近日，郑州大学生夜骑开封爆火。
🤔️小作业：
1. According to the article, why is the gyroscopic effect insufficient for explaining how a bicycle stays upright?
A) The gyroscopic effect only applies at high speeds and with heavier wheels.
B) Novice cyclists lack the ability to utilize the gyroscopic effect.
C) The gyroscopic effect causes a bicycle to tilt rather than remain balanced.
D) Everyday bicycle wheels do not generate a gyroscopic effect due to their shape.
A) It destabilizes the cyclist, making balance difficult.
B) It is a natural balancing mechanism that corrects minor imbalances.
C) It signals an error in the cyclist's steering method.
D) It helps to increase the speed of the cyclist.
无注释原文：
How does a bike stay upright? It's all in the mind
From: BBC
It's as easy as riding a bike… or so the saying goes. But how do we manage to stay upright on a bicycle? If anyone ventures an answer they most often say that it's because of the “gyroscopic effect” – but this can't be true.
Put simply, the gyroscopic effect occurs because a spinning wheel wants to stay spinning about its axis, just as a spinning top or even planet Earth stay aligned to their spin axes. While motorcyclists with their big, heavy, fast-spinning wheels may notice the gyro effect, a modest everyday cyclist won't because the wheels are much lighter and at a leisurely riding speed they don't spin quickly enough.
If a pedal bicycle did stay upright because of the gyroscopic effect then any novice getting on a bike could just push off and the bike – and the effect – would do the rest. The simple truth is that you have to learn how to ride, just as you must learn how to walk. Riding a bike is all in the mind.
Imagine you had to ride along a perfectly straight line on a perfectly flat path. Easy, surely. Well, no. It's virtually impossible to ride along a narrow straight line just as it's really hard to walk perfectly along a straight line, even when you're not drunk. Try it.
Now attempt this little experiment: stand on the ball of one foot, using your arms to balance. It's quite hard. But now try hopping from one foot to the other. It is much easier to keep your balance. It's called running. What your brain has learned to do is to make a little correction every time you take off so that if, say, you're falling to the right, then you'll hop a bit to the left with the next step.
It's the same with pedalling a bike. When riding, you're always making tiny corrections. If you are falling to the right, then you subconsciously steer a bit to the right so that your wheels move underneath you. Then, without thinking, you steer back again to stay on the path.
This “wobbling” is perfectly normal. It is more obvious among beginners (mostly children) who wobble around quite a lot, but it may be almost imperceptible in an expert cyclist. Nevertheless, these little wobbles are all part of the process and explain why walking – or riding – on a dead straight line is so hard because you can't make those essential little side-to-side corrections.
There are some really clever bits in bicycle design to make riding a bike easier, too. Most important is the fact that the steering column (the “head tube”) is tilted so that the front wheel makes contact with the ground at a point that lies behind where the steering axis intersects with the ground. The distance between these two points is called “the trail”.
The trail really helps to stabilise a bike when you're riding with no hands because when you lean to the right, say, the force at the contact point on the pavement will turn the front wheel to the right. This helps you to steer effortlessly and it allows for hands-free steering by leaning slightly left or right.
So what's the best way to learn to ride? Well, watching children learning to ride with trainer wheels distresses me because every time one of the stabilisers touches the ground it is an unlearning experience. To cycle, your brain has to learn to wobble, so take off the trainer wheels – and the more you wobble the quicker you'll learn. Cycling really is all in the mind.
- ◆ -
注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为BBC官方译文，仅供参考
含注释全文：
How does a bike stay upright? It's all in the mind
From: BBC
It's as easy as riding a bike… or so the saying goes. But how do we manage to stay upright on a bicycle? If anyone ventures an answer they most often say that it's because of the “gyroscopic effect” – but this can't be true.
