题目内容
Some drunken drivers think that they may be lucky to ______ a fine, which may cost their own lives.
- A.get through
- B.get along with
- C.get down to
- D.get away with
短语辨析. A. 通过;做完 B.取得进展 C. 着手处理 D. 侥幸成功;侥幸逃脱.句意:一些喝醉的司机认为他们能幸运的侥幸逃脱罚款,这可能以他们的生活为代价.选D
Drunken driving –sometimes called America’s socially accepted form of murder—has become a national epidemic (流行病). Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past ten years. A drunken driver is usually referred to as one with 0.10-blood alcohol content or roughly three beer glasses of wine or shots of whisky drunk within two hours. Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American manly image and judges were lenient in most courts, but the drunken killing has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially concerning young children, that public opinion is no longer so tolerant.
Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, reversing a trend in the 1960s to reduce it to 18. After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people killed by 18-20 years old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21.
Reformers, however, fear raising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop “responsible attitudes” about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink.
Though new laws have led to increased arrests and tests in many areas already, to a marked drop in accidents, some states are also punishing bars for serving customers too many drinks. A bar in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more double brandies to a customer who was “obviously drunk” and later drove off the road, killing a 9-year-old boy.
As the accidents continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years national prohibition of alcohol that began in 1919, which President Hoover called the “noble experiment”. They forgot that legal prohibition didn’t stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption and organized crime. As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution.
【小题1】 From paragraph one, we can know that ____________.
| A．most Americans like drinking |
| B．heavy drinking is hard to avoid |
| C．many Americans are killed by drunk drivers |
| D．Americans are not shocked by traffic accidents |
| A．The legal drinking age should be raised. |
| B．Young drivers were usually bad. |
| C．Most drivers hoped to raise the legal drinking age. |
| D．Drivers should not be allowed to drink. |
| A．serious | B．cruel | C．merciful | D．determined |
| A．judges are no longer lenient |
| B．new laws are introduced in some states |
| C．the problem has attracted public attention |
| D．drivers do not appreciate their manly image |
| A．It may lead to organized crime. |
| B．It is difficult to solve this problem. |
| C．The new laws can stop heavy drinking. |
| D．There should be no bars to serve drinks. |
Aggressive pedestrians are in fact as dangerous as careless drivers. They cause traffic accidents, injury and death.
These dangerous walkers can be seen in any big city over the world. About 69% of last year’s pedestrian deaths in the US occurred in urban areas. They cross streets ignoring “DON’T WALK” signals, suddenly appear without warning from behind parked vehicles, walk slowly at crossroads with cell phones attached to heads, blocking traffic.
These pedestrians and drivers share a common disregard for the rules of the road, both for selfish reasons. The drivers believe in the power of their machines. If their machines can go faster, they believe they have the right to go faster. If their machines are bigger, they believe they have the right to push smaller vehicles aside. Aggressive pedestrians, on the other hand, believe in the primacy(首位) of the individual, the idea that they are first in any environment, under any circumstances, even when they are on foot in a roaring tide of steel and rubber.
Last year, an estimated 5,220 pedestrians died in traffic accidents. Some 69,000 pedestrians were injured. On average, that worked out to one pedestrian killed in a traffic crash every 101 minutes, and one injured every eight minutes.
The good news is that the accident rate is dropping. For example, the number of pedestrians killed last year was 24 percent less than the number killed in traffic accidents a decade earlier. The bad news is that the basic causes of pedestrian deaths remain pretty much the same----disregard for traffic signals, inattention and crossing roads under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Alcohol, in fact, was involved in 46 percent of the traffic accidents that resulted in pedestrian deaths. Of those, 31 percent of the pedestrians were found to be drunk.
The bottom line is that the pedestrians must do more to protect their lives as well as the lives of other road users. They can start by obeying traffic signals, using marked cross-walks and calling a cab when they’ve had too much to drink.
【小题1】The passage is mainly about __________.
| A．how aggressive pedestrians cause traffic accidents |
| B．why so many Americans were killed on roads last year |
| C．what the traffic rules of the road about pedestrians were |
| D．who are to blame for pedestrian deaths, drunk drivers or the aggressive pedestrians |
| A．They know all drivers are skilled and with great care. |
| B．They believe individuals are always first. |
| C．They think traffic rules have nothing to do with them. |
| D．They guess all vehicles will slow down at crossroads. |
| A．Disregard for traffic signals | B．Paying no attention to surroundings. |
| C．Crossing roads drunk. | D．Overspeeding driving. |
| A．Obey traffic signals at crossroads. |
| B．Run as fast as possible at crossroads. |
| C．Talk on your cell phone if necessary. |
| D．Always watch out for big trucks. |
| A．Excited. | B．Cold. | C．Concerned | D．Inconnected. |
Virginia is set to begin enforcing the toughest drunken-driving punishment, one that will require thousands of first-time offenders—whether they were highly drunk or slightly over the limit – to install (安装) in their cars blood-alcohol testing devices that can lock the ignition. The devices work like this－A driver must blow into a blood alcohol device linked to the car’s ignition. If the result is higher than the legal limit, the car will not start. The device also requires random “rolling retests” once the driver is on the road.
Virginia’s current law requires only repeat drunken-driving offenders or those with a blood alcohol level of 0.15 or higher to have an ignition interlock device in their car.
The new law, which takes effect in July, will roughly increase the number of people required to use ignition interlock devices four times, and offenders will have to pay about $ 480 for a typical six-month installation.
The measure has caused a debate between groups battling drunken driving and those representing offenders. Such groups as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Washington Regional Alcohol Program say that Virginia’s 274 alcohol-related road deaths and more than 5,500 injuries in 2010 remained unacceptably high despite years of cracking down on drunken driving. Ignition interlock devices, they say, reduce repeat offenses. But some public defenders and lawyers argue that the devices are too severe a punishment for offenders at the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.08, and that the court system will be burdened by more cases going to trial and lower-income drivers will be affected by the fees.
Del. Sal R. laquinto, who sponsored the bill, had a simple reply for concerns about the costs of the interlock devices: “How much does a life cost?” “Blowing into a tube for six months, you will remember that, ” Iaquinto said, “ and you are not likely to offend again. ”
【小题1】The ignition probably refers to the part in a car where ______.
| A．the alarm goes off | B．the car is fueled |
| C．the key is placed | D．the engine starts |
| A．The repeat drunken-driving offenders. |
| B．The first time drunken-driving offenders. |
| C．Drivers whose blood alcohol level is below 0.15. |
| D．The drivers who are not able to pay offence fees. |
| A．the government can be financed to build roads |
| B．some traffic deaths and injuries may be avoided |
| C．lower-income drivers will not afford to drink again |
| D．the court system is forced to work more effectively |
| A．justice has long arms |
| B．punishment is the key to all |
| C．no law is absolutely perfect |
| D．prevention is better than cure |
---Would you like to drink some orange juice?
--- Thanks. , but I have drunk a lot of tea.
| A．I think so | B．I don’t think so | C．I’m afraid not | D．I’d love to |