現(xiàn)代城市中越來(lái)越多的人選擇騎車(chē)去上班,不僅可以避免在汽車(chē)或地鐵上的擁擠,同時(shí)也收獲了運(yùn)動(dòng)帶來(lái)的快樂(lè)。然而,都市的交通還是無(wú)法避免馬路上很可能突然沖出來(lái)的出租車(chē)以及突然轉(zhuǎn)彎的貨車(chē):據(jù)調(diào)查由于不帶頭盔造成傷亡的上班族并不在少數(shù)。除了疼惜愛(ài)車(chē),也請(qǐng)愛(ài)惜自己的身體——佩戴頭盔,注意安全。
測(cè)試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識(shí):
reflective 反光的
menace 恐嚇
mandatory 強(qiáng)制性的
paediatric 兒科的
polypropylene 聚丙烯
By Charles Wallace
I had an interview recently with a lawyer in London who began by apologising for being out of breath. “My wife banned me from riding my bike after three accidents in central London in the space of 12 months,” he explained. “I've gotten out of shape.”
I mentioned that I had just walked from Hackney in east London to the City and was surprised at the number of cyclists in the latest reflective and polypropylene cycling gear who were nonetheless weaving in and out of traffic without a helmet. My lawyer friend laughed knowingly. “I keep a photo on my phone of my cracked helmet to show people what their head might look like when they cycle without one,” he said.
With more people cycling to work in cities such as London,New York,and San Francisco,the conversation often turns to the dangers of riding in heavy city traffic. Are taxis stopping without warning the greatest menace or perhaps delivery vans turning suddenly?
Boris Johnson,the mayor of London,has often sung the praises of cycling to work,and the rental bicycles scattered through the city are even nicknamed “Boris bikes” because of his support for them. But even though Mr. Johnson has had a few close calls while cycling,he has refrained from making bicycle helmets mandatory.
I understand that riding in hot weather with a helmet can be uncomfortable,but I think the case for helmets,mandatory or not,is hard to dispute. Australia,New Zealand and parts of Canada have adopted compulsory helmet laws and it is clear that cycling deaths declined in the years after those laws were adopted.
Some have pointed out that the number of heart attacks rose in Australia because some cyclists gave up riding to work rather than wear a helmet,but is that really relevant?
The grim fact is that London had already reached eight cycling deaths by June of this year and New York recorded a doubling of fatalities from nine to 18 in 2014.It is true that the number of cyclists is increasing in both cities,which is a good thing,but that does not diminish the avoidable dangers. The victims included a prominent Manhattan surgeon and a neuroscientist,who were not wearing helmets.
Michael Carter,a paediatric neurosurgeon in Bristol,told me recently that he often sees cases of head injuries from bicycle accidents in his hospital's emergency room that could have been avoided if the cyclists had worn helmets. “It makes no sense whatsoever to ride without a helmet,” said Dr Carter,who has stopped cycling in the city because of the recent deaths of two friends.
The Cochrane Library,widely accepted as the gold standard for medical research worldwide,looked at bicycle accidents and did a statistical comparison of different studies to see if there were patterns in helmet use.
The review said that three quarters of all fatalities on bicycles result from head injuries. It found that “wearing a helmet reduced the risk of head or brain injury by approximately two-thirds or more,regardless of whether the crash involved a motor vehicle.”
One solution to the problem of bicycle safety is the creation of dedicated bike lanes,which has happened in Berlin,New York and other cities and should be tried elsewhere. But they do not eliminate the danger entirely and the reasonable response is to wear a helmet,even for short rides.
1.Why the lawyer show the photo of cracked helmet to people?
A.A kind of memory
B.Share the funny story
C.Warning people to wear helmets
D.Prove that he is very clever
[1] 答案
22.What is the” Boris bikes” meaning?
A.safe helmets
B.rental bicycles
C.Real-time traffic app
D.bikes without helmets
[2] 答案
3.Which place did not force people to wear helmets?
A.London
B.Australia
C.New Zealand
D.parts of Canada
[3] 答案
4.How many percentage of people were injured in the head on bicycles?
A.two-thirds
B.50%
C.75%
D.36%
[4] 答案
[1]答案:C.Warning people to wear helmets
解釋?zhuān)鹤髡吲笥延闷扑轭^盔的照片告訴大家假如不帶頭盔,這個(gè)樣子很可能就是事故之后的頭的受傷程度。
[2]答案:B.rental bicycles
解釋?zhuān)?ldquo;鮑里斯市長(zhǎng)自行車(chē)”是可在倫敦市內(nèi)租賃的自行車(chē)。
[3]答案:A.London
解釋?zhuān)喊拇罄麃?、新西蘭和加拿大的部分地區(qū),騎行時(shí)佩戴頭盔是強(qiáng)制性的。
[4]答案:C.75%
解釋?zhuān)旱箶?shù)第二段,約四分之三的人頭部受傷。
瘋狂英語(yǔ) 英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)法 新概念英語(yǔ) 走遍美國(guó) 四級(jí)聽(tīng)力 英語(yǔ)音標(biāo) 英語(yǔ)入門(mén) 發(fā)音 美語(yǔ) 四級(jí) 新東方 七年級(jí) 賴(lài)世雄 zero是什么意思淮北市二幼家屬樓(民生路17號(hào))英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)交流群
英語(yǔ)在線翻譯 | 關(guān)于我們|網(wǎng)站導(dǎo)航|免責(zé)聲明|意見(jiàn)反饋
英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)力課堂(m.42bites.com)是公益性質(zhì)的學(xué)英語(yǔ)網(wǎng)站,您可以在線學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)力和英語(yǔ)口語(yǔ)等,請(qǐng)幫助我們多多宣傳,若是有其他的咨詢(xún)請(qǐng)聯(lián)系gmail:[email protected],謝謝!