新西兰英语 444 Safer driving over the weekend

 　　Queen’s Birthday weekend finished in New Zealand with no deaths from road crashes. This is amazing. It is the first holiday weekend since 1951 when there have been no deaths on the roads.

　　It is possible that the high cost of petrol means¹ that there were fewer cars on the roads. However, it is more likely that drivers were worried about getting a fine for speeding. The police said they would give fines to anyone who was driving 4km over the speed limit. Drivers who had cruise² control in their car could set the cruise control for 100km an hour on straight roads to help them keep to the speed limit.

　　There are also many billboards³ beside the road reminding drivers about safety. Some billboards said, “Slow down. Winter is here.” Other billboards suggested that drivers turn on their headlights to help other drivers see them. The message was, “Be safe. Be seen.” Another message said, “Tired drivers cause accidents. Take a break.”

　　New Zealand does not have many four-lane highways. This is because of our small population and our geography. Much of New Zealand is hilly⁴ with many rivers. Roads go up and down, around bends and over bridges. However, each year, money is spent on making the roads safer. There are more passing lanes⁵ now. Some dangerous bends have gone but drivers need to concentrate⁶ when they drive on New Zealand roads.

　　Grammar

　　“fewer cars” or “less cars”? The rule is use “fewer” for countable⁷ nouns⁸ and “less” for uncountable nouns. However, many native speakers of English don’t know this rule so you will often hear “less” for both countable and uncountable. Language changes and before very long, this could be a permanent⁹ change.

　　“over the weekend” – this is the same as saying “during the weekend”.

　　Questions

　　Do you think drivers take notice of messages on billboards?

　　Another reason for the zero death toll¹⁰ over the weekend could be the cost of holidays. Perhaps people stayed home. Can you think of other reasons?

1 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

2 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。

3 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

4 hilly   

adj.多丘陵的，多山岗的，险峻的

参考例句：

• This flower grows on a hilly area.这种花生长在山地上。
• Our area is a hilly area surrounded on three sides by mountains.我们这儿是一个山区，三面都是大山。

5 lanes   

n.小路( lane的名词复数 )；车道；航道；分道

参考例句：

• A headless rider haunts the country lanes. 一个无头骑士常出没于乡间的小路上。
• He made a kamikaze run across three lanes of traffic. 他不要命地冲过了三条车道。

6 concentrate   

vt.集中；聚集；浓缩；vi.集中；全神贯注

参考例句：

• You should concentrate on the road when you're driving.开车时注意力应集中在路上。
• Concentrate your mind on study,Don't look around.专心学习，别东张西望的。

7 countable   

adj.可数的，可以计算的

参考例句：

• The word "person" is a countable noun.person这个词是个可数名词。
• Countable nouns have singular and plural forms.可数名词有单数和复数之分。

8 nouns   

n.名词；名词( noun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns. 法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Nouns join to form compounds. 名词和名词结合构成复合词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 permanent   

adj.永久的，不变的，固定的

参考例句：

• The coat gives permanent protection against heavy rain.这种防雨衣经久耐用。
• It's difficult to find a permanent cure for this disease.这病很难除根。

10 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。