英语里有一句谚语叫“像骑自行车一样容易”。但是人们究竟是如何在自行车上保持平衡的？很多试图尝试回答这个问题的人会谈到“陀螺效应”，但实际上并不准确。
upright
upright /ˈʌp.raɪt 可以作形容词，也可以作副词，1）表示“诚实的；负责的；正直的”，英文解释为“honest, responsible, and moral”举个🌰：She behaved as any upright citizen would have under the circumstances. 她在这种情况下的做法和所有正直公民一样。
2）表示“竖直的；直立的；垂直的”，英文解释为“placed in a vertical position”举个🌰：Keep the bottle upright. 保持瓶子直立。
venture
venture /ˈven.tʃər/ 1）作名词，表示“（尤指有风险的）企业，商业，投机活动，经营项目”，英文解释为“a business project or activity, especially one that involves taking risks”举个🌰：A disastrous business venture lost him thousands of dollars. 一个彻底失败的经营项目使他损失严重。
2）作动词，表示“敢于去；冒险去（或做）；冒昧地说”，英文解释为“to risk going somewhere or doing something that might be dangerous or unpleasant, or to risk saying something that might be criticized”举个🌰：As we set off into the forest, we felt as though we were venturing (forth) into the unknown. 当我们动身进入那片森林时，感觉自己似乎正在冒险进入一个未知的世界。
📺美剧《复仇》（Revenge）中的台词提到：This is brave new territory we're venturing into here. 这是我们华丽冒险的新地域。
📺美剧《宋飞正传》（Seinfeld）中的台词提到：You realize you're venturing into uncharted waters? 你意识到你在冒险进入未知水域吗？
gyroscopic
gyroscope /ˈdʒaɪ.rə.skəʊp/ 表示“陀螺仪，回转仪；（儿童玩具）陀螺”，英文解释为“a device containing a wheel that spins freely within a frame, used on aircraft and ships to help keep them horizontal, and as a children's toy”
gyroscopic 形容词性，表示“陀螺仪的;陀螺的；回转（式）的；回旋（运动）的”
Put simply, the gyroscopic effect occurs because a spinning wheel wants to stay spinning about its axis, just as a spinning top or even planet Earth stay aligned to their spin axes. While motorcyclists with their big, heavy, fast-spinning wheels may notice the gyro effect, a modest everyday cyclist won't because the wheels are much lighter and at a leisurely riding speed they don't spin quickly enough.
简而言之，陀螺效应的产生是由于轮子在旋转中能保持轴的方向的能力，就像一个旋转的陀螺，或者围绕轴心旋转的地球。摩托车手由于驾驶飞速旋转的重型机车会更容易意识到陀螺效应的作用，但是普通的骑车人由于使用的轮胎轻得多，速度不够快而不会注意到陀螺效应的存在。
spin
spin /spɪn/ 作动词，表示“（使）（尤指快速）旋转”，英文解释为“to (cause to) turn around and around, especially fast”举个🌰：The earth spins on its axis. 地球绕地轴旋转。
作名词，表示“旋转；转动”，英文解释为“the movement of something turning round very quickly”举个🌰：I hit something on the road, which sent the car into a spin. 我轧到了路面上的什么东西，整个车直打转。
📍spin (sb) a story/tale/yarn 表示“（为骗人或逗乐）杜撰故事，编造故事”，英文解释为“to tell a story, either to deceive someone or for entertainment”举个🌰：He spun some tale about needing to take time off work because his mother was ill. 他编了个瞎话，说他妈妈病了，他需要请假。They spun us a story about being in desperate need of money. 他们编了个瞎话，说他们急需用钱。
📍be spun into 演变为，转变为（将某些信息或情况转变或改编成另一种形式或叙述）
spinning top
spinning top /ˈspɪn.ɪŋ ˌtɒp/ 表示“陀螺”，英文解释为“a toy with rounded sides, a flat top, a vertical handle, and a point at the bottom, that turns round and round on the point when the handle is pushed and pulled up and down or twisted”
axis
axis /ˈæk.sɪs/ 1）表示“轴（线）；中心线”，英文解释为“a real or imaginary straight line going through the centre of an object that is spinning, or a line that divides a symmetrical shape into two equal halves”举个🌰：The earth revolves around the axis that joins the North and South Poles. 地球围绕贯穿南北两极的地轴自转。
2）表示“参考轴线，基准线，坐标线”，英文解释为“a fixed line on a graph used to show the position of a point”
motorcyclist
motorcyclist /ˈməʊ.təˌsaɪ.klɪst/ 表示“骑摩托车的人”，英文解释为“a person who rides a motorcycle”
If a pedal bicycle did stay upright because of the gyroscopic effect then any novice getting on a bike could just push off and the bike – and the effect – would do the rest. The simple truth is that you have to learn how to ride, just as you must learn how to walk. Riding a bike is all in the mind.
