【一起听英语】边走路边玩手机
每年因为边走路边玩手机造成的事故日趋上升，尽管人们知道这样做是十分危险的，可是依旧有人冒这个险，手机的魅力就这么大吗？
Neil: Hello and welcome to 6 minute English. My name is Neil and with me today is
Rosie.
Rosie: Hi there.
Neil: Now Rosie, are you one of those people who walks down the road while trying
to send a text message?
Rosie: Of course! I do it all the time.
Neil: And have you ever had an accident because you haven't been looking where
you are going?
Rosie: Funnily enough, yes! This happened to me only the other day.
Neil: Well the reason I was asking is that one town in America thinks that walking
and texting has become such a problem that they have made it illegal!
Rosie: No way!
Neil: But before we get onto that, I have a quiz question about strange but true
laws which exist in the UK. Which one of these three is NOT a real law?
a) It's illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour 1.
b) A pregnant woman can go to the toilet anywhere she wants.
c) It's illegal to speak French in front of a dog.
Rosie: Well they all sound completely ridiculous, but I am going to go for c).
Neil: We'll hear the answer at the end of the programme. Now, back to our story
about texting and walking. It's illegal to text and drive at the same time in
some countries, such as the UK and the USA, but this town in New Jersey 2 is
the first to ban texting while walking.
Rosie: But it doesn't apply to people who are walking down a pavement, or
sidewalk as they say in America. It only applies to people who are walking
down a road. This is known as jaywalking.
Neil: So how much is the fine? Let's listen to the first part of the report by the
BBC's Leana Hosea.
6 Minute English © British Broadcasting Corporation 2012
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BBC correspondent Leana Hosea:
A town in New Jersey in the United States has started issuing eighty-five dollar fines to
people they see texting whilst crossing the road. Thomas Ripoli is chief of the Fort Lee Police
Department and he says he hopes the new law will reduce the number of accidents.
Neil: So Rosie, how much is the fine for jaywalking and texting?
Rosie: It's 85 dollars, which is a really expensive text message! But the chief of
police is hopeful that the new law will reduce the number of accidents.
Neil: Well, let's face it, it is pretty dangerous to cross a road while texting as you're
not always looking at what's coming – it's easy to miss a car.
Rosie: Yes, and there are other dangerous things which can happen whilst texting.
Neil: For example you could trip over... or bump into someone… Listen to our next
clip to hear about a danger that is not quite so obvious. It involves an animal.
Can you hear which one it is? Here's the BBC's Leana Hosea.
BBC correspondent Leana Hosea:
There have been some eye-catching videos which have gone viral showing people distracted
while on a mobile phone. Recently in Los Angeles an 180-kilo black bear had wandered
down into a residential 3 area from the nearby forest. Aerial footage shows a man, who was
apparently 4 texting his boss to tell him he was running late for work and didn't notice the
bear lumbering 5 down the street towards him until he was just a couple of metres away. He
looked up from his phone and immediately turned and ran away as fast as he could.
Rosie: Oh my word! So a man was texting and walking down the street. He was
texting his boss to tell him he was late for work…
Neil: But he didn't see a bear lumbering down the street towards him. Lumbering
means the bear was walking in a slow, heavy way.
Rosie: He finally saw the bear when it was just a few metres away and then he
immediately ran away as fast as he could! The bear had wandered into a
residential area - an area where people live.
Neil: He's not the only one to have suffered due to texting and walking. In this final
clip, we can hear about two other women who literally 6 fell into something
because they weren't watching where they were going while texting. Can you
hear what? Here's Leana Hosea:
BBC correspondent Leana Hosea:
In China a teenage girl who was walking and talking on her mobile phone plunged 7 six
metres down a sinkhole in the street, after failing to notice caution signs. Another video
shows a woman in a shopping mall who fell into a water fountain because she was distracted
from texting.
Neil: So, Rosie, where did they fall?
6 Minute English © British Broadcasting Corporation 2012
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Rosie: A teenage girl in China plunged – or fell - six metres down a sinkhole. A
sinkhole is a large hole in the ground which a river flows into.
Neil: And the other one fell into a water fountain in a shopping mall! Well, the
more I hear about these accidents the less strange this new law in America
sounds. And talking about strange laws reminds me that it's time to answer
our quiz question. I asked which one of these three is NOT a real law?
a) It's illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour.
b) A pregnant woman can go to the toilet anywhere she wants.
c) It's illegal to speak French in front of a dog.
Rosie: I said it was c).
Neil: And you were right. Time now for a quick recap of some of the words we've
heard today.
Rosie: sidewalk
jaywalking
lumbering
residential area
plunged
sinkhole
water fountain
Neil: Join us again for more 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English!
Rosie: Goodbye!
- His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
- Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。
- He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
- They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
- The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
- The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。
- An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
- He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
- Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。
- Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家，伐木业十分重要。