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  3. Robots are nothing compared to the revolution that driverless cars are about to bring about. Next year the UK hopes to see trial

Robots are nothing compared to the revolution that driverless cars are about to bring about. Next year the UK hopes to see trial

admin2019-10-13  68
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.
According to this passage, driverless cars______.
选项 A、are already running on British streets
B、have a much less impact than robots
C、can be a mixed blessing in the UK
D、offer better protection in case of accidents
答案C
解析 文章第一段第一句说明机器人的影响无法与无人驾驶汽车相媲美，可排除选项B。第二句说“明年有可能试运行”，可排除选项A。第二段主要说明与有人驾驶的汽车相比，无人驾驶汽车更加安全，发生交通事故的概率更低，但没有说明真正发生交通事故时能给人更多的保护，如钢板的厚度和气囊的灵敏度。文章中有三段讲“利”，两段讲“弊”，表明有利有弊，也就是a mixed blessing。
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