At around 8pm on Sunday evening the last car made its way down(驶过；沿……前行) Oxford Street, marking the start of a momentous(重大的) new era for our nation’s high street. Today, after decades of discussions and deliberations, the action we’ve taken means almost one kilometre of Oxford Street is now officially traffic-free – just in time for Christmas.(今天，经过数十年的讨论与斟酌，我们采取的行动意味着牛津街近一公里路段现已正式禁止机动车通行——正好赶上圣诞节。) But this is only the start of a much bigger transformation, and the first step towards a bright new future for this historic thoroughfare(大道；通衢).
周日晚上8点左右，最后一辆汽车驶过牛津街，标志着我们国家这条商业大街一个重大新时代的开始。今天，经过数十年的讨论与斟酌，我们采取的行动意味着牛津街近一公里路段现已正式禁止机动车通行——正好赶上圣诞节。但这只是一场更大改造的开端，是这条历史悠久的通衢迈向光明未来的第一步。
Walk down Oxford Street, and you’re passing through hundreds of years of British history and culture. In 1864, an ambitious young draper(布商) called John Lewis opened his first shop on the street. Forty-five years later, the American entrepreneur Harry Gordon Selfridge arrived with a radical(激进的；根本性的) idea: to transform shopping from a mundane(平凡的；枯燥的) necessity into an unforgettable experience. He filled his store with dazzling(炫目的；令人惊叹的) window displays, world-class entertainment, restaurants and lounges. He even installed women’s toilets – a rarity in Edwardian England – giving women a newfound freedom to make the most of the city.(他甚至安装了女厕——这在爱德华时代的英国极为罕见——让女性获得了前所未有的自由，得以尽情享受这座城市。) As he opened the doors to his first customers, he told them “everyone is welcome”.
漫步牛津街，你便穿行于数百年的英国历史与文化之中。1864年，一位雄心勃勃的年轻布商约翰·刘易斯在这条街上开设了他的第一家店铺。四十五年后，美国企业家哈里·戈登·塞尔福里奇带着一个激进的想法来到这里：把购物从枯燥的日常必需变成令人难忘的体验。他的店里满是炫目的橱窗陈列、世界级的娱乐表演、餐厅和休息室。他甚至安装了女厕——这在爱德华时代的英国极为罕见——让女性获得了前所未有的自由，得以尽情享受这座城市。当他向第一批顾客敞开大门时，他告诉他们：“所有人都是受欢迎的。”
That spirit has been at the heart of(是……的核心) Oxford Street’s success ever since. We love it because it feels as if it belongs to all of us. It’s where teenagers come for their first shopping trip with friends. Where families marvel(惊叹) at the magic of festive lights and decorations. And where generations of Londoners and visitors have come to discover the latest music, fashion and trends. It’s also the beating heart of British retail – pumping billions into our national economy, with the surrounding area accounting for an incredible 1% of the UK’s total economic output in 2022.(它还是英国零售业跳动的心脏——为国民经济注入数十亿英镑，周边地区在2022年占英国经济总产出的1%，令人惊叹。)
自那以后，这种精神一直是牛津街成功的关键。我们喜爱它，因为它仿佛属于我们所有人。这里是青少年第一次和朋友一起逛街的地方；是家庭惊叹于节日彩灯和装饰魔力的地方；也是一代代伦敦人和游客前来发现最新音乐、时尚和潮流的地方。它还是英国零售业跳动的心脏——为国民经济注入数十亿英镑，周边地区在2022年占英国经济总产出的1%，令人惊叹。