Subways in the sky

导读

缆车,你坐过吗?
一座高高的山,当别人在一步一步的攀爬的时候,坐在缆车上的你是不是有一种从山涧飘然而过的怡然自得感呢?
霞姐就是这么干过,年轻的时候爬香山,不走寻常路,从来都是从没有路的地方爬山来彰显自己彪悍的实力(终于明白自己为啥当时没有男朋友了),再后来,走寻常路都累个半死不活的,爬到山顶居然发现各路美女都穿着美美的高跟鞋,这是真的打击到我了,从此之后,去香山,虽然姐没有勇气穿高跟鞋,但是姐也收拾的美美的。可是撸起袖子大爬一顿山之后,你还能美美的那真的只能说你底子太好了。霞姐对自己底子没有信心,便决定上山不用爬的,坐缆车!然后发现坐在山头妆容不乱居然感觉如此良好。
姐不就想坐山头装逼嘛,干嘛把自己爬那么狼狈哈哈哈。我爱缆车!
你呢?也爱缆车吗?
是不是带着孩子去爬长城,发现孩子真的在“爬”长城,一个台阶一个台阶往上爬,这时候你有什么冲动?抱着他爬?同志,如果这么想,表明你还年轻,没有经历过啊,经历过的同志就会知道,“爬”长城这种事,小朋友那是一定要“亲自”来的,那个小朋友愿意让你抱着啊。这时候你只有一种办法,看,缆车……
这篇文章经济学人将会跟我们讲为什么大家都喜欢缆车,好好去看看跟你喜欢缆车的原因是不是一样吧!

更多剧透

第一步:解决高频单词

gondola [ˈgɑ:ndələ]

n.狭长小船;货架(一般指商店,例如化妆品店);吊船工作台

awestruck [ˈɔːstrʌk]

adj.敬畏的,肃然起敬的

mountainous [ˈmaʊntənəs]

adj.多山的;巨大的;山一般的

chaotic [keɪˈɑ:tɪk]

adj.混沌的;一片混乱的;一团糟的;无秩序的

refugee [ˌrɛfjʊˈdʒi]

n.避难者,难民

metro [ˈmetroʊ]

n.地下铁道 adj.大都市的

cliff [klɪf]

n.悬崖,峭壁

subsidise [səb'sɪdaɪs]

vt.给…津贴或补贴,资助或补助…

ribbon [ˈrɪbən]

n.带;绶带;(打印机的)色带;带状物v.把…撕成条带;用缎带装饰

commuter [kəˈmjutɚ]

n.(远距离)上下班往返的人

60p

第二步:精读重点段落

(Tips: 双击文中单词可以查释义并加入你的生词本哦)

Subways in the sky

Why politicians and commuters like cable cars

[1] The cable car is “super quick and much less stressful,” says Nelly Hernández, a passenger accompanied by her awestruck four-year-old daughter.

  • awestruck [ˈɔːstrʌk]  adj.敬畏的,肃然起敬的

[2] In rich Western countries, cable cars are mainly for tourists. Latin America, in contrast, has adopted them as mass transit for the poor. They suit the region’s mountainous cities, many of which have expanded chaotically.

  • mountainous [ˈmaʊntənəs]  adj.多山的;巨大的;山一般的
  • chaotic [keɪˈɑ:tɪk]  adj.混沌的;一片混乱的;一团糟的;无秩序的

[3] The pioneer was Medellín, Colombia’s second city. Refugees from the country’s long civil war had crowded into hillside districts. Widening streets to create new bus lanes or extending the metro would have been too costly. A cable car, opened in 2004, was the answer.

  • refugee [ˌrɛfjʊˈdʒi]  n.避难者,难民
  • metro [ˈmetroʊ]  n.地下铁道 adj.大都市的
  • cliff [klɪf]  n.悬崖,峭壁

[4] One reason cable cars are popular is that governments usually subsidise them in order to compete with private buses. Mexicable charges seven pesos (37 cents), less than half of its break-even price. Politicians like them because they can be built without displacing large groups of people; it often takes 18 months or less, in time for re-election. “Mayors think, ‘I’m going to be cutting the ribbon’,” says Mr Dávila.

  • subsidise [səb'sɪdaɪs]  vt.给…津贴或补贴,资助或补助…
  • ribbon [ˈrɪbən]  n.带;绶带;(打印机的)色带;带状物v.把…撕成条带;用缎带装饰

[5] The jury is out on whether cable cars are worth the cost. In 2012 Mr Dávila and others conducted a study of Medellín’s system, which found that crime fell and jobs grew in areas the cars served. However, the city also made investments in policing and economic development at the same time, which may have been responsible for these gains. The researchers did find that the cable car made residents prouder of their community. People in Ecatepec feel the same way. Bandits go after buses but leave the cable cars alone, says David Ramírez, a passenger. The gondolas’ cosy interiors include two facing metal benches, encouraging conversation.

