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第一段
1 .It’s quite hard to think of a city that doesn’t have a big river running through it.
很难想象有一个没有大河流经的城市。
2 .If you think about the major cities in the world, Shanghai, New York, Mumbai, London, they’re nearly all built on rivers.
如果你想想世界上的主要城市，上海、纽约、孟买、伦敦，它们几乎都是建在河流上的。
3 .When these cities were established hundreds or even thousands of years ago, the rivers were a big part of people’s lives.
当这些城市在几百年甚至几千年前建立时，河流是人们生活的重要组成部分。
4 .In 16th-century London, the quickest way to get from one part of the city to another was by river.
在16世纪的伦敦，从城市的一部分到另一部分最快的方法是通过河流。
5 .But people also used the river for fishing, as the water then was relatively clean, and they would also go on boat trips up and down the river just for pleasure, as a relaxing escape from the noise and bustle of the city streets.
但人们也用河流捕鱼，因为当时的水相对干净，他们还会乘船在河上游玩，作为从城市街道的噪音和喧嚣中放松的方式。
6 .But as industries developed and populations increased, city rivers suffered.
但随着工业的发展和人口的增加，城市河流受到了影响。
7 .The rising number of people meant there was a huge increase in the amount of sewage discharged into the rivers.
人口的增加意味着排入河流的污水量大幅增加。
8 .Rivers had always been used for this purpose, but when the number of inhabitants was so small that wasn’t such a problem.
河流一直被用作这个目的，但当居民数量很少时，这并不是一个大问题。
9 .However, as cities grew to over a million inhabitants, the impact on the rivers became more serious.
然而，当城市人口超过一百万时，对河流的影响变得更加严重。
10 .In addition, other types of pollution increased as factories were built beside the river and discharged their waste materials into the water.
此外，随着工厂在河边建成并将废物排放到水中，其他类型的污染也增加了。
11 .This got worse over time.
这种情况随着时间的推移变得更糟。
12 .As recently as 1957, scientists at London’s Natural History Museum declared that the River Thames was ‘dead’ in biological terms, as the water was too filthy to support any kind of life.
就在1957年，伦敦自然历史博物馆的科学家宣布泰晤士河在生物学上已经“死亡”，因为水质太脏，无法支持任何形式的生命。
13 .But in recent years, as rivers lost their industrial function, cities have begun to recognise their true value and to take steps to clean them up.
但近年来，随着河流失去了其工业功能，城市开始认识到它们的真正价值，并采取措施进行清理。
14 .For example, the River Thames is now cleaner than it’s been for a hundred and fifty years.
例如，泰晤士河现在比一百五十年来都要干净。
15 .These days you can see seals swimming in the water and recently people had to try to rescue a whale which had got lost and swum up the river from the sea by mistake.
现在你可以看到海豹在水中游泳，最近人们还不得不试图营救一只迷路的鲸鱼，它误从海里游上了河。
16 .Unfortunately they didn’t succeed, but the problem was disorientation rather than the quality of the water.
不幸的是，他们没有成功，但问题在于迷失方向，而不是水质。
17 .Then, all around the world, riverside areas are now seen as prime sites for development.
然后，全世界的河边地区现在被视为开发的黄金地段。
18 .Warehouses that were once used for storing goods are now being converted into expensive restaurants and also into apartments with river views, which are in great demand and sell for astronomical prices.
曾经用于储存货物的仓库现在被改造成昂贵的餐馆和带有河景的公寓，这些公寓需求量很大，售价高得惊人。
19 .In Los Angeles, on the west coast of the USA, an architect has plans to revitalise the banks of the river and to make a park there which can provide facilities for sports as well as a natural environment for relaxing in.
在美国西海岸的洛杉矶，一位建筑师计划重振河岸，并在那里建一个公园，提供体育设施以及一个可以放松的自然环境。
20 .It’s also hoped that the riverside can be used for other purposes – it’s been proposed that facilities could be provided for displaying projects related to various kinds of art that have been produced by local people, for example.
还希望河边可以用于其他用途——例如，有人提议提供展示本地人创作的各种艺术项目的设施。
21 .In the city of Paris, during the summer months of July and August, all the traffic is banned from the roads by the sides of the river and the banks are transformed into beaches, where people can relax in deckchairs under potted palm trees, sunbathe, or buy a drink or a snack while enjoying the view.
在巴黎市，在七月和八月的夏季，所有河边的道路都禁止交通，河岸被改造成沙滩，人们可以在盆栽棕榈树下的躺椅上放松，晒太阳，或者买饮料或小吃，同时享受美景。
22 .But to make the most of our rivers in our increasingly crowded cities, we need to allow them to regain their original purpose and be used as a means of transport, reclaiming our streets from cars and lorries.
但是，为了在我们日益拥挤的城市中充分利用我们的河流，我们需要让它们恢复原来的用途，作为一种交通工具，从汽车和卡车中夺回我们的街道。
23 .To do this we’ll have to shift more traffic back to the river, but this time cleanly and silently, making the most of modern technology.
为此，我们需要将更多的交通转移回河流，但这次要干净和安静地利用现代技术。
24 .Already more than two billion passengers use the ferry to travel in cities around the world like Istanbul, San Francisco and New York.
目前，全球各地的城市，如伊斯坦布尔、旧金山和纽约，已有超过二十亿乘客使用渡轮出行。
25 .And these numbers are set to rise further.
而且这些数字还会进一步增加。
26 .Admittedly, it’s not a fast way of travelling, but neither is a car when it’s stuck in traffic.
诚然，这不是一种快速的出行方式，但当汽车陷入交通堵塞时也不快。
27 .Of course, passenger traffic on roads might decrease as more people start working from home.
当然，随着越来越多的人开始在家工作，道路上的乘客交通可能会减少。
28 .But another recent development, the huge rise in online shopping, has meant that another form of urban traffic just keeps on growing, and that’s deliveries.
但另一个最近的发展是在线购物的巨大增长，这意味着另一种城市交通形式不断增加，那就是送货。
29 .Trucks and vans in the city pollute and double park while dropping off parcels.
城市里的卡车和货车在送货时会造成污染和双排停车。
30 .Imagine using the immense capacity of shipping to take these trucks off the road.
想象一下利用船运的巨大容量来将这些卡车从道路上移走。
31 .One freight barge can replace 44 large trucks, uses far less energy and causes less pollution.
一艘货船可以替代44辆大卡车，使用的能源少得多，污染也少得多。
32 .When the barge docks at the riverside, the parcels could be taken the last few kilometres to their final destination on cargo bikes – electric ones, of course.
当货船靠岸时，包裹可以用货运自行车——当然是电动的——运送最后几公里到达目的地。
33 .This is already happening in the Dutch city of Amsterdam.
这已经在荷兰的阿姆斯特丹发生了。
34 .And in future, the final stage could even be carried out by drone, although at present this isn’t allowed.
将来，最后一段运输甚至可以由无人机完成，尽管目前这还不被允许。
35 .Wouldn’t it be great to unblock our city centres in this way!
以这种方式疏通我们的市中心不是很好吗！
36 .Looking further ahead …
展望未来……