英语课程计划-awareness day

California has an awareness¹ day that all countries around the world should have. It is Drowsy² Driver Awareness Day and it happens on April 6 every year. Its aim is to raise awareness of the dangers of driving your car (or riding your motorcycle) for long periods without a rest. It also highlights the dangers of driving when you are very tired. The day was thought up by former California Highway Patrol officer Phil Konstantin. He witnessed many accidents that happened because of tiredness and had experience of falling asleep at the wheel and narrowly avoided a serious accident. He also tells the tragic³ story of how his wife died in a car accident because she fell asleep at the wheel. He warned: “It can happen to anyone.”

Drowsy Driver Awareness Day is also a memorial day for those who have died in a car crash involving a drowsy driver. California’s Highway Patrol says 100 people die each year in collisions with drowsy drivers. It says in the ten-year period between 1993 and 2003, over 41,000 people died  in accidents where a drowsy driver was involved. America’s National Sleep Foundation reports that 62 per cent of people drive while feeling drowsy. In addition, 27 per cent said they had actually dozed⁴ off while driving. Many more people die each year from crashes related to drowsy drivers than from many serious illnesses. On this day, do something to make drivers aware of the dangers of getting behind the wheel when they are tired.

1 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。

2 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。

3 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

4 dozed   

v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He boozed till daylight and dozed into the afternoon. 他喝了个通霄，昏沉沉地一直睡到下午。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• I dozed off during the soporific music. 我听到这催人入睡的音乐，便不知不觉打起盹儿来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》