  • cosy [ˈkozi]  adj.舒适的,惬意的;畅快的;亲切友好的n.有遮盖的双人座椅;保暖罩
  • shantytown ['ʃæntɪˌtaʊn]  n. 以临时搭盖的陋屋为主的地区;糠市
  • consortium [kənˈsɔ:rtiəm] n.财团;组合,共同体;[法]配偶的地位和权利;<美>大学联盟协定

[7] Latin American cities are still cabling up. Bogotá, Colombia’s capital will open its first commuter cable car next year. The state of Mexico, which borders Mexico City, intends to build two new lines by 2023. In all, 20 projects are planned in the region. The sky, it seems, is the limit.

  • commuter [kəˈmjutɚ]  n.(远距离)上下班往返的人
85p

第三步:攻克必学语法

reason的定语从句和reason的内容本身如何区分:

One reason cable cars are popular is that governments usually subsidise them in order to compete with private buses.

这个句子中one reason是句子的主语,其中cable cars are popular这是一个定语从句省略了引导词why。One reason why cable cars are popular。这里why的从句是定语从句修饰reason的。这是修饰语,并不是reason本身信息。
谓语动词是is,后面that引导的从句是名词性从句作为表语。
这个that从句的内容是说明reason的明确内容的,属于reason本身信息。
当然我们大家立即发现,如果reason需要一个名词性从句说明它的内容,我们就可以使用that引导的同位语从句。

参考翻译:缆车很受欢迎的一个原因是:政府通常会补贴他们去和私家巴士竞争。

100p

加分任务:精读全文

在之前的三步后,你已经完全具备了精读全文的能力。再多花半个小时,让你的学习效果达到120%!

查看/展开全文


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(Tips: 双击文中单词可以查释义并加入你的生词本哦)

Subways in the sky

Why politicians and commuters like cable cars

[1] MEXICABLE, a cable-car line 4.9km (three miles) long, soars above Ecatepec, a poor suburb of Mexico City. Open for just over a year, its 185 gondolas carry 18,000 people a day between San Andrés de La Cañada, at the top of the hill, and Santa Clara Coatitla at the bottom. The trip makes five stops en route and takes 19 minutes, compared with the 80-minute bus trip residents previously endured. The cable car is “super quick and much less stressful,” says Nelly Hernández, a passenger accompanied by her awestruck four-year-old daughter.

  • gondola [ˈgɑ:ndələ]  n.狭长小船;货架(一般指商店,例如化妆品店);吊船工作台
  • awestruck [ˈɔːstrʌk]  adj.敬畏的,肃然起敬的

[2] In rich Western countries, cable cars are mainly for tourists. Latin America, in contrast, has adopted them as mass transit for the poor. They suit the region’s mountainous cities, many of which have expanded chaotically, says Julio Dávila of University College London. Ecatepec’s population jumped after an earthquake hit Mexico Cityin1985.

  • mountainous [ˈmaʊntənəs]  adj.多山的;巨大的;山一般的
  • chaotic [keɪˈɑ:tɪk]  adj.混沌的;一片混乱的;一团糟的;无秩序的

[3] The pioneer was Medellín, Colombia’s second city. Refugees from the country’s long civil war had crowded into hillside districts. Widening streets to create new bus lanes or extending the metro would have been too costly. A cable car, opened in 2004, was the answer. Since then Cali, Caracas and Rio de Janeiro (as well as Mexico City) have built similar systems. In September Evo Morales, Bolivia’s president, opened La Paz’s fifth teleférico, extending the world’s longest and highest network with a link to the cliff top city of El Alto.

  • refugee [ˌrɛfjʊˈdʒi]  n.避难者,难民
  • metro [ˈmetroʊ]  n.地下铁道 adj.大都市的
  • cliff [klɪf]  n.悬崖,峭壁

[4] One reason cable cars are popular is that governments usually subsidise them in order to compete with private buses. Mexicable charges seven pesos (37 cents), less than half of its break-even price. Politicians like them because they can be built without displacing large groups of people; it often takes 18 months or less, in time for re-election. “Mayors think, ‘I’m going to be cutting the ribbon’,” says Mr Dávila.

  • subsidise [səb'sɪdaɪs]  vt.给…津贴或补贴,资助或补助…
  • ribbon [ˈrɪbən]  n.带;绶带;(打印机的)色带;带状物v.把…撕成条带;用缎带装饰

[5] The jury is out on whether cable cars are worth the cost. In 2012 Mr Dávila and others conducted a study of Medellín’s system, which found that crime fell and jobs grew in areas the cars served. However, the city also made investments in policing and economic development at the same time, which may have been responsible for these gains. The researchers did find that the cable car made residents prouder of their community. People in Ecatepec feel the same way. Bandits go after buses but leave the cable cars alone, says David Ramírez, a passenger. The gondolas’ cosy interiors include two facing metal benches, encouraging conversation.

  • cosy [ˈkozi]  adj.舒适的,惬意的;畅快的;亲切友好的n.有遮盖的双人座椅;保暖罩

[6] Residents of Complexo de Alemão, a shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, have no such cause for cheer. Rio’s state government paid 253m reais ($135m) to a consortium led by Odebrecht, a construction company, to build a cable car connecting the area to the city’s metro. That now looks ill-advised. In a plea bargain, the former head of Odebrecht’s infrastructure arm said it had paid 94m reais in bribes and donations to the state’s former governor, who was later convicted on corruption charges, to win a development deal that included the federally-funded cable-car project. For five years, residents rode the gondolas free of charge. But they have been grounded since September 2016, after the state stopped paying the firm that ran them.

