6 Happy motoring

Chapter 6 Happy motoring? Not another nail! More and more people took to the roads, but the roads weren't ready for them. Nails from horseshoes littered the rough surfaces and punctures were common.

第6章愉快的驾驶？别再钉了！越来越多的人走上公路，但道路还没有为他们准备好。 马蹄铁的钉子散落在粗糙的地面上，刺穿是常见的。

Even worse, with no road signs drivers didn't know what was coming next, so lots of cars crashed or veered into hedgerows. Yikes! Road by road, teams of workers smoothed out the bumps and covered the surfaces with tar and gravel. Huge signs were set up along the way, to warn drivers of hidden dips and bends.

更糟糕的是，由于没有路标，司机们不知道下一条路是什么，所以很多汽车撞毁或转向树篱。 呵!一队又一队的工人将路面上的凹凸不平的路面抹平，并在路面上铺上沥青和砾石。 沿途竖起了巨大的标志，提醒司机注意隐蔽的下坡和弯道。

The police wanted traffic signals too. In 1868, a traffic light had been invented to control horse- drawn carriages. Red on one side and green on the other, it seemed like a great idea... until a London policeman tried to turn it around. BANG! For the next 50 years, most traffic signals were simply wooden arms on sticks. Arms out meant stop, arms in meant go.

警察也想要交通信号灯。 1868年，人们发明了交通灯来控制马车。 一边是红色，另一边是绿色，这似乎是个好主意…… 直到一名伦敦警察试图扭转局面。 砰!在接下来的50年里，大多数交通信号灯都是简单的木杆。 手伸出意味着停止，手伸进去意味着离开。

But drivers were still confused at junctions. Stop! Finally, in 1920, a set of traffic lights was invented that really worked.

但司机们在十字路口仍然感到困惑。 停!最后，在1920年，一组真正起作用的交通灯被发明了出来。

Over time, roads grew safer and so did cars. In 1903, a new British law said cars must have two lamps at the front and one at the back. Two years later, the car bumper was invented. No harm done!

随着时间的推移，道路越来越安全，汽车也越来越安全。 1903年，一项新的英国法律规定，汽车必须有两个前灯和一个后灯。 两年后，汽车保险杠发明了。 没有伤害！

Cars also became easier to use. Instead of getting arm ache cranking the engine, drivers just had to press a starter switch. And, rather than pulling over because of the rain, most cars now had windscreens with wipers. You need a new car!

汽车也变得更容易使用。 司机们只需要按下启动开关，就不用在发动引擎时感到手臂疼痛。 而且，现在大多数汽车的挡风玻璃上都有雨刷，而不是因为下雨而靠边停车。 你需要一辆新车！