Weallhatespeedcameras,don’twe?They’renottheretoslowdriv...

问题详情：

We all hate speed cameras, don’t we? They’re not there to slow drivers down and lower the road accidents; they just make money for the government. They trick us, cost us cold hard cash, disturb us from driving properly and are unfair.

Well, here’s a surprising thing: what if there were facts that the boring cameras actually saved lives? It’s a conclusion difficult to ignore when you look at what’s happening in France, a country with a historically poor record of road safety.

There were 16,617 road deaths in 1972 in France for example, but that dropped to 8412 by 1995 following rules such as compulsory seat belt wearing in 1990 and a lowering of the blood alcohol limit to 0.05 in 1995.

Last year, the road deaths dropped below 5,000 for the first time, or 4.9 per cent less than 2004. Comparing road deaths to population in 2005, that’s about 817 per million people compared with Australia’s 806.

And guess what? Last year the number of speed cameras on French roads reached 1,000 and the government plans to double that within the next three years.

Okay, you know the arguments regarding increased traffic safety and cameras-for-income, but it seems in France there’s been a major cultural change brought on by radars and other laws. A three-hour, wine-soaked lunch with a quick rush back to the office is no longer on.

Travelling on the highways, it is rare to see anyone breaking the 130km/h speed limit when once few traveled below it. The speed cameras are clearly signed so drivers know when they are coming. There’s even an official web site listing fixed and mobile camera locations and it is updated regularly.

Maybe it is because of such transparency（透明）by government, rather than the concealment too often used by authorities in many other countries that more French can enjoy la joi de vivre thanks to speed cameras.

16. Generally, it seems to most people that speed cameras are used to           .

     A．make money for the government        B．slow down the traffic

     C．lower the road accidents                    D．help us drive properly

17. From the passage we can learn that           .

     A．France has a very poor record of road safety

     B．we’d better ignore the evidence that speed cameras save lives

     C．France had less road deaths than Australia in 2005

     D．France does successfully in controlling road accidents

18. Which seems more effective in lowering road deaths in France according to this passage?

     A．Compulsory seat belt.                         B．Lowering blood alcohol limit.

     C．Placing more speed cameras.            D．Eating in a shorter time.

19. Now you can seldom see in France           .

     A．people drive at a speed of less than 130km/h

     B．lunch time lasts long hours with drunk people rushing back to office

     C．drivers drive according to the traffic lights

     D．police conduct traffic in streets 

20. What does the underlined word “concealment” in the last paragraph mean?

     A．Secrecy.              B．Openness.         C．Strictness.         D．Harmony.

【回答】

 ADCBA

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