VOA标准英语2013--South Africa Struggles to Reduce Road Fatalities

 

South Africa Struggles to Reduce Road Fatalities¹

Driving while intoxicated²

It's an ordinary Friday night in Soweto, a township in the south of Johannesburg. The officers in charge of taking blood samples to measure alcohol levels can barely keep up with the influx³ of seemingly intoxicated people arriving at the station. At a nearby roadblock, 15 people were arrested in less than two hours for driving under the influence.

The national Road Traffic Management Corporation says there were 1,279 road deaths between December 1 and January 1 - citing drunk driving as the main cause. And it says 40 percent of the fatalities involved pedestrians⁴ who were walking on the road while drunk.

Every year, 14 000 people die on the road in South Africa. The World Health Organization says the country ranks among the world's worst in road safety.

Gary Ronald, of the Automobile⁵ Association of South Africa, says the government must do a better job to educate the public.

"More information, more education, not just at schools. It has to be in the general public space. And we certainly don't get that. I would for one would really like to see a road safety program education, information, on all channels of media, every single day. That has not happened. Not for the last 20 years it has not happened," he said.

Unsafe driving conditions

Alcohol is not the only threat on the roads here.

On one main road linking a township to the city center, hundreds of people cycle to work every day, weaving between the cars. As more and more South Africans become affluent⁶ enough to drive their own cars, there is a difficult co-existence between cyclists and autos on clogged⁷ roads. 

The South African government is not ignoring the problems. In 2011, it launched a national campaign to cut the number of road fatalities in half by 2020. 

Enforcement, alleged⁸ corruption¹⁰

Minister of Transport Ben Martins says one element in the campaign is to tackle police corruption, which allows unsafe and unlicensed drivers and their cars to stay on the road. Motorists here can often walk away free from a traffic offense¹¹ by paying bribes¹².

"There are certain corrupt⁹ officials who would engage in the practice of issuing or selling illegal licenses," Martins said. "So we are cracking down on that."

Martins says other problems include speeding, dangerous driving practices, failure to wear seatbelts and unroadworthy vehicles. 

1 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

3 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

4 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

6 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

7 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

12 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