如果脚踏车可以因为陀螺效应而保持直立，那么任何新手都可以坐在上面不用蹬车，被人推着前进了–因为陀螺效应本身就可以发挥作用促使车辆前进。简单来说，你必须学会如何骑车，就像你必须学会如何走路一样。驾驭一辆自行车的关键全在大脑中。
pedal
pedal /ˈped.əl/ 表示“踏板，脚蹬子”，英文解释为“to turn or press the pedals on a bicycle or other machine”如：the brake/accelerator pedal 刹车/油门踏板，也可以作动词，表示“骑（自行车）”，英文解释为“to push the pedals of a bicycle with your feet”举个🌰：You'll have to pedal hard up this hill. 走上坡时你必须用力蹬车。
novice
novice /ˈnɒv.ɪs/ 表示“新手，初学者”，英文解释为“a person who is not experienced in a job or situation”举个🌰：I've never driven a car before - I'm a complete novice. 我以前从未开过车——完全是个新手。
Imagine you had to ride along a perfectly straight line on a perfectly flat path. Easy, surely. Well, no. It's virtually impossible to ride along a narrow straight line just as it's really hard to walk perfectly along a straight line, even when you're not drunk. Try it.
想象一下，你沿着一条完全平坦的笔直的道路骑行。非常容易是不是？嗯，并不是，基本上人很难沿着一条狭窄的直线骑行，就像不可能走出一条完美的直线一样，即便是在你完全清醒的情况下，不信你可以试试。
Now attempt this little experiment: stand on the ball of one foot, using your arms to balance. It's quite hard. But now try hopping from one foot to the other. It is much easier to keep your balance. It's called running. What your brain has learned to do is to make a little correction every time you take off so that if, say, you're falling to the right, then you'll hop a bit to the left with the next step.
现在尝试这个小实验：一只脚站在球上，用你的手臂来保持平衡。非常难。现在试着从一只脚跳到另一只脚。这样保持平衡容易的多。这个过程叫做跑动。你的大脑所做的是每次你起跳的时候根据位置进行调整，这样如果你朝右边倒了，下一步大脑就会指导你往左跳一些。
hop
hop /hɒp/ 1）表示“单脚跳”，英文解释为“to jump on one foot or to move about in this way”举个🌰：I tried to hop on my good foot while holding onto him. 我抓住他，并用我的那只好脚努力向前跳。
2）表示“快速去（某地）；快速跳上（或跳下）（车辆）”，英文解释为“to go somewhere quickly or to get into or out of a vehicle quickly”举个🌰：I hopped on the bus at the traffic lights. 我在红绿灯处匆匆跳上公共汽车。
It's the same with pedalling a bike. When riding, you're always making tiny corrections. If you are falling to the right, then you subconsciously steer a bit to the right so that your wheels move underneath you. Then, without thinking, you steer back again to stay on the path.
这和蹬着自行车一样。在整个骑行过程中你总是在不断的做调整。如果你朝右边倒了，潜意识里你就会朝左边倾斜一些以使车轮在你脚下移动。然后，不用想你又回到了路径上。
subconsciously
subconsciously /ˌsʌbˈkɒn.ʃəs.li/ 表示“潜意识地，下意识地”，英文解释为“in a way that uses or relates to the subconscious (= the part of your mind that notices and remembers information when you are not actively trying to do so, and influences your behaviour even though you do not realize it)”举个🌰：I think I must have known subconsciously that something was going on between them. 我想我的潜意识里一定知道他们之间发生了什么。
steer
steer /stɪər/ 1）表示“引导，带领”，英文解释为“to take someone or something or make someone or something go in the direction in which you want him, her, or it”举个🌰：She steered her guests into the dining room. 她把客人们领到餐厅。
2）表示“驾驶”，英文解释为“When you steer a car, boat, or plane, you control it so that it goes in the direction that you want.”举个🌰：He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
This “wobbling” is perfectly normal. It is more obvious among beginners (mostly children) who wobble around quite a lot, but it may be almost imperceptible in an expert cyclist. Nevertheless, these little wobbles are all part of the process and explain why walking – or riding – on a dead straight line is so hard because you can't make those essential little side-to-side corrections.
这个“摇摆”是很正常的。在初学者中更为明显（大部分是儿童）会一直不停的摇摆，但是从专业骑手上基本上看不到任何摇摆。然而，这些小的摇摆都是学会骑车的过程的一部分，这也就解释了为什么行走，或者骑行，出一条笔直笔直的直线是不可能的，因为你很难一直不停的做出精确的矫正。
wobble
wobble /ˈwɒbəl/表示“（使）摇晃，（使）摇摆”，英文解释为“to (cause something to) shake or move from side to side in a way that shows poor balance”举个🌰：That bookcase wobbles whenever you put anything on it. 那个书架你一放东西就摇摇晃晃的。
imperceptible
imperceptible /ˌɪm.pəˈsep.tə.bəl/ 表示“察觉不出的，难以察觉的”，英文解释为“unable to be noticed or felt because of being very slight”举个🌰：She heard a faint, almost imperceptible cry. 她听到一声微弱得几乎难以察觉的哭声。
There are some really clever bits in bicycle design to make riding a bike easier, too. Most important is the fact that the steering column (the “head tube”) is tilted so that the front wheel makes contact with the ground at a point that lies behind where the steering axis intersects with the ground. The distance between these two points is called “the trail”.
