DOC《三.全真题精讲》

三.

全真题精讲 1997.

1 In Britain, the old Road Traffic Act restricted speeds to

2 m. p. h. ( miles per hour ) in towns and

4 m. p. h, in the country. Later Parliament increased the speed limit to

14 m. p. h. But by

1903 the development of the car industry had made it necessary to raise the limit to

20 m. p. h. By 1930, however, the law was so widely ignored that speeding restrictions were done away with altogether. For five years motorists were free to drive at whatever speeds they liked. Then in

1935 the Road Traffic Act imposed a

30 m. p. h. speed limit on a restricted areas, along with the introduction of driving tests and pedestrian crossing. Speeding is now the most common motoring offence in Britain. Offences for speeding fall into three classes: exceeding the limit on a restricted road, exceeding on any road the limit for the vehicle you are driving, and exceeding the

70 m. p. h. limit on any road. A restricted road is one where the street lamps are

200 yards apart, or more. The main controversy (争论) surrounding speeding laws is the extent of their safety value. The Ministry of Transport maintains that speed limits reduce accidents. It claims that when the

30 m. p. h. was introduced in

1935 there was a fall of

15 percent in fatal accidents. Likewise, when the

40 m. p. h. speed limit was imposed on a number of roads in London in the late fifties, there was a

28 percent reduction in serious accidents. There were also fewer casualties (伤亡) in the year after the

70 m. p. h. motorway limit was imposed in 1966. In America, however, it is thought that the reduced accident figures are due rather to the increase in traffic density. This is why it has even been suggested that the present speed limits should be done away with completely, or that a guide should be given to inexperienced drivers and the speed limits made advisory, as is done in parts of the USA. Questions: 1. During which period could British motorists drive without speed limits? 2. What measures were adopted in

1935 in addition to the speeding restrictions? 3. Speeding is a motoring offence a driver commits when he 4. What is the opinion of British authorities concerning speeding laws? 5. What reason do Americans give for the reduction in traffic accidents? 1999.

1 Would-be language teachers everywhere have one thing in common: they all want some recognition of their professional status and skills, and a job. The former requirement is obviously important on a personal level, but it is vital if you are to have any chance of finding work. Ten years ago, the situation was very different. In virtually every developing country, and in many developed countries as well, being a native English speaker was enough to get you employed as an English teacher. Now employers will only look at teachers who have the knowledge, the skills and attitude to teach English effectively. The result of this has been to raise non-native English teachers to the same status as their native counterparts (相对应的人)―something they have always deserved but seldom enjoyed. Non-natives are now happy―linguistic discrimination (语言上的歧视) is a thing of the past. An ongoing research project, funded by the University of Cambridge, asked a sample of teachers, teacher educators and employers in more than

40 countries whether they regard the native/non-native speakers distinction as being at all important. No was the answer. As long as candidates could teach and had the required level of English, it didn'