新奇事件簿 纽约车速标准降低

Drivers in New York City will have to drive more slowly from Friday. The city has introduced a new speed limit of 25 mph (40 kph). The old limit was 30 mph (about 48 kph). The new law will apply to about 90 per cent of the city's streets. The city's Department of Transportation hopes the lower speed limit will make people drive more carefully and reduce traffic accidents and deaths. The city's mayor¹, Bill de Blasio, said he wanted to improve traffic safety and end pedestrian² deaths. He said There's a real consensus³ in this town that we need to have people drive more carefully, more safely and slower for the protection of our kids, our seniors. Other people say the limit will make drivers angry and increase accidents.

在纽约的司机，将从周五开始降低车速。这个城市已经规定了新的限速标准25英里每小时(40公里每小时)。以前的限速标准是30英里每小时(48公里每小时)。新的法律将适用于城市中90%左右的街道。城市交通部希望通过更低的限速标准，让人们开车更小心,从而减少交通事故和降低死亡率。该市市长比尔.白思豪说他想提高交通安全,彻底防止行人死亡。他说，这个小镇有一个真正的共识就是,我们需要人们开车更小心,更安全和更慢，以此来保护我们的孩子,我们的老年人不受伤害。有人说，限制会使司机生气,增加事故。

Road speed limits are used in most countries to set the maximum speed for cars, trucks, buses, motorbikes, etc. They can also set the minimum⁴ speed. The first maximum speed limit in the world was the 10 mph (16 kph) limit introduced in the United Kingdom in 1861. The highest speed limit in the world is 140 kph (87 mph) in Poland and Bulgaria. Some of the world's roads have no speed limit. Perhaps the most famous of these are the Autobahns in Germany. In 2006, German police said the average speed on one part of the Autobahn was 142 kph (88 mph). The World Health Organisation⁵ (WHO) said that around 1.24 million people die each year in traffic accidents. This number could fall if people drove more slowly.

大多数国家都规定了公路上车辆的最高时速标准，适用于汽车、卡车、公共汽车、摩托车等。他们还可以设置最低速度。世界上第一个最高速度限制标准是10英里每小时(16公里每小时)，这一限速标准在1861年引入英国。世界上最高的速度限制是在波兰和保加利亚，标准为每小时140公里(每小时87英里)。世界上一些公路没有限速。或许其中最著名的是德国的高速公路。2006年,德国警方称一部分高速公路的平均速度是每小时142公里(每小时88英里)。世界卫生组织称, 每年大约有124万人死于交通事故。如果人们开车更慢一些，这个数字可能会下降。

1 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

2 pedestrian   

n.行人，步行者；adj.徒步的，呆板的，通俗的

参考例句：

• The criminal pushed a pedestrian down and ran away.罪犯推倒了一个行人逃跑了。
• The city built a pedestrian overpass over the highway.城里在公路上建了一座过街天桥。

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 minimum   

adj.最低的，最小的；n.最小量，最低限度

参考例句：

• What is the minimum price?最低价是多少？
• Today's minimum temperature is 10℃.今天的最低气温是10℃。

5 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。