PART 4

It's quite hard to think of a city that doesn't have a big river running through it.

很难想象一个没有大河流经的城市。

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，如上海、纽约、孟买、伦敦，它们几乎都建立在河流之上。

When these cities were established hundreds or even thousands of years ago, the rivers were a big part of people's lives.

当这些城市在数百甚至数千年前建立时，河流是人们生活的重要组成部分。

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，从城市的一个部分到另一个部分最快的方式是通过河流。

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.

但人们也会在这条河上钓鱼，因为当时的河水相对清澈。他们还会乘船在河上来回游玩，仅仅是为了娱乐，作为一种放松的方式，逃离城市街道的喧嚣和繁忙。

But as industries developed and populations increased, city rivers suffered.

然而，随着工业的发展和人口的增长，城市河流受到了影响。

The rising number of people meant there was a huge increase in the amount of sewage discharged into the rivers.

人口数量的增加意味着向河流排放的污水量大幅增加。

Rivers had always been used for this purpose, but when the number of inhabitants was so small that wasn't such a problem.

河流一直被用于这个目的，但当居民数量如此之少时，这就不是什么大问题了。

However, as cities grew to over a million inhabitants, the impact on the rivers became more serious.

然而，随着城市人口增长到超过一百万，对河流的影响变得更加严重。

In addition, other types of pollution increased as factories were built beside the river and discharged their waste materials into the water.

此外，随着工厂在河边建立并将废弃物排放到水中，其他类型的污染也在增加。

This got worse over time.

随着时间的推移，情况变得越来越糟糕。

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.

直到 1957 年，伦敦自然历史博物馆的科学家们才宣布，从生物学角度来看，泰晤士河已经 “死亡”, 因为河水太过污秽，无法支持任何形式的生命。

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，随着泰晤士河失去其工业功能，城市开始认识到它们的真正价值，并采取措施来清理它们。

For example, the River Thames is now cleaner than it's been for a hundred and fifty years.

例如，泰晤士河现在比过去一百五十年都要干净。

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.

如今，你可以看到海豹在水中游动。最近，人们不得不试图拯救一头迷路的鲸鱼，它误从海中游上了泰晤士河。

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，但问题不在于水质，而在于方向感。

Then, all around the world, riverside areas are now seen as prime sites for development.

然后，在全世界范围内，河流沿岸地区现在被视为主要的开发地点。

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如今正被改造成昂贵的餐厅，同时也被改造成了能够欣赏河景的公寓。这些公寓非常受欢迎，售价高得惊人。

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，并在那里建造一个公园，为运动提供设施，同时营造一个适合放松的自然环境。

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.

还希望河岸能够用于其他目的 —— 例如，有人提议可以提供设施来展示当地人创作的各种艺术作品。

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，在夏季的 7 月和 8 月，所有交通都被禁止进入河岸两侧的道路，河岸被改造成海滩，人们可以在盆栽棕榈树下的帆布躺椅上放松身心，享受日光浴，或者一边欣赏风景一边购买饮料或零食。

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，我们需要允许它们恢复其最初的用途，被用作交通工具，从汽车和卡车手中夺回我们的街道。

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.

要做到这一点，我们必须将更多的交通流量转移到河边，但这次要干净利落、悄无声息，充分利用现代技术。

Already more than two billion passengers use the ferry to travel in cities around the world like Istanbul, San Francisco and New York.

已经有超过 20 亿乘客在世界各地的城市如伊斯坦布尔、旧金山和纽约乘坐渡轮旅行。

And these numbers are set to rise further.

而且这些数字还将进一步上升。

Admittedly, it's not a fast way of travelling, but neither is a car when it's stuck in traffic.

诚然，这不是一种快速的旅行方式，但当汽车陷入交通堵塞时，它也同样不是。

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，道路上的客流量可能会减少。

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.

但最近的另一个发展，即网上购物的巨大增长，意味着城市交通的另一种形式仍在持续增长，那就是配送。

Trucks and vans in the city pollute and double park while dropping off parcels.

城市中的卡车和货车在卸下包裹时会污染环境，并且会停两次车。

Imagine using the immense capacity of shipping to take these trucks off the road.

想象一下，利用巨大的运输能力让这些卡车偏离道路。

One freight barge can replace 44 large trucks, uses far less energy and causes less pollution.

一艘货运驳船可以替换 44 辆大型卡车，消耗的能源少得多，造成的污染也少得多。

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.

当驳船停靠在河边时，包裹可以通过货运自行车 (当然是电动自行车) 运送到最终目的地，完成最后几公里的运输。

This is already happening in the Dutch city of Amsterdam.

这种情况已经在荷兰城市阿姆斯特丹发生。

And in future, the final stage could even be carried out by drone, although at present this isn't allowed.

在未来，最后阶段甚至可以由无人机执行，尽管目前这是不允许的。

Wouldn't it be great to unblock our city centres in this way! Looking further ahead ...

如果能用这种方式解锁我们的城市中心，岂不是太棒了！展望未来......