Motoring Techonlogy
　　1.2 million road deaths worldwide occur each year,plus a further 50 million injuries.To reduce car crash rate,much research now is focused on safety and new fuels-though some electric vehicle and biofuel¹ research aims at going faster.　　 

Travelling at speed has always been risky. One cutting edge area² of research in motoring safety is the use of digital in-car assistants³. They can ensure you don’t miss crucial road signs or fall asleep. The use of artificial intelligence software allows these assistants to monitor your driving and makes sure your phone or radio doesn’t distract you at a vital moment. Most crashes result from human and not mechanical faults.
　　Some safety developments aim to improve your vision.Radar can spot⁴ obstacles in fog,while other technology“sees through”high-sided⁵ vehicles blocking your view⁶.
　　And improvements to seat belts,pedal controls and tyres are making driving smoother and safer.The colour of a car has been found to be linked with safety,as have,less surprisingly,size and shape⁷.

And alternatives to fossil-fuel⁸ based petrol, such as plant oils, are a hot area of research. Fuel cells⁹ based on hydrogen bum cleanly, and are the subject of a serious research effort.
　　But whatever is in the fuel tank, you don’t want a thief in the driving seat and there have been many innovations, some using satellite tracking and remote communications¹⁰, to fight against car theft. These communication systems can also come into play¹¹ if you crash, automatically calling for help.
　　Accidents cause many traffic jams,but there are more subtle interplays between vehicles that can cause jams even on a clear but busy road.Such jams can be analyzed using statistical tools.Robotic drivers could be programmed to make traffic flow smoothly and will perhaps one day be everyons’s personal chauffeur(司机),but their latest efforts suggest that won’t be soon.

词汇: 

distract / dɪˈstrækt /v.使……分心，使……分散注意力

hydrogen / ˈhaɪdrədʒən /n.氢

radar / "reɪdɑ:(r) /n.雷达 

innovation / ˌɪnə(ʊ)ˈveʃən /n. 革新，创新

pedal / "pedl /n.制动踏板  

interplay / ˈɪntəpleɪ /n.相互影响；相互作用 fossil-fuel n.矿物燃料  

chauffeur / ˈʃofɚ(r), ʃoˈfɚ(r) /n.（受雇于私人的）汽车司机 

注释： 

1. biofuel:生物燃料。bio(-)用于名词或形容词前，表示“使命”或“生物”。

2. cutting edge area: 最先进的领域。edge: an advantage（优势）

3. in-car assistants:车内辅助设施 4. spot:在此作动词用，意思是:看见。 

5. high-sided:高大的；其反义词为low-sided:矮小的。

6. blocking your view:挡住你的视线 

7. The colour of a car has been found to be linked with safety, as have, less surprisingly, size and shape:人们发现车的颜色与安全有关，令人不会感到惊讶的是，车的大小和形状也与安全有关。as have, less surprisingly, size and shape可以理解为as, less surprisingly, size and shape have been linked with safety。

8. fossil fuel:指煤、石油、天然气等矿物燃料。

9. fuel cell:燃料电池 

10.satellite tracking and remote communications:卫星跟踪和远程通讯

11. come into play:起作用

What are researchers interested in doing as the road accidents worldwide increase to a shocking rate?

A:They are developing faster electric vehicles. B:They are analyzing road deaths occurring worldwide every year. C:They focus their research on safety and new fuels. D:They are designing fully automatic cars.

When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation. I suggested that they should stay at "bed and breakfast" houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.
"We didn’t stay at bed and breakfast houses," they said, "because we found that most families were away on holiday. "
I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought "VACANCIES" meant "holidays", because the Spanish word for "holiday" is "vacation". So they did not go to house where the sign outside said "VACANCIES", which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to house where the sign said " NO VACANCIES", because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels!
We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word "DIVERSION" means fun. In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word "DIVERSION" on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road is blocked by a crowd.
English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris when someone offered me some more coffee, I said "Thank you" in French. I meant that I would like some more. However, to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that "Thank you" in French means "No, thank you".
If you see a road sign that says "Diversion", you will ______.

A:fall into a hole B:have a lot of fun and enjoy yourself C:find that the road is blocked by crowds of people D:have to take a different road

C. Poet William Stafford once said that we are defined more by the detours(绕行路)in life that by the narrow road toward goals.I like this image.But I as quite by accident that I discovered the deep meaning of his words. For years we made the long drive from our home in Seattle to my parents’ home in Boise in nine hours.We traveled the way most people do:the fastest,shortest easiest road,especially when ai was alone with four noisy,restless kids who hates confinement(限制)and have strong opinions about everything. Road trips felt risky,so I would drive fast,stopping only when I had to.We would stick to the freeways and arrive tired. But then Banner,our lamb was born.He was rejected by his mama days before our planned trip to Boise.I had two choices:leave Banner with my husband,or take him with me.My husband made the decision for me. That is how I found my self on the road with four kids,a baby lamb and nothing but my everlasting optimism to see me through.We took the country roads out of necessity.We had to stop every hour,let Banner shke out his legs and feed him.The kids chased him and one another.They’d get back in the car breathless and energized,smelling fresh from the cold air. We explored side roads,catching grasshoppers in waist-high grass.Even if we simply looked out of the car windows at baby pigs following their mother,or fish leaping out of the water,it was better than the best ride down the freeway. Here was life.And new horizons(见识). We eventually arrived at my parents’doorstep astonishingly fresh and full of stories I grew brave with the trip back home and creative with my disciplining technique.On an empty section of road,everyone started quarreling.I stopped the car,ordered all kids out and told them to meet me up ahead.I parked my car half a mile away and read my book in sweet silence. Some road trips are by necessity fast and straight.But that trip with Banner opened our eyes to a world available to anyon adventurous enough to wander around and made me realize that a detour may uncover the best part of a journey----and the best part of yourself.What could be the best title for the passage

A:Charm of the Detour B:The Road to Bravery C:Creativity out of Necessity D:Road trip and Country Life

According to the passage, troubles on the road are primarily caused by______

A:people's attitude towards the road-hog B:the rhythm of modem life C:the behavior of the driver D:traffic conditions

By saying "you might tolerate the odd road-hog... the rode. "( Para. 1 ) the author implies that______

A:our society is unjust towards well-mannered motorists B:rode drivers can be met-only occasionally C:the well-mannered motorist cannot tolerate the road-hog D:nowadays impolite drivers constitute the majority of motorists

By describing a typical situation of a lost driver on the road, the author intends to

A:make us believe how complex the highway computer network is. B:let us know how in-car computers are linked to road signs. C:show us how helpful a navigation computer can be. D:tell us that NAVSTAR has come into use.