76 Down to Earth

CHAPTER 1 A Short History of Transportation HOW WE TRAVEL SAYS A LOT ABOUT WHO WE ARE. We usually don't think much about the cars, buses, and trains that take us from our homes to the places where we work, study, and enjoy ourselves. And yet, without these forms of transportation, our lives would be very different. Transportation technology is constantly developing, bringing changes to the cities we live in and the way we move around them. The first humans walked and ran everywhere, often over great distances. A few traditional peoples, such as the San in South Africa, still live this way today. The first vehicles were probably small rafts that carried people along rivers and across seas. Some scientists believe rafts were used to sail from Asia to Australia as early as 70,000 years ago.

第一章交通简史我们的旅行方式在很大程度上反映了我们是谁。 我们通常不会过多考虑汽车、公共汽车和火车，它们把我们从家里带到我们工作、学习和娱乐的地方。 然而，如果没有这些交通工具，我们的生活将会非常不同。 交通技术在不断发展，给我们居住的城市和我们在城市周围的出行方式带来了变化。 第一批人类到处行走和奔跑，通常距离很远。 少数传统民族，如南非的桑人，至今仍以这种方式生活。 最早的交通工具可能是小木筏，可以载着人们沿着河流或穿越海洋。 一些科学家认为，早在7万年前，人们就用木筏从亚洲航行到澳大利亚。

Scientists think that people began to domesticate horses 4,000 to 6,000 years ago. People in Kazakhstan captured groups of wild horses. They wanted them for meat and milk, but they also used them for riding and carrying things. Other animals, such as the North African camel, were domesticated about 3,500 years ago. Animals such as these allowed people to move farther and carry more. This helped in the development of trade between societies. And then came the wheel. Although the wheel is quite a recent invention, we don't know exactly where or when people first used it. But we know that the huge stone blocks that were used to make Stonehenge in England as early as 3100 BCE needed something like wheels to move them. Maybe they used wooden rollers made from logs as a type of wheel.

科学家认为，人类在4000到6000年前开始驯养马。 哈萨克斯坦的人们捕获了成群的野马。 他们需要它们来做肉和牛奶，但他们也用它们来骑马和搬运东西。 其他动物，如北非骆驼，大约在3500年前就被驯化了。 像这样的动物可以让人们走得更远，携带更多的东西。 这有助于社会间贸易的发展。 然后是轮子。虽然轮子是最近才发明的，但我们不知道人们第一次使用它的确切地点和时间。 但我们知道，早在公元前3100年，用于建造英国巨石阵的巨大石块需要轮子之类的东西来移动它们。 也许他们用圆木制成的木轮作为一种轮子。

The first proper wheel we know of was used in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) about 3500 BCE, although some scientists think wheels may be much older. By 1000 BCE the wheel was common across Europe and the Middle East. Over time, wheel technology improved and wheels became lighter, faster, and more stable. By 500 BCE, metal-covered wheels and vehicles pulled by horses and other animals were common. There were fast chariots to fight in wars, slow carts to carry food and other goods, and comfortable carriages for rich people to get around in. And all thanks to the wheel! Of course, vehicles need roads to run on. Early roads were simple dirt tracks, but many societies, such as the Indians, the Chinese, and the Romans, soon built networks of good, straight roads to connect their cities.

我们所知道的第一个合适的轮子大约在公元前3500年在美索不达米亚（今天的伊拉克）使用，尽管一些科学家认为轮子可能更古老。 到公元前1000年，轮子在欧洲和中东地区很普遍。 随着时间的推移，车轮技术得到了改进，车轮变得更轻、更快、更稳定。 到公元前500年，金属覆盖的轮子和由马和其他动物牵引的车辆已经很常见了。 有用于打仗的快速战车，运送食物和其他货物的慢车，以及供富人出行的舒适马车。 这都要感谢车轮！当然，车辆需要道路来运行。 早期的道路是简单的土路，但许多社会，如印度人、中国人和罗马人，很快就建造了良好、笔直的道路网络来连接他们的城市。

After the Roman Empire, there were great improvements in boat building. Ships and boats sailed faster and farther across seas, up and down rivers, and along canals. In the 18th century, British canals were a key part of the Industrial Revolution. Then, in 1825, George Stephenson ran the first steam-powered train. The new trains could carry goods faster and farther than animal transportation, making travel much easier. In the 19th century, some cities started services to help people travel to work. The first horse-powered bus began in France in 1826, carrying 14 passengers. By the end of the century, buses were used internationally and were powered by gasoline. In 1863, the first underground train system opened in London, and in 1873, San Francisco started its now famous streetcar service. A new age the age of the commuter— had begun.

