What is red but green, open but closed and old but new? Answer: London's stunning new double-decker buses.
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The traditional red double-deckers are a symbol of London. Their iconic status was sealed in 2008 when one bus made the longer-than-usual trip to Beijing to collect a very special passenger: the Olympic Flame. 8 U- h/ E) S& _- E* P% r2 L9 H+ H
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Now a new bus design has been unveiled and it has been wowing Londoners.
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0 ~, m8 Q+ L# O/ R. w- E# l. yThe new bus uses more efficient green technology and has two staircases and an open platform, enabling people to hop on and hop off. It also has a unique asymmetric design for the front end, which gives it a futuristic look.
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Despite its innovations the design is not all new. Its exterior is very reminiscent of London's faithful old double-decker, the Routemaster.
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The new bus has a "swooshing" exterior./ U* q! L; y, s2 c
% X; P2 y1 B* G. a9 e7 Q3 @+ FIn December 2005 the original Routemaster was withdrawn from general service for accessibility and environmental reasons, but it can still be seen on two heritage routes in London. K5 F' w% c* M4 |
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In July 2008 a competition was launched by the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, to design a new Routemaster bus for the capital. There were over 700 entries, with several designers jointly winning the £25,000 (244,000 Yuan) prize. + f5 [7 X$ N6 k, g- Z8 S+ S( T9 u
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The new double-deckers, which have three doors to speed up boarding, are expected to be in service in 2012.
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Mr Johnson said: "This iconic new part of our transport system is not only beautiful, but also has a green heart beating beneath its stylish, swooshing exterior".
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He expects cities around the globe to be "beside themselves with envy" for what he described as a "stunning red emblem" of 21st-century London.
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However, Mr Johnson has not yet persuaded everyone to climb on board. The mayor has been criticised by some for the high cost of the new buses. A normal double-decker bus costs around £190,000 (around 1,900,000 Yuan) but it has cost £7.8m (76,000,000 Yuan) to design and build five new ones.
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/ V' `3 S1 ]: n: J ^: D来自：http://www.bbc.co.uk/ukchina/sim ... w_buses_story.shtml |
发表于 2010-5-21 14:41
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