【推荐1】The London Underground is the oldest underground train network in the world. Opened in 1863, there are a total of eleven lines, 270 stations and over 400 km of track.     1     It carries about 3 million passengers every day. The deepest stations are over 60 metres below the surface, however, 55% of the tracks run above it.

In the 1830s London’s authorities had the idea of linking the centre of London with the large train stations which were located farther away.     2     Wooden carriages were powered by steam engine. The system of tracks gradually expanded. By the end of the 19th century most lines used electricity to power the trains.

The London Underground normally operates daily between 5 a. m. and midnight. Some lines stay open throughout the night on special occasions, like New Year’s Eve. London Underground stations can get very crowded during the weekday rush hours.     3    

The well-known symbol of the London Underground, a red circle with a blue bar, was developed at the beginning of the 20th century and has not changed much since then.     4     Many original stations have been restored and look similar to the way they did over a century ago.

    5     Because the water level of the Thames is constantly on the rise, thousands of cubic metres of water must be pumped out of some of the underground stations every day.

Although so many people use the underground every day, the safety record of the system is very good.

【推荐3】Green Transport Week

Transportation is one aspect we cannot do without it this day. However, the current transportation systems come along with a wide range of problems including global warming, environmental worsening, health implications (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual), and emission (排放) of greenhouse gases. In fact, the transport sector takes up 23% of the globe’ s greenhouse gas emission resulting from burning of fossil fuels. Out of the total greenhouse gas emissions, road transport takes up a lion share, 75% to be exact and this trend is to increase in the future. All this puts lot of pressure on the national governments to work out policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as oil demands.

Figures show that over 90% of all road transportation relies on oil. This figure almost goes hand- in- hand with the total global oil consumption, which stands at 60%. All these have caught the eyes of most governments and policies are being made to change this worrying trend of air pollution.

For example, car use is at an all-time high in Britain, and as the roads get busier, green transport—by foot and bike— gets more and more difficult. The car is being used for increasingly short journeys, as a proportion of all car journeys, 24% are less than 2 miles and 58% are less than 5 miles. The car accounts for 81% of our journeys, walking for only 3% and cycling for 0.5%.

Therefore, the ETA set up the first Green Transport Week in order to raise awareness of the part transport has to play in the areas of personal safety, quality of life and health—as well as its broader global effect on our environment.

In the past we have used Green Transport Week as a celebration of sustainable (可持续性的) transport and as an opportunity to launch a number of national campaigns such as Walk to School Day and Pop-Up Zebra Crossing. Green Transport Week is the most effective way to get a debate going about transport issues in your area, and to spread awareness of the relationship between transport and the environment in schools and workplaces.