时间:2018-12-24 作者:英语课 分类:2016年Scientific American(十二)月


英语课

 


Advocates for self-driving cars love to tout 1 the benefits the cars would bring, such as fewer accidents and less congestion 2. Another alleged 3 value of being a passenger rather than a driver is more productivity—you could work rather than concentrate on driving. But most people might not spend their newfound free time in self-driving cars whittling 4 down their to-do lists. 


That’s according to a study by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at The University of Michigan’s Sustainable Worldwide Transportation program. [Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle, Would Self-Driving Vehicles Increase Occupant Productivity?]


The researchers surveyed people in the U.S., Australia, China, India, Japan and the U.K. And about 62 percent of respondents said self-driving cars would not make them more productive. For one thing, 23 percent of the group said they won’t ride in a self-driving car in the first place. And then there are the people who get motion sickness—they obviously can’t work. Plus, another 36 percent said they’d be too concerned to do anything but watch the road.  


The researchers also noted 5 that most trips average 19 minutes—not really long enough to get anything truly substantial done. Or to catch some quality zzzzz’s.  


Of course, the level of apprehension 6 people experience in self-driving cars , or about getting into them, may change in the long-run. But this study is another reminder 7 that there’s still a lot to be figured out before automatic autos rule the roadways.


—Erika Beras



1 tout
v.推销,招徕;兜售;吹捧,劝诱
  • They say it will let them tout progress in the war.他们称这将有助于鼓吹他们在战争中的成果。
  • If your case studies just tout results,don't bother requiring registration to view them.如果你的案例研究只是吹捧结果,就别烦扰别人来注册访问了。
2 congestion
n.阻塞,消化不良
  • The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
  • Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。
3 alleged
a.被指控的,嫌疑的
  • It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
  • alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为
4 whittling
v.切,削(木头),使逐渐变小( whittle的现在分词 )
  • Inflation has been whittling away their savings. 通货膨胀使他们的积蓄不断减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He is whittling down the branch with a knife to make a handle for his hoe. 他在用刀削树枝做一把锄头柄。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 noted
adj.著名的,知名的
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
6 apprehension
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑
  • There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑,于是她越来越担心。
  • She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。
7 reminder
n.提醒物,纪念品;暗示,提示
  • I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
  • It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知,她才付应该交的房租。
学英语单词
A. I. R.
administrative and budgetary committee
afternoon off
associated variable
bloody-minded
bohler strand reduction process
bolt clippers
bolt die
bulbar apoplexy
Buonconvento
capacify
certificate of navigation
cholophein
cicutarium
ciliary gland
convergence of integral
counter pulse
cutter compensation
Dalan Age
deep greenhouse
disorderly behaviors
dual process model
electrical-mechanical analogy
electromagnetic coil
estray
fet memory integrated circuits
FIATA FCT
flanker
gadsen
gas turbine room
gingivalgia
graduated measuring glass cylinder
group divisible incomplete block designs
Holliday
homeopathic alcohol
hyperglycemias
interaction mean free path
interspersed repeated dna
irtron
Klout score
laminae of crystalline lens
LQSR
macao sar
maximum evaporative capacity
mean arithmetical value
melting enthalpy
monitered automatic control system
moral conviction
multiparticipant
nabarroes
nagyka
negatine
nervus peroneus profundus
nesting structure
neutral helium
nightimes
nlet
Ouro Preto, R.
Oxalis violacea
pgup
polar optical mode scattering
polarpluss
postdevelopmentally
PPHP
pre-reconnaissance party
probatio mortua
profile of sandy loam
quintel
quotient spaces
ricochet burst
rival business firms
RuleML
sand-blasting barrel
schoolrooms
semifriends
serum AC-globulin
shippee
slatted bottom plow
snarflin'
Sphyrna tiburo
star-lighted
statistical work
stone fruit
subabdominal
sulfonephthaleins
sutura circumflexa
synthetic resin dermatitis
tankbuster
target word
tetraamylose
the European Commission
throat thick
Tridentines
two-plus
undershell
unilateral flushsweat
Victoria plums
waffly
week in
world affairs
wrought-iron pipe
Z-type groove