有一些非常聪明的设计可以使自行车骑起来更容易。最重要的事实是，转向柱（“头管”）是倾斜的，因为前轮和地面的着力点，是在转向轴线与地面接触点之后的。这两点之间的距离称为“骑行痕迹”。
steering column
steering column /ˈstɪə.rɪŋ ˌkɒl.əm/ 表示“（车辆的）转向柱，方向盘柱”，英文解释为“the part of a vehicle that the steering wheel is connected to”举个🌰：My car has an adjustable steering column. 我的车配有可调节的转向柱。
tilt
tilt /tɪlt/ 1）表示“（使）倾斜”，英文解释为“to (cause to) move into a sloping position”举个🌰：He tilted his chair backwards and put his feet up on his desk. 他把椅子向后倾，双脚搁在书桌上。
2）表示“使倾向于；使向…倾斜；偏向”，英文解释为“to make sth/sb change slightly so that one particular opinion, person, etc. is preferred or more likely to succeed than another; to change in this way”举个🌰：The conditions may tilt the balance in favour of the runners. 这些条件可能对赛跑运动员有利。Popular opinion has tilted in favour of him. 公众舆论已倒向他一边。
intersect
1）表示“（线条、道路等）（和…）相交，（和…）交叉”，英文解释为“(of lines, roads, etc.) to cross one another”举个🌰：The roads intersect near the bridge. 这些道路在大桥附近相交。
2）表示“横穿；贯穿；横断”，英文解释为“to divide an area by crossing it”举个🌰：The landscape is intersected with spectacular gorges. 在大地景色中点缀着壮观的峡谷。
trail
trail /treɪl/ 作名词则表示“小路，小径”，如：a forest/mountain trail 林间/山间小道，以及“臭迹；踪迹；痕迹；蛛丝马迹，线索”等意思，英文解释为“the smell or series of marks left by a person, animal, or thing as it moves along；various pieces of information that together show where someone you are searching for has gone”举个🌰：The dogs are trained to follow the trail left by the fox. 这些狗经过特别的训练，能够追踪狐狸留下的气味。
作动词，表示“（比赛中）落后，失败”，英文解释为“to be losing to your competitor in a competition”举个🌰：The Canadian team is trailing by six points. 加拿大队落后了6分。
The trail really helps to stabilise a bike when you're riding with no hands because when you lean to the right, say, the force at the contact point on the pavement will turn the front wheel to the right. This helps you to steer effortlessly and it allows for hands-free steering by leaning slightly left or right.
这个轨迹有助于你在骑行时保持平稳，当你骑车不扶把的时候，当你身体右倾斜时，在人行道上的接触点的力量会促使前轮转向右边。这有助于你将毫不费力的通过身体微倾来控制方向。
lean
lean /liːn/ 作动词，表示“（使）倾斜，（使）向一侧歪斜”，英文解释为“to (cause to) slope in one direction, or to move the top part of the body in a particular direction”举个🌰：She leaned forward and whispered something in my ear. 她俯身过来和我耳语了几句。
lean作形容词，表示“肉少的；瘦且健康的”，英文解释为“without much flesh; thin and fit”如：a lean, muscular body 清瘦而肌肉发达的身体。
lean on sb/sth 表示“依靠，凭借”，英文解释为“to use someone or something to help you, especially in a difficult situation”举个🌰：He's always had his big brother to lean on. 他总是依靠他大哥。
So what's the best way to learn to ride? Well, watching children learning to ride with trainer wheels distresses me because every time one of the stabilisers touches the ground it is an unlearning experience. To cycle, your brain has to learn to wobble, so take off the trainer wheels – and the more you wobble the quicker you'll learn. Cycling really is all in the mind.
那么，最好的学骑自行车的方法是什么呢？嗯，看小孩子们用训练专用的自行车学习让我很苦恼，因为每一次保持平衡训练轮着地的时候就意味着又白学了。要想学会骑自行车，你的大脑必须要学会摇摆，所以把训练轮子拆除吧，摇摆的越厉害你就学得越快。骑自行车的诀窍真的都在你的大脑中。
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