09年中高级口译考试备考材料（13）

2009-02-03 00:00:00来源：新东方

双语时事：铛铛车重现北京前门

来源：华尔街日报

bit of old Beijing is back for the new year.

Several months behind schedule, the long-awaited Qianmen Street trolley cars made their debut on the renovated street on Jan. 1 in the capital, the Beijing Times reports

The new Qianmen Street tourist thoroughfare, once the commercial heart of imperial Beijing, officially opened on August 7, just in time for the Beijing Olympics. However, few shops were doing business on opening day, and the trolley cars were reportedly sidelined during the games because Qianmen Street was part of the Olympic marathon course. (For more on the areas troubles, see this recent WSJ story).

Known onomatopoeically in Mandarin as 'dangdang che' (literally, dangdang vehicle), trolleys were introduced to Beijing in 1924, but were supplanted by buses in the 60s. If you want to sound like a real Beijinger, however, the Beijing Times tells us it should be pronounced as 'diangdiang che.'

But the new trolley is clearly aimed at the tourist wallet: The 10-minute ride down the 800-meter (half-mile) pedestrian street is priced at 20 yuan (about $3). The cars are handicapped accessible, feature wood paneled interiors and are equipped with televisions, in case those faux-Olde Beijing buildings outside fail to hold your interest for the duration of the journey.

Although some Beijingers complained that the fare is too high, would-be passengers began lining up for tickets at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, eager to be among the first on board.

A cheaper, and more authentic trolley ride can still be found in Hong Kong, where double-decker cars offer an hour-long crosstown journey amid the city's neon splendor for only 2 Hong Kong dollars (about 25 cents).

新年伊始，老北京的一丝旧貌又再次展现。

《京华时报》报导，在推迟了几个月之后，期待已久的铛铛车1月1日在改造后的前门大街首次运行。

铛铛车重现北京前门新的前门步行街赶在奥运会开幕前于8月7日正式向游客开放，这里曾是老北京的商业中心。不过，开街当天并没有几家商店开业，由于奥运会马拉松比赛将经过前门大街，据称铛铛车在此期间也未能开通。

北京最初是在1924年时推出铛铛车的，但60年代时为公共汽车所取代。在汉语中，“铛铛车”的发音为“dangdang che”。不过，《京华时报》称，如果你想像真正的北京人那样发音，那么“铛铛车”应该读成“diangdiang che”。

但新开通的铛铛车明显将目光对准了游客的腰包：沿800米的步行街走上10分钟要花上20元钱（约合3美元）。铛铛车设置了残疾人通道，木质的内饰，配有电视，以免外面的仿古建筑在旅程中不能引起人们的兴趣。

尽管一些北京人抱怨票价太高，但感兴趣的游客们仍在周四早上4:30就开始排队买票，希望先坐为快。

在香港仍能看到价格更低，也更地道的电车。在那里，只需2港元（约合25美分），双层电车就会带你沿香港最为繁华的地区浏览一个小时。

本文关键字: