tokyo's rail network carries 40 million passengers a day with near-perfect punctuality. Curitiba, Brazil, built affordable bus rapid transit decades before it became fashionable. The lesson is clear: a cheap, frequent and reliable service will attract commuters out of their cars.
Yet the car is not about to disappear. Electric vehicles reduce local pollution but do nothing about congestion or parking. Autonomous vehicles, if widely adopted, could either increase traffic as empty cars cruise for passengers or reduce it through efficient sharing.
The future city will be multimodal: trains, trams, buses, bicycles and feet, with cars permitted but priced accordingly. The goal is not to ban the car but to end its monopoly on urban space.
📝 生词表 New Words and Expressions
| Word | 音标 | 词性 | 中文 | 课文例句 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| congestion | /kənˈdʒestʃən/ | n. | 拥堵 | traffic congestion |
| jam | /dʒæm/ | n. | 堵塞 | traffic jams |
| average | /ˈævərɪdʒ/ | adj. | 平均的 | the average driver |
| exceptional | /ɪkˈsepʃənl/ | adj. | 例外的、特别的 | not exceptional |
| multiply | /ˈmʌltɪplaɪ/ | v. | 繁殖、增加 | cars multiply |
| densify | /ˈdensɪfaɪ/ | v. | 密集化 | cities densify |
| celebrate | /ˈselɪbreɪt/ | v. | 赞扬、庆祝 | once celebrated |
| height | /haɪt/ | n. | 高度、顶点 | the height of freedom |
| victim | /ˈvɪktɪm/ | n. | 受害者 | a victim of its own success |
| swathe | /sweɪð/ | n. | 大片区域 | vast swathes of land |
| exhaust | /ɪɡˈzɔːst/ | n. | 尾气 | vehicle exhausts |
| asthma | /ˈæsmə/ | n. | 哮喘 | asthma |
| premature | /ˈpremətʃə/ | adj. | 过早的 | premature death |
| toolkit | /ˈtuːlkɪt/ | n. | 工具箱 | a toolkit of measures |
| congestion charge | /kənˈdʒestʃən tʃɑːdʒ/ | n. | 拥堵费 | a congestion charge |
| electronic | /ɪˌlekˈtrɒnɪk/ | adj. | 电子的 | electronic pricing |
| restrict | /rɪˈstrɪkt/ | v. | 限制 | restricted older vehicles |
| dedicated | /ˈdedɪkeɪtɪd/ | adj. | 专用的 | dedicated cycle lanes |
| punctuality | /ˌpʌŋktʃuˈæləti/ | n. | 准时 | near-perfect punctuality |
| rapid transit | /ˈræpɪd ˈtrænzɪt/ | n. | 快速公交 | bus rapid transit |
| fashionable | /ˈfæʃnəbl/ | adj. | 时髦的 | before it became fashionable |
| commuter | /kəˈmjuːtə/ | n. | 通勤者 | attract commuters |
| autonomous | /ɔːˈtɒnəməs/ | adj. | 自主的、自动驾驶的 | Autonomous vehicles |
| cruise | /kruːz/ | v. | 巡航、巡游 | empty cars cruise |
| multimodal | /ˌmʌltiˈməʊdl/ | adj. | 多模式的 | multimodal |
| tram | /træm/ | n. | 有轨电车 | trains, trams, buses |
| monopoly | /məˈnɒpəli/ | n. | 垄断 | its monopoly on space |
| ban | /bæn/ | v. | 禁止 | to ban the car |
| permit | /pəˈmɪt/ | v. | 允许 | cars permitted |
🧠 课文理解 Comprehension
1. How long did the average Los Angeles driver spend in congestion in 2023?
- A. 25 hours
- B. 50 hours
- C. 95 hours
- D. 200 hours
2. London's congestion charge was introduced in...
- A. 1995
- B. 2003
- C. 2010
- D. 2020
3. Tokyo's rail network carries how many passengers daily?
- A. 4 million
- B. 14 million
- C. 40 million
- D. 400 million
4. Electric vehicles...
- A. solve congestion
- B. reduce local pollution but not congestion
- C. increase parking space
- D. are banned in cities
5. The writer believes the future city should...
- A. ban all cars
- B. be entirely pedestrianised
- C. be multimodal, with cars priced accordingly
- D. build more motorways
✏️ 词汇练习 Vocabulary Practice
Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list. Change the form where necessary.
| congestion / exceptional / victim / exhaust / restrict / dedicated / punctuality / monopoly |
- The city centre suffers from severe traffic ______ every morning.
- Her academic performance was ______; she scored full marks in every subject.
- The company fell ______ of its own success when quality declined.
- Car fumes from the ______ pipe pollute the air.
- The new law will ______ smoking in public places.
- The team made a ______ effort to finish the project on time.
- The airline prides itself on its record of ______.
- The company was accused of abusing its ______ position in the market.
✅ 答案 Answers
Comprehension
- C 2. B 3. C 4. B 5. C
Vocabulary
- congestion 2. exceptional 3. victim 4. exhaust 5. restrict 6. dedicated 7. punctuality 8. monopoly
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