CCTV9英语新闻12月：交通安全日：中国的道路是世界上最致命的

By CCTV reporter Jin Yingqiao

Monday is traffic safety day in China, a day established by the Ministry¹ of Public Security to raise awareness² of safe driving. Every year about 70,000 people die in traffic accidents in China, giving it the dubious³ distinction of having world’s most dangerous roads. A number of factors contribute to the title, including a huge road network, poor road conditions, inadequate⁴ driver training and outright⁵ negligence⁶ behind the wheel. On Monday, a district court in Beijing heard one such case involving illegal, late-night racing⁷.

It’s midnight and dozens of spectators are waiting for the race to begin. This not a scene from a Hollywood movie, it’s a widely-circulated video of a highway in east Beijing and posted on social media. The racers -- three men surnamed Yang, Xu and Liu -- didn’t hurt anyone or wreck⁸ their cars but their dangerous stunt⁹ landed them in court.

"The race was a criminal act and the surveillance video is evidence. They should found guilty of dangerous driving." said Prosecutor¹⁰.

The Beijing court has not yet rendered a verdict in the case, which is not at all uncommon¹¹ among young drivers.

In 2006, on Beijing’s second ring road, two speeders caught the attention of police as they raced at almost twice the speed limit of 80 kilometers an hour. One of them raced around the 30 kilometer road in just 13 minutes. In 2011, speed demons¹² in central China’s Xi’an, raced their souped-up cars 285 kilometers an hour.

"Drive slower! The road is slippery." said Sounds of driver.

The driver’s warning is ignored in this private video which was posted on social media. Again there were no casualties but these illegal races do kill.

In May last year in the city of Shenshen three people died when their taxi was rammed¹³ by a speeding sports car. A man surnamed Hou and his three women passengers have just left a bar when surveillance video caught them racing at 242 kilometers per hour.

A pair of taxis blocked his road and with no time to break Hou smashed into them. One taxi was tossed to the side of the road and caught fire, killing¹⁴ the three people inside.

"You could hardly bear the sight of it...their faces were beyond recognition."

Huo was charged and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

 

 

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

3 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

4 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

5 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

6 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

7 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

8 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

9 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

10 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

11 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

12 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。