电动自行车将成中国主流交通工具

In the urban jungle of Beijing, pedestrians, drivers and riders are still learning how to coexist. Just 20 years ago, China was the land of bicycles with barely a car inside. Today, the roads are tangled with 25 million cars and 120 million electric bikes.

在人口稠密的都市北京，步行的，开车的，骑车的，都在想办法如何才能在拥挤的马路上和谐共存。而就在20年前，中国还是自行车的国度，汽车难得一见。如今，全国的马路上，往来穿梭着2千5百万辆汽车和1亿2千万辆电动自行车。

"All right, they say this one is good for me. It’s small. It’s safe. It doesn’t go too fast, so let’s see how it rides. Here I am, braving Beijing traffic, and so far so good."

“好吧，大家都说这两电动自行车很适合我骑。它很小，很安全，跑起来不会太快，那我们就来看看它骑起来感觉如何吧。我现在在北京的马路上，目前感觉还不错。”

In fact, e-bikes are China’s fastest growing mode of transportation with speed ranging from 20 to 50 kilometers per hour at a fair price.

电动自行车时速在20到50千米，价格不高。实际上，在中国，电动自行车已经是发展最快的交通方式了。

"It’s really convenient, and saves money too." this customer says.

这位顾客说，“非常方便，也很经济。”

He just bought his first e-bike for 295 dollars. The trend is catching on with commuters, young and old.

他刚买的电动自行车花了295美元。这种趋势正风靡于通勤上班者，无论是老是少。

At 75, Mr. Zuo, is too old to legally get a driver’s license in China, but he doesn’t need one to ride in e-bike.

左先生今年75岁了，由于年龄过大，不具备在中国取得合法驾驶执照的资格。但是骑电动自行车就不需要驾驶执照。

"E-bikes are good for my bad knees", he says, "my policy is to go slow."

他说，“我腿脚不便，电动自行车对我来说很方便，我的原则就是慢骑。”

At factories, e-bike production is booming. Chinese company Yadi produce just 50,000 e-bikes in 2005 when the company opened, compared to more than a million last year.

工厂里，电动自行车生产正蓬勃发展。中国的雅迪公司刚成立时，在2005年只生产了5万辆电动自行车，而去年该公司的产量为50多万辆。

"This is the last step on the production line where the shields are added, the screws are tightened, and there is one final inspection before these electric bikes are rolled off for sale."

“这是生产线上的最后一步，装保护膜，紧螺丝。并且，在这些电动自行车出场销售之前，还有一次最终检查。”

"Everyone is talking about the low-carbon economy these days," the manager says, "and e-bikes use less energy."

该公司一位经理说，“如今，人人都在谈论低碳经济模式，而电动自行车消耗的能量在相比之下更少。”

Just how environmentally friendly they are is debatable. They do consume electricity, generated by coal fire plants. They also use lead batteries that can damage the environment if they are not disposed of properly, and safety can be problematic too. Riders here rarely wear helmets and many inexperience users wave in the out of traffic, accidents are common, traffic fatalities rising, and some car owners are getting frustrated.

电动自行车有是否利于环保还值得商榷。电动自行车消耗电能，而电是由火电厂发的。电动自行车还是用铅蓄电池，如果处理不当，这些电池会给环境造成危害。还有，电动自行车的安全与否也受到了人们的置疑。骑电动自行车的人很少会戴头盔。更有甚者，一些愣头青东冲西撞的，以致交通事故频发，交通事故死亡人数上升，一些汽车司机对此感到很无奈。

"They are not safe," this driver says, "they just go too fast."

汽车司机说，“电动自行车不安全，骑的速度太快。”

But like it or not, they are only becoming more popular.

但是，不管怎么说，电动自行车是越来越火了。

All right, not bad, rides very quietly, it’s pretty easy to control and at least in China, it is definitely the way of the future.

恩，不错，骑起来非常安静，非常好控制，至少在中国，电动自行车会成为将来的主流交通方式。