【大家说英语】 第353期:自动驾驶汽车(2)

 　　So, Linda, what do you think about self-driving cars? Everyone is talking about them. 琳达，你怎么看自动驾驶汽车？所有人都在谈论它们。

　　I think they are a great idea. Just think. Blind people could use them. And old people could use them, too. 我认为这是一个好想法。想想看。盲人可以使用这种汽车。老年人也可以使用。

　　Right. Now many seniors¹ give up their cars because they're no longer safe drivers. 没错。现在许多老年人放弃了自己的汽车了，因为他们不再能够安全驾驶了。

　　I'd like to ride in a self-driving car. 我想搭乘自动驾驶的汽车。

　　So would I. But it would be strange. I hear they don't have steering² wheels³! 我也是。但是可能会很奇怪。我听说这种汽车没有方向盘！

　　Rob⁴, have Google's self-driving cars been in any accidents? 罗布，谷歌的自动驾驶汽车发生过车祸吗？

　　Yes, a few. I read that other drivers have hit Google's self-driving cars 14 times. 有，发生过几次。我读到过说其他司机有14次撞上了谷歌的自动驾驶汽车。

　　But a self-driving car has never caused an accident. 但是自动驾驶汽车没有造成过一起事故。

　　That's amazing. 真是惊人。

　　Yes. It is amazing considering that the Google cars drive about 10,000 miles a month! 是的。想想谷歌的汽车一个月行驶1万英里，多么令人吃惊。

　　That's more than many people drive in a year! 这个数字要比许多人一年驾驶的还要大！

　　Why would anyone want a self-driving car? If I want someone to drive me, I'll take a bus! 为什么所有人都想要一辆自动驾驶汽车？如果我想要别人开车载我，我会乘坐公交车！

　　Buses stop many places. A self-driving car would just take you where you want to go. 公交车会停靠很多站。一辆自动驾驶汽车可以只带你去你想去的地方。

　　I don't think they're safe. 我不认为这种汽车足够安全。

　　Self-driving cars have driven over 1 million miles with only minor⁵ accidents. 自动驾驶汽车已经行驶了超过一百万英里的路程，只发生过一些小事故。

　　Fine. But I'm not ready to let a computer drive me around just yet! 好吧。但是我现在还没准备好让一台电脑载着我满处跑！

1 seniors   

n.高年级学生( senior的名词复数 )；毕业班学生；较年长者；老资格者

参考例句：

• We should not set light by the advice of our seniors. 对于长辈的规劝，我们不应轻视。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The seniors are planning to have a gathering. 这些毕业班学生计划聚会一次。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

3 wheels   

n.轮子( wheel的名词复数 )；旋转；Wheels 汽车；有…轮子的汽车（或自行车等）

参考例句：

• The wheels sank deeper into the mire. 轮子在泥潭中陷得更深了。
• The car wheels got stuck in the mud. 汽车轮子陷到泥里去了。

4 rob   

v.抢劫；vi.抢劫，盗窃；vt.非法剥夺，使丧失，抢劫

参考例句：

• Two men formed a plot to rob the bank.两人制定了抢劫那家银行的秘密计划。
• They were scheming to rob the bank.他们在密谋抢劫银行。

5 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。