  • shantytown ['ʃæntɪˌtaʊn]  n. 以临时搭盖的陋屋为主的地区;糠市
  • consortium [kənˈsɔ:rtiəm] n.财团;组合,共同体;[法]配偶的地位和权利;<美>大学联盟协定

[7] Despite the Rio fiasco, Latin American cities are still cabling up. Bogotá, Colombia’s capital will open its first commuter cable car next year. The state of Mexico, which borders Mexico City, intends to build two new lines by 2023. In all, 20 projects are planned in the region. The sky, it seems, is the limit.

  • commuter [kəˈmjutɚ]  n.(远距离)上下班往返的人
200p

gondola [ˈgɑ:ndələ]

n.狭长小船;货架(一般指商店,例如化妆品店);吊船工作台

awestruck [ˈɔːstrʌk]

adj.敬畏的,肃然起敬的

mountainous [ˈmaʊntənəs]

adj.多山的;巨大的;山一般的

chaotic [keɪˈɑ:tɪk]

adj.混沌的;一片混乱的;一团糟的;无秩序的

refugee [ˌrɛfjʊˈdʒi]

n.避难者,难民

metro [ˈmetroʊ]

n.地下铁道 adj.大都市的

cliff [klɪf]

n.悬崖,峭壁

subsidise [səb'sɪdaɪs]

vt.给…津贴或补贴,资助或补助…

ribbon [ˈrɪbən]

n.带;绶带;(打印机的)色带;带状物v.把…撕成条带;用缎带装饰

commuter [kəˈmjutɚ]

n.(远距离)上下班往返的人

不要一时兴起,就要天天在一起

明天见!


下载音频

Subways in the sky

Why politicians and commuters like cable cars

[1] MEXICABLE, a cable-car line 4.9km (three miles) long, soars above Ecatepec, a poor suburb of Mexico City. Open for just over a year, its 185 gondolas carry 18,000 people a day between San Andrés de La Cañada, at the top of the hill, and Santa Clara Coatitla at the bottom. The trip makes five stops en route and takes 19 minutes, compared with the 80-minute bus trip residents previously endured. The cable car is “super quick and much less stressful,” says Nelly Hernández, a passenger accompanied by her awestruck four-year-old daughter.

[2] In rich Western countries, cable cars are mainly for tourists. Latin America, in contrast, has adopted them as mass transit for the poor. They suit the region’s mountainous cities, many of which have expanded chaotically, says Julio Dávila of University College London. Ecatepec’s population jumped after an earthquake hit Mexico Cityin1985.

[3] The pioneer was Medellín, Colombia’s second city. Refugees from the country’s long civil war had crowded into hillside districts. Widening streets to create new bus lanes or extending the metro would have been too costly. A cable car, opened in 2004, was the answer. Since then Cali, Caracas and Rio de Janeiro (as well as Mexico City) have built similar systems. In September Evo Morales, Bolivia’s president, opened La Paz’s fifth teleférico, extending the world’s longest and highest network with a link to the cliff top city of El Alto.

[4] One reason cable cars are popular is that governments usually subsidise them in order to compete with private buses. Mexicable charges seven pesos (37 cents), less than half of its break-even price. Politicians like them because they can be built without displacing large groups of people; it often takes 18 months or less, in time for re-election. “Mayors think, ‘I’m going to be cutting the ribbon’,” says Mr Dávila.

[5] The jury is out on whether cable cars are worth the cost. In 2012 Mr Dávila and others conducted a study of Medellín’s system, which found that crime fell and jobs grew in areas the cars served. However, the city also made investments in policing and economic development at the same time, which may have been responsible for these gains. The researchers did find that the cable car made residents prouder of their community. People in Ecatepec feel the same way. Bandits go after buses but leave the cable cars alone, says David Ramírez, a passenger. The gondolas’ cosy interiors include two facing metal benches, encouraging conversation.

[6] Residents of Complexo de Alemão, a shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, have no such cause for cheer. Rio’s state government paid 253m reais ($135m) to a consortium led by Odebrecht, a construction company, to build a cable car connecting the area to the city’s metro. That now looks ill-advised. In a plea bargain, the former head of Odebrecht’s infrastructure arm said it had paid 94m reais in bribes and do- nations to the state’s former governor, who was later convicted on corruption charges, to win a development deal that included the federally-funded cable-car project. For five years, residents rode the gondolas free of charge. But they have been grounded since September 2016, after the state stopped paying the firm that ran them.

[7] Despite the Rio fiasco, Latin American cities are still cabling up. Bogotá, Colombia’s capital will open its first commuter cable car next year. The state of Mexico, which borders Mexico City, intends to build two new lines by 2023. In all, 20 projects are planned in the region. The sky, it seems, is the limit.

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