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  3. Robots are nothing compared to the revolution that driverless cars are about

Robots are nothing compared to the revolution that driverless cars are about

游客2025-03-26  14
问题    Robots are nothing compared to the revolution that driverless cars are about to bring about. Next year the UK hopes to see trials of driverless cars on British motorways. So it’s time to think seriously about what’s coming down the fast lane in 2017.
   Let’s start with the positives. First, quite a lot of people who otherwise would be killed or injured on the roads will be saved. Almost all studies on properly equipped driverless cars suggest they are safer than those driven by humans in that they are better able to prevent accidents. There is an additional safety advantage for women, who worry about late-night taxi rides. A driverless car isn’t going to do you any harm.
   Driverless cars should also greatly improve the urban landscape. We have become used to the ugliness of streets being choked by parked vehicles, but there will be little point in owning a car. The cost of a taxi ride is mostly made up by paying the driver, and therefore local rides would be dramatically cheaper. It will seem extravagant to spend much money to buy a car you can hire whenever you need it for far less.
   So our streets will be clearer. There will have to be vast new infrastructure systems — huge garages to store the cars so they can arrive quickly when ordered. I wonder whether local train services will survive. We may propose that railway lines be turned into roads for driverless cars. I can imagine car ownership and car driving being frowned on as much as smoking at a family gathering is now.
   But let’s turn to the dark side. First, the effect on jobs. There are just under 300, 000 HGV drivers licensed in the UK and about the same number of licensed taxi drivers in England and Wales. There are probably around a million people across the UK dependent upon driving others, or goods, or takeaways for their living. In an age of job insecurity, driving has become the way that many people keep their heads above water. If you can’t find anything else, sign up with a local cab firm and spend long hours on the streets.
   There are also safety issues. This entire system depends upon the Internet. A terrorist attack, or even a large solar flare, could knock everything out. The more interconnected we are, the more vulnerable we are. As with most technological advances, driverless cars will be a wonderful future or a looming disaster, dependent on the political choices we make. [br] The underlined words in Paragraph Five probably mean______.
选项 A、learn swimming as soon as possible
B、manage to make a living financially
C、make a lot of money in a short time
D、switch between jobs for a high pay
答案 B
解析 keep one’s head above water是个成语，字面意义是keep one from drowning when swimming or floating，本文中的含义是manage to survive，especially financially(勉强维持生活)。
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