Today is National Bike-to-Work Day. And on New York
City’s jammed streets, people are cycling on hundreds of miles of new bike
lanes. But New York’s widespread efforts to make streets safer for bikes have
also left some locals complaining about the loss of parking spots and lanes for
cars.
When the weather is good, Aaron Naparstek likes to
pedal（用踏板踩）his two young kids to school on a special
Dutch-made bicycle. Naparstek supports the new lane.
Aaron: The bike lane on Prospect Park West is really
introducing a lot of new people to the idea that it’s possible to use a bike in
New York City for transportation or to travel around. This is what 21st
century New York City looks like.
Prospect Park West is still a one-way road, but where
it used to have three lanes of car traffic, now it has two, plus a protected
bike lane. Supporters say that makes the road safer for everyone, including
pedestrians, by slowing down cars and taking bikes off the sidewalk. But some
longtime residents disagree. Lois Carswell is president of a group called
Seniors for Safety. She says the two-way bike lane is dangerous to older
residents who are used to one-way traffic.
Lois: We wanted a lane — the right kind of lane that
would keep everybody safe, that would keep the bikers safe. But we want it to
be done the right way. And it has not been done the right way.
Craig Palmer builds bars and restaurants in Manhattan.
I was interviewing him for a different story when he brought up the bike lanes
all on his own.
Craig: I think the biggest problem is that Bloomberg
put all these bike lanes in. You took what used to be a full street and you’re
shrinking it.
Then there are the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg,
Brooklyn, who forced the city to remove a bike lane through their neighborhood.
But polls show that the majority of New Yorkers support bike lanes by a margin
of 56% to 39%. Bicycle advocate Caroline Samponaro of Transportation
Alternatives calls that a mandate.
Caroline: If this was an election, we would have
already had our victory. The public has spoken and they keep speaking. And I
think, more importantly, the public is starting to vote with their pedals.
1.What does Aaron mean by saying “This is what 21st
century New York City looks like.”?
A．There are
hundreds of miles of new bike lanes in 21 st century New York City.
B．Drivers slow
down their cars and bikes are taken off the sidewalk in New York.
C．Bikes are
used as a means of transport in 21 st century New York City.
D．It’s possible to make the streets safe for pedestrians in
New York.
2.According to the passage, which of the following
CANNOT support the opponents of these new bike lanes?
A．Drivers lose
parking spots and lanes for cars.
B．The two-way
bike lane is dangerous to older residents.
C．We took what
used to be a full street so the road is broader than before.
D．The removal
of one bike lane through a neighbourhood in Brooklyn was not supported by the
majority of New Yorkers.
3.“A mandate” in Paragraph 8 was referred to a demand
or command from ______.
A．the authority B．the public C．the
supporters D．the
government
4.What of the following might be the best title of the
passage?
A．Ride on
National Bike-to-Work Day B．A New Bike
Lane Appears in New York
C．A Bike Lane Divides
New Yorkers D．Who Wins an
Election
