It sounds so promising. A network of dedicated cycle routes running through a city with air pumps to fix flat tires, footrests to lean on while taking breaks and trash cans that are specially angled so you can throw in empty water bottles without stopping.
聽起來，這是一個頗為巧妙的設計：貫穿城市的專用自行車路網(wǎng)，提供輪胎打氣泵、休息用的腳踏設施，連垃圾桶都特地調(diào)整了角度，在車上即可扔放空飲料瓶。

【注釋1】Promising：有望成功的; 前景很好的。這里本想用“很有前景的”、“前景大好的”，但是感覺作者并沒有這么真切的支持態(tài)度，也缺乏足夠的事實論據(jù)。模糊處理為了“設計巧妙”，和下文也能對應起來。

【注釋2】Footrest：腳凳，腳踏，但是具體是什么不好判斷。Footrests to lean on 好理解但不好翻譯，也沒搜到畫面，同樣做了模糊處理。

【注釋3 】Lean 把…靠 (在…上) Lean the plants against a wall and cover the roots with peat.
把這些植物靠在墻上，用泥炭蓋住根部。

【注釋4】Fix flat tires 沒有再詳細解釋，個人感覺，打氣泵就足夠了，不用特別強調(diào)是沒氣的輪胎。

【注釋5】Throw in 是 throw sth in 的結構調(diào)整，英語中很多詞組有類似提前用法。此外 throw in 也有贈送的意思。If you buy a refrigerator, we will throw in a microwave oven. 如果你買一臺電冰箱，我們免費贈送一臺微波爐。

Best of all, you can cycle on those routes for long distances without having to make way for cars and trucks at junctions and traffic lights, according to the official description of the Cycle Super Highways, which are under construction here as part of the Danish capital’s efforts to become carbon-neutral by 2025.
據(jù)官方介紹，“超級自行車高速公路”項目設計的最大亮點是方便市民長距離騎行，不需要在道路交叉口或紅綠燈前避讓汽車、卡車。作為丹麥首都的在建項目，是該市為力爭2025年之前實現(xiàn)碳中和采取的措施之一。

【注釋6】Best of all，本來想照搬上面的“設計最巧妙之處”，為了避免重復改成了“最大亮點”。語言表達能力也不好，這種措辭也經(jīng)常勉強寫出來，隔天看又覺得幼稚。總之是個循環(huán)往復的過程，需要不斷修改才能臻于完美。

【注釋7】 According to the official description 提前了，因為我們平時看中文新聞，“據(jù)????”這種表達往往是要放句首，讓讀者知道這消息哪里來的，可不可靠。

【注釋8】carbon-neutral，碳中和，可以說的地方不多。平時留意下官方各類白皮書中英對照、聯(lián)合國秘書長的一些講話，有助于積累這些看似專業(yè)其實常見的詞匯。

【注釋9】which are under construction 本來想直接翻譯的，改了好多次，改成“作為???”，形式上變了不小，但是意義沒有差別。當然句子的重點可能有些變化，有時候也是為了保持結構順暢的必要犧牲。

Are they as good as they sound? These days it is hard to find a big city that doesn’t make grandiose claims to encourage cycling, and harder still to find one that fulfills them. Redesigning congested traffic systems to add bike lanes to overcrowded roads is fiendishly difficult, especially in historic cities with narrow cobbled streets like Copenhagen. But as its cycling program sounds so ambitious, I went there to try it.
但實際上真的像聽起來這樣好嗎？近些年來，幾乎所有大城市都在競相高聲提倡自行車出行，例外者少，完全推行的更是鮮有。要在原本人滿為患的路網(wǎng)上新建自行車道，需要改造目前擁擠的交通系統(tǒng)，實施難度極大，特別是對于哥本哈根等有著狹窄礫石路的歷史名城。不過，因為這個項目看上去如此規(guī)模宏大，我特地前去體驗了一下。

【注釋10】最后一句譯得不好，暫時也不太確定。詞典里有雄心勃勃的計劃，總感覺很別扭。

【注釋11】Grandiose /?ɡr?nd????s/ 華而不實的。處理為“高聲”，也不算太好。有版本譯為“鼓吹”，感覺意思則有些過。The sad truth is that not one of Tim’s grandiose plans has even begun.
可悲的是，蒂姆那些華而不實的計劃沒有一項付諸實施。

【注釋12】Fiendish /?fi?nd??/ 巧妙的; 富有想象力的，非常棘手的，殘忍的。
This figure is reached by a fiendishly clever equation.
這個數(shù)值是用及其巧妙的方程解出來的。
This was a fiendish act of wickedness.這是一種殘忍邪惡的行為。

【注釋13】cobble /‘k?bl/ 圓石子，鵝卵石，大卵石，中礫石

Maybe I’d be less cynical if I lived in Amsterdam, Cologne or any other city with decent cycling facilities, but as a Londoner, I’ve learned the hard way to be suspicious whenever politicians promise to do anything bike-friendly. London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, is a keen cyclist, who issues policy papers with auspicious titles like “Cycling Revolution” and has continued his predecessor’s biking program by introducing a cycle-rental project and building new bike lanes.
如果是生活在阿姆斯特丹或科隆，或其他自行車配套設施完備的城市，我可能不會這么憤世嫉俗。但作為倫敦人，我從失望中積累了經(jīng)驗，無論何時政客承諾為自行車出行提供便利，我都會保持懷疑態(tài)度。倫敦市長鮑里斯?約翰遜（Boris Johnson）非常喜歡騎自行車，為此專門退出政策文件，“自行車革命”的名稱寓意也非常美好。在前任市長的自行車項目基礎上，鮑里斯又有延伸，引進了自行車租賃服務，同時新建了很多自行車道。

【注釋14】 Predecessor /?pri?d??s?s?/ 前任，前一代
He maintained that he learned everything he knew from his predecessor.
他堅稱他所知道的一切都是從他的前任那兒學到的。

So far so good, you may think, unless you have braved the potholes, parked trucks and construction debris that obstruct those lanes, many of which appear to have been designed by someone who has never seen a bicycle, let alone ridden one. London cyclists swap horror stories of dysfunctional cycle routes that end without warning or maroon them on the wrong side of the road, though few can be more perilous than a new lane on Bethnal Green Road, which is blocked by a streetlight — anyone rash enough to use the lane has to brake sharply to avoid crashing into it.
也許這樣看來，感覺都還不錯。但如果遇到坑坑洼洼的路面，停在路上的卡車，堵在途中的建筑垃圾，你可能就不這么想了。這些順暢出行的障礙，似乎可以反映出設計者可能連自行車都沒見過，更不用說騎過。在倫敦，騎自行車的人經(jīng)常聊起車道通行受阻引發(fā)的慘痛經(jīng)歷，這些車道要么沒有警示標志，要么會把行人困在相反方向上。不過，最危險的路線之一還是在貝斯納爾格林路，那兒竟然有路燈橫在路上，要避免撞到，非得緊急剎車不可。

【注釋15】Pothole /?p?t?h??l/ ( potholes ) A pothole is a large hole in the surface of a road, caused by traffic and bad weather. 路面坑洞，坑洼，凹坑

【注釋16】Maroon /m??ru?n/使無法逃脫，絳紫色的
maroon velvet curtains.
絳紫色的天鵝絨窗簾。
He was marooned for a year in Jamaica.
他在牙買加被困了一年。