2 . Clear winners are hard to pick in the race to develop self-driving vehicles, but autonomous trucks have built a convincing lead. Robotrucks have completed thousands of automated journeys and a new era of driverless delivery appears to lie in store for the world.
Big-name vehicle manufacturers like Daimler, alongside AV (autonomous vehicle) innovators like Aurorae have sunk billions of dollars into making self-driving trucks work, which is a solid investment in road freight (货运).
Fitted with complex LIDAR road scanning systems, computer vision, and AI predictive software, the vehicles serve the so-called “middle mile” between distribution centers, where loads are picked up and dropped off for human drivers to complete deliveries to homes and businesses.
Texas, with its spacious highways, prosperous road freight market, and relaxed regulations, provides ideal conditions to road test the trucks. Other states have their own regulations in place to allow AV testing on public roads.
There are six levels of vehicle automation (from 0 to 5) and level five — full autonomy, drive anywhere — is the end goal. Autonomous journeys often run at level four, which turns out safe, with a backup driver in the cab ready to take control in case an accident happens. In December 2021 a level 4 semi-truck drove 80 miles on public roads, between a railyard in Tucson, Arizona, and a distribution center in Phoenix.
Analysts say that up to 90 percent of long-distance trucking jobs could be lost to self-driving technology once it becomes widespread. Safety is another concern. Questions of whether authorities are ready to deal with the new technology followed a crash between a Waymo Via class 8 truck and another human-driven semi-truck near Ennis, Texas. The human driver was at fault, but the safety operator in the Waymo truck did not take control during the incident and a report exposed the weaknesses of the way the crash was dealt with.
AV industry representatives say their vehicles with self-driving technology are safer and more efficient than cars driven by people and will improve road safety. But doubts from road safety campaigners, transport workers, and city authorities exist about rapid change without stricter controls. All agree that new laws will be necessary.
1. What is paragraph 3 of the text mainly about?
| A．The complex system of the vehicles. |
| B．The process of picking up and dropping off loads. |
| C．Ways of completing deliveries to homes and businesses. |
| D．The function of autonomous vehicles in road freight. |
2. What does the example mentioned in paragraph 5 prove?
| A．More often than not, trucks running at level 4 are secure. |
| B．Levels of vehicle automation serve different purposes. |
| C．“Full autonomy, drive anywhere” is the ultimate target. |
| D．A backup driver in the cab is crucial in avoiding an accident. |
3. What is the author’s attitude toward the self-driving technology?
| A．Unclear. | B．Approving. | C．Objective. | D．Dismissive. |
4. What can be a suitable title for the text?
| A．The Evolution and Implications of Self-Driving Vehicles |
| B．Robotrucks to Deliver a New Era of Driverless Technology |
| C．A Solid Investment from Big-Name Vehicle Manufacturers |
| D．The Testing of Autonomous Trucks on Public Roads with Level 4 |
