2006年VOA标准英语-New Technology Could Make Trains Safer
时间：2019-01-08 作者：英语课 分类：2006年VOA标准英语（三月）
By Barry Unger
Washington, D.C.
27 March 2006
watch Train Safety report
Statistically 1, trains are the safest mode of transportation. But the U.S. Department of Transportation is testing new technology to limit casualties when crashes occur. Mil Arcega narrates 2.
The passenger train (right) was purposely crashed into a freight train to test new passenger car designs
The intentional 3 train wreck 4 was not as dangerous as it looked. It was staged by the U.S. Department of Transportation to test new technology it hopes will make trains safer. Researchers crashed a five-passenger-car train going more than 48 kilometers an hour into a locomotive with two freight cars.
Engineer David Tyrell says everything went smoothly 5 - for a train wreck. "In this test all these wheels stayed on the track. Everything remained in line. The track is fine."
The two trains, just before impact, testing the crush zone design on the lead passenger car
The goal of the crash was to test a new crush zone at the end of the train car. The zone would be a one-meter box that would collapse 6 during a collision and absorb energy. The goal is to reduce the impact a crash would have on the front car and prevent cars from jackknifing. This technology is currently being implemented 7 in some high-end automobiles 8.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta believes these improvements will save lives. "This new system will more than double the speed at which passengers can survive a train crash."
The test train also had new interior safety measures to soften 9 the blow to a passenger's body during the crash.
A drawing of the new crush zone device
Patty Hudson was injured in a California train crash last year that killed eleven people. "Some piece of the train had impaled 10 me in the back,” she recounted.
Train safety is also a concern internationally -- especially in highly populated countries such as India, where passengers cram 11 onto commuter 12 trains. Crashes in India, Pakistan and Japan killed hundreds of people in the last year.
- The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
- The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。
- It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
- Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网
- Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
- His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。
- Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
- No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。
- The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
- Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
- The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
- The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
- This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句
- When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
- This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。
- She impaled a lump of meat on her fork. 她用叉子戳起一块肉。
- He fell out of the window and was impaled on the iron railings. 他从窗口跌下去，身体被铁栏杆刺穿了。
- There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
- The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的，再也挤不进去人了。