罗马帝国之后，造船技术有了很大的进步。 船只和小船在海上、河流上和运河上航行得更快更远。 在18世纪，英国的运河是工业革命的重要组成部分。 1825年，乔治·斯蒂芬森驾驶了第一辆蒸汽动力火车。 新的火车可以比动物运输更快更远地运送货物，使旅行更容易。 在19世纪，一些城市开始提供帮助人们上班的服务。 第一辆以马为动力的公共汽车于1826年在法国诞生，可搭载14名乘客。 到本世纪末，公共汽车在全球范围内使用，并且是由汽油驱动的。 1863年，第一个地下火车系统在伦敦开通，1873年，旧金山开始了现在著名的有轨电车服务。 一个新的时代——通勤者的时代——已经开始了。

CHAPTER 2 Green to Go IF THERE WAS ONE VEHICLE THAT CHANGED THE WAY WE LIVED MORE THAN ANY OTHER IN THE 20TH CENTURY, IT WAS THE AUTOMOBILE. The first commercial gasoline-powered automobile was produced in 1885 by Karl Benz. At first, automobiles were expensive luxuries, but new factory methods and the introduction of credit loans soon made them easier to get and cheaper to own. In the USA, 56 percent of families owned a car as early as 1927. Cars were often sold using the ideas of freedom and speed. But as more and more people took to the roads, the disadvantages of car travel became clear. The large number of cars on the roads soon led to pollution and congestion. By the end of the 20th century, driving for many people around the world had become a nightmare of traffic jams, rising fuel costs, and less healthy air to breathe.

如果有一种交通工具在20世纪对我们的生活方式的改变最大，那就是汽车。 1885年，卡尔·本茨生产了第一辆商用汽油动力汽车。 起初，汽车是昂贵的奢侈品，但新的工厂方法和信贷贷款的引入很快使汽车更容易获得，拥有成本更低。 早在1927年，美国就有56%的家庭拥有汽车。 汽车通常以自由和速度为卖点出售。 但是随着越来越多的人走上道路，汽车旅行的缺点变得清晰起来。 道路上大量的汽车很快导致了污染和拥堵。 到20世纪末，开车对世界各地的许多人来说已经变成了一场噩梦：交通堵塞、燃料价格上涨、呼吸的空气更不健康。

Guangzhou, China's third-largest city, is taking the problem of pollution very seriously. The city, which is one of the fastest-growing areas in China, had already banned motorbikes in 2007. In 2012, the city government passed a new law that aims to cut the number of new cars on its streets by half. At the same time, Guangzhou is increasing its bus services to encourage people to use "greener" more environmentally friendly— transportation. In a move to reduce gasoline use, some cities are providing transportation programs that do not use traditional buses. Instead, they have chosen to encourage green transportation. Vehicles such as boats, trains, and bikes make less pollution and, most importantly, they don't fill up city streets or cause traffic jams.

中国第三大城市广州非常重视污染问题。 北京是中国发展最快的地区之一，早在2007年就禁止了摩托车。 2012年，北京市政府通过了一项新法律，旨在将街道上的新车数量减少一半。 与此同时，广州正在增加公交车服务，以鼓励人们使用更环保的交通工具。 为了减少汽油的使用，一些城市正在提供不使用传统公共汽车的交通项目。 相反，他们选择鼓励绿色交通。 船只、火车和自行车等交通工具造成的污染更少，最重要的是，它们不会填满城市街道或造成交通堵塞。