中国将在奥运期间采取车辆限行措施 With fewer than 50 days to the Olympic Games, Chinese authorities on Friday announced plans to almost halve the number of cars on the capital's roads for a two-month period. Starting July 20, cars will be allowed on the roads on alternating days, based on even- and odd-number license plates. The system will be in effect until Sept. 20, almost a month after the close of the Olympics and three days after the closing ceremony of the Paralympics. Authorities expressed confidence these measures will produce clean air in time for the Games. 'We have the confidence and capability to guarantee the good air quality. We can promise the air quality can be improved to meet the previous target we set,' said Du Shaozhong, spokesman for Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau. The measures are expected to take about 45% of Beijing's 3.29 million cars off the roads, including 300,000 government vehicles. The steps also are expected to increase public-transportation ridership by four million, authorities said. Though the plan was widely expected, its duration could encourage Beijing's more-affluent drivers to attempt to evade the measures by switching license plates or using alternate cars. Several multinational companies already have purchased or made arrangements to purchase alternate license plates for their fleets to enable ease of movement, people familiar with the matter said. Beijing is struggling to clear the skies in time for the Olympics, despite rules that are already in effect. These include tougher car-emission standards and the closure of polluting factories across six Chinese provinces that are collectively larger in area than France, Germany and Italy combined. But concerns about Beijing's still-poor air quality are causing some Olympians to consider showing up for only their events, skipping many of the festivities accompanying the Games. This past week, for example, members of Australia's track-and-field contingent said they would stay in their Hong Kong training camp and skip the opening ceremonies, partly because of 'concerns of air quality,' spokesman Mike Tancred said. On Friday, Beijing's downtown noon skies were a dull gray and smelled faintly of smoke. Chinese readings rated air quality Level 3, or 'slightly polluted,' which is still on the higher end of the pollution scale. On May 28, Beijing notched an unprecedented Level 4, or 'poor,' reading. Nonetheless, Chinese authorities said Thursday that Beijing had 12 more blue-sky days this year compared with last, as well as drops in major pollution indexes that monitor concentrations of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. A similar discrepancy in public perception and official readings occurred last August, when authorities did a test-run of traffic controls for a four-day period. Authorities said the measures caused significant improvements in air quality and cut emissions by 5,815 tons, but many residents said only traffic flow improved markedly during the period. 现在距离奥运会开幕还有不到50天，中国有关部门上周五公布了车辆限行措施，北京机动车将在奥运期间按单双号行驶，限行期限为两个月。 从7月20日起，北京机动车将按单双号行驶。限行期限至9月20日结束，也就是奥运会闭幕约1个月后、残奥会闭幕3天后。 有关部门表示，相信这些措施将使奥运期间空气质量有所改善。北京市环保局发言人杜少中说，我们有信心和能力保障空气质量，我们能够保证将空气质量提高到此前设定的目标水平。 北京目前机动车保有量为329万辆，其中包括30万辆公车。该措施预计将使奥运期间北京上路机动车数量减少45%左右。有关部门表示，该措施预计将使公共交通的乘客数量增加400万人次。 该措施在公众的普遍预期之中，不过，北京有钱的车主们可能会通过换车牌或是使用替代车辆的办法来逃避限行。 据知情人士透露，数家跨国公司已经或计划为公司车队的车辆购置有单有双的车牌，以方便车辆出行。 尽管北京已经实施了一系列的措施改善奥运期间空气质量，但任务仍然很艰巨。这些措施包括执行更为严格的汽车排放标准、在6个省份关停污染工厂，这些省份的总面积超过了法国、德国和意大利的总和。 不过对北京空气质量依然不佳的担忧致使一些奥运选手考虑只在比赛的时候现身北京，而不参加众多奥运会相关活动。举例来讲，澳大利亚田径队的发言人迈克•唐克雷德(Mike Tancred)上周表示，他们将呆在香港的训练营，不参加奥运开幕式，原因之一就是担心空气质量。 上周五中午，北京市区天空灰蒙蒙的，还能够闻到轻微烟尘的味道。当天公布的空气质量为3级，也就是轻微污染，仍属于污染较高的级别。5月28日，北京公布的空气质量为4级，也就是中度污染。 尽管如此，中国有关部门上周四表示，北京今年截至目前的蓝天数量较去年同期增加了12天，衡量二氧化硫、一氧化碳、二氧化氮和可吸入颗粒物的浓度的主要污染物指数也有所下降。 去年8月有关部门曾试行了4天的单双号限行，公众的感觉和官方数据之间也出现过类似的差异。当时有关部门表示，该措施显著改善了空气质量，并且减排5,815吨，不过很多居民表示当时只是交通得到了显著的改善。