新奇事件簿 超车成马路杀手

A new survey in Britain shows that one in seven drivers has had to take evasive action because of their own risky¹ overtaking. The road safety charity Brake carried out the survey on 1,000 motorists. It also revealed that 80 per cent of drivers have felt threatened by other people overtaking, while 94 per cent of drivers said they have witnessed dangerous overtaking. It said the biggest perpetrators of dangerous overtaking are young men aged² 17-24. In comparison, women drivers are far safer. The poll revealed that while 39 per cent of 17-24-year-old male drivers admitted overtaking when they were not sure the road ahead was clear,the figure for female drivers doing so was just 15 per cent.

英国一项新的研究表明由于自己的危险超车，7名司机中就有1名需要进行躲闪。道路安全基金会Brake对1000名司机进行了调查。调查称有80%的司机会因为他人的超车而感到危险，有94%的司机称他们见过危险的超车行为。研究称危险超车的最大制造者是年龄在17到24岁的年轻男士。相比较而言，女性司机开车更为稳健。这项调查显示称有39%，年龄在17到24岁的男性司机承认他们在不知前方路况的情况下毅然超车，而女性只有15%。

The charity also found that the most dangerous place to overtake was on single-lane country roads. Driversare twice as likely to die on rural roads than they are in urban areas. Many of these deaths are preventable. A spokeswoman from Brake said: "We're urging all drivers to avoid overtaking on country roads unless absolutely essential and 100 per cent safe." She added: "Why risk it and rush? You could cause a devastating³, high-speed, head-on crash that ends lives and ruins others. In spite of this, a significant minority are still taking the risk and performing this aggressive and selfish manoeuvre…In those situations, cool-headed and responsible drivers hang back and relax."

基金会还发现超车最危险的地方是单行线的乡村公路。司机死于乡村公路的几率是城市道路的两倍。许多死亡是可以避免的。来自Brake的发言人称：“我们要求司机禁止在乡村公路超车，除非司机能够保证100%的安全。”她还称：“我们为什么要冒险抢时间呢？这将会让你迎头相撞，对此你将付出生命的代价。尽管如此，还是有少数人仍旧冒险，采取这一激进，自私的行为。在这些情况下，头脑冷静，负责人的司机才是最安全的。”

1 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。