VOA常速英语2007-Nigeria Introduces Stricter Road Safety Rules Af

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
30 October 2007

The Nigerian government has announced plans to enforce stricter safety regulations in a bid to stem spiraling road accidents. Gilbert da Costa reports for VOA from Abuja the announcement follows an accident that killed at least 30 people on a busy highway in Southern Nigeria.

 

Traffic accidents are frequent in Nigeria, where roads are riddled¹ with potholes²; drivers drive recklessly and disregard traffic rules.

 

Nigeria has one of the highest mortality rates in road traffic accidents, with more than 5,000 killed each year.

 

Jolted³ by the death of at least 30 people in Monday's road crash, Nigeria's road safety agency announced the introduction of a new plan to enforce safety on Nigerian roads.

 

"We are not tolerating these types of accidents," said Yakubu Attah, the spokesman of the agency.  "It is becoming frequent and the year is going to run out, the fatality⁴ is very high."

"We on our part, the chief executive Osita Chidoka is inviting⁵ all stakeholders in the transport industry for a meting⁶, for the immediate⁷ implementation⁸ of the road transport safety standardization⁹ scheme that was recently launched. Even though this was supposed to take effect from January 2008, with the spate¹⁰ of increase, we are forced to commence implementation," he added.

 

Most Nigerian motorists have never taken driving lessons because a license¹¹ can be bought easily. Attah says the agency plans to withdraw all licenses¹² for recertification because at least half of them were faked.

 

"The new initiative is such that all vehicle operators that have more than five vehicles in their fleet must register with the FRSC [Federal Road Safety Corp]," said Attah. "They must have safety managers, the vehicles must be of standard. All vehicles will be subjected to checks on Nigerian highways every Saturday. We are going to invite all owners of drivers' license to rectify¹³ them, because 50 percent of them are faked."

 

A fully¹⁴ loaded tanker¹⁵ truck overturned and caught fire while traffic was tied up during the rush hour early Monday on the Lagos-Ibadan highway. A huge fireball spread to three commuter¹⁶ buses and four cars.

 

Several survivors¹⁷ are in critical condition in local hospitals. Officials are investigating the crash.

1 riddled   

adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 potholes   

n.壶穴( pothole的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Potholes are also home to tiny desert animals. 洞穴也是弱小动物的家。 来自互联网
• If you're going to enjoy the good times, you've certainly got to deal with some potholes. 如果要享受甜美的胜利果实，当然要应付这些战绩不佳的指责压力。 来自互联网

3 jolted   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• She was jolted out of her reverie as the door opened. 门一开就把她从幻想中惊醒。

4 fatality   

n.不幸，灾祸，天命

参考例句：

• She struggle against fatality in vain.她徒然奋斗反抗宿命。
• He began to have a growing sense of fatality.他开始有一种越来越强烈的宿命感。

5 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

6 meting   

v.（对某人）施以，给予（处罚等）( mete的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The manager was strict and fair in meting out rewards and punishments. 经理赏罚严明。 来自互联网
• Doris Crockford. Mr. Potter. I can't believe I'm meting you at last. 我叫桃瑞丝。韦斯莱。波特先生。我真不敢相信，总算见到您了。 来自互联网

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

9 standardization   

n.标准化

参考例句：

• Standardization of counseling techniques is obviously impossible. 很清楚，要想使研讨方法标准化是不可能的。
• In Britain, progress towards standardization was much slower. 在英国，向标准化进展要迟缓得多。

10 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

11 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

12 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

13 rectify   

v.订正，矫正，改正

参考例句：

• The matter will rectify itself in a few days.那件事过几天就会变好。
• You can rectify this fault if you insert a slash.插人一条斜线便可以纠正此错误。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

16 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

17 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者