VOA标准英语2011--Elderly Drivers Cause More Deadly Crashe

Elderly Drivers Cause More Deadly Crashes than Teens

The very old may not be Public Enemy Number 1, but they are killing¹ people as never before.
People on America’s streets and highways.
According to a Carnegie Mellon University study, the fatality² rate for drivers 85 and over is four times higher than it is for teenagers, who are usually pegged³ as our most reckless drivers.
Two examples include an 86-year-old man who drove his automobile⁴ into a crowded farmers’ market in California, killing 10 people. And in one recent year in Florida - the U.S. state with the largest per capita elderly population - drivers over 80 plowed⁵ into a Chinese restaurant, post office and state official’s office.
In every case, the elderly driver told police that he or she confused the gas and brake pedals.
All of these drivers had passed written and visual tests. None fell asleep at the wheel, had been drinking, or was taking strong medications.
Millions of older drivers have never had so much as a speeding ticket in decades of driving. Many self-regulate themselves by driving less often and avoiding frightening high-speed highways. But they can still be a menace on neighborhood streets.
Few elderly drivers willingly hand over their keys. Their car is their ultimate, treasured symbol of independence and freedom.
They - and the organizations that represent them - insist that the test for one’s fitness to drive should be the ability to perform, period, not chronological⁶ age.
But current research suggests that it is complex processing skills, not actual sight or hearing difficulties, that are the root cause of dangerous driving.
So some doctors and insurance groups are recommending that seniors take mandatory⁷ refresher courses in driving and tests for mental dexterity⁸. Drawing a clock face with the hands in a certain position, for example.
The goal, they say, is not to take drivers off the road and give them one more reason to be depressed⁹ about getting old. Rather, it’s to keep them driving, but safely.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 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。

3 pegged   

v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的过去式和过去分词 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• They pegged their tent down. 他们钉好了账篷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She pegged down the stairs. 她急忙下楼。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 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。

5 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

6 chronological   

adj.按年月顺序排列的，年代学的

参考例句：

• The paintings are exhibited in chronological sequence.这些画是按创作的时间顺序展出的。
• Give me the dates in chronological order.把日期按年月顺序给我。

7 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

8 dexterity   

n.(手的)灵巧，灵活

参考例句：

• You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
• I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧，我不如你。

9 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。