【42】驾驶

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Driving

驾驶

今天的六分钟英语里，Alice和Neil将与大家讨论我们是否会随着世界各地无人驾驶车辆的兴起而忽视驾驶安全。

本周问题：

全世界平均每天有多少人因为交通意外而逝世的？有：

a） 300?

b） 3,000?

c） 30,000?

各位可以在节目的最后找到正确的答案。

听力正文：

Alice: Hello and welcome to 6Minute English. I'm Alice…

Neil: And I'm Neil. What do youthink about autonomous cars, Alice?

Alice: Anautonomous–or independent and driverless–car is a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment andngating without human input. I think they're a great idea.

Neil: And ngate means' tofind the way to get to a place'. I'm not sure I would trust a computer to driveme. It might go wrong and crash into a wall.

Alice: Maybe,but actually most car accidents involve an element of human error, and humanerror means 'the mistakes we make because we're human'. For example, people whoare behind the wheel while tired or drunk–or distracted.

Neil: Behind the wheel: in otherwords, in control of a car. Yes, I often see people talking on their mobilephones – or texting – insteadof looking at the road.

Alice: They arebeing irresponsible drivers, Neil. Driving is the subject of today's show. Ihave a question for you. On average, how many people around the world die eachday from road accidents? Is it…

a） 300?

b） 3,000?

c） 30,000?

Neil: And I'm going to say b）3,000.

Alice: Well,we'll see if you were right or not later on in the show. Are you a petrol head,Neil?

Neil: No, I'm not a petrol head–which is somebody who loves cars and driving. But I know EddieJordan, a racing team owner, is. And what does he love about driving? He'llanswer this question himself. Let's listen.

INSERT

Eddie Jordan, racing team owner

When I get in a car I feel a different person, I feel that I'mnow in control. I can turn on the music or I can turn it off. I can do allsorts of different things that I feel good about. When I was flat out with theJordan team I did have a driver and that was one to be able to make calls andto be able to receive calls and to be able to work in the car, not because Ididn't want to drive and I always felt cheated because there was a driver theretaking the pleasure that I should be hng. So when I get in a car it has tobe a fun experience.

Neil: Eddie Jordan there. Anddoing something flat out means 'at maximum capacity'. Do you feel like adifferent person when you're driving, Alice?

Alice: No. And–unlike Eddie Jordan–I'd love to have adriver or a driverless car, for that matter. It gives you time to do otherthings, like getting some work done. I certainly wouldn't feel cheated of thepleasure of driving!

Neil: I agree with Eddie Jordan.I would feel a bit cheated. And I have to admit: I'm a bit of a backseatdriver. I sit in the passenger seat and give the driver unwanted advice.

Alice: Well justthink, Neil, in a driverless car, you wouldn't need to give the computer advicebecause it would be making the right decisions to get you to your destinationsafely.

Neil: But can you override thecomputer? You know, if you felt that it was making bad decisions?

Alice: Overridein this context means 'to stop an automatic action by taking control yourself'.Airline pilots do that, don't they? They fly on autopilot for most of thejourney, but override it in order to take control of the plane for take-off andlanding.

Neil: I would feel happier if Icould take back control of an automated car if I wanted to.

Alice: Well,let's listen now to Brian Fung, a technology reporter, who's experienced whatit is to be in a driverless car that has no steering wheels, no brake pedals,no emergency brake, no gear shifter. Google is developing a car in whicheverything will be self-contained.

INSERT

Brian Fung, technology reporter

Well, the biggest thing you notice right off the bat is that thecar accelerates a little bit more aggressively than a regular car might and itbrakes a little more aggressively than a regular car might but other than thatit takes about ten seconds for you to get pretty comfortable. And the car knewhow to stop for red lights; it knew how to run through yellow lights, it coulddetect pedestrians and ngate its way around parked cars. All in all, it feltvery similar to a regular car-driving experience. And I think that's one of themost surprising and exciting things about it – it'show mundane it was.

Neil: Brian Fung says he noticedright off the bat that the Google car accelerated and braked more aggressivelythan a regular car – and right off the bat means 'immediately'.

Alice: But healso says it took him only ten seconds to get used to it and feel comfortable,as the car ngated appropriately and responded to different trafficsituations, including pedestrians and parked cars.

Neil: Well, that all sounds verynice, but I think I'd still prefer to be in the driving seat–and that means 'in control of a situation'. You can take thedriverless car, and do your work, Alice.

Alice: Well, the future is likelyto be all about automated transport–planes,trains, buses, and cars–and you simply won't have achoice, Neil.

Neil: Maybe you'll be allowed tohire a car you can drive yourself, just for fun.

Alice: Maybe.But I like the idea of a future with safe driverless roads.

Neil: I still need someconvincing. And that brings us back to today's quiz question. Can you tell usthe answer, now please, Alice?

Alice: Of course I can! I asked:On average, around how many people around the world die each day from roadaccidents? Is it… a） 300, b） 3,000 or c） 30,000?

Neil: And I said 3,000.

Alice: Andunfortunately Neil that's right! Nearly 1.3 million people die in road crasheseach year, on average 3,287 deaths a day. That's according to Annual GlobalRoad Crash Statistics.

Neil: Now, here are the words welearned today:

autonomous

ngate

human error

behind the wheel

petrol head

flat out

backseat driver

override

right off the bat

in the driving seat

Alice: And that'sthe end of today's 6 Minute English. Don't forget to join us again soon!

Both: Bye!