共享单车（Bike-sharing）

Welcome the age of bike-sharing.

欢迎进入共享单车时代。

The idea is not new. It has existed in some form or another in Europe for years.

共享经济并不是一件新事物，早在多年前，欧洲就兴起了这样或那样的共享经济模式。

In 1974, a successful bike-sharing program began in La Rochelle, France, and it continues to this day.

1974年，一个成熟的共享单车计划在法国拉罗谢尔诞生，并一直延续到今天。

Similar programs have since proliferated throughout Europe－perhaps President Xi Jinping witnessed during his recent state visit to Finland the workings of Helsinki's city bike system, which reserves a role for the bicycle in the capital's public transportation system.

自那以后，类似的共享经济开始在欧洲范围扩散。习近平主席在最近对芬兰进行国事访问期间或许也亲眼目睹了赫尔辛基城市单车系统的高效运转，单车在芬兰首都的公共交通系统中始终占有着一席之地。

China has more than kept apace of the global trend of bike-sharing. I started noticing bikes for rent in Beijing maybe a year or two ago. First, they were grouped in racks, but later companies emerged whose bikes could be found wherever the last users left them.

中国早就紧跟全球单车共享这一趋势。我在一到两年前开始关注单车租赁情况。起先，这些自行车分门别类整齐排放在一起，但不久后，共享单车公司开始出现，无论上一位使用者把单车停放在哪，都能找到踪迹。

The first bikes looked flimsier, too, but most now they look indestructible.

第一批单车看起来非常容易遭到破坏，不过，现在的大部分单车都变得比较坚固。

It all happened so fast, what will next year bring?

一切都发展得如此迅猛，明年又将会有哪些新变化呢？

来源：新东方在线四六级