1 . Parents usually teach their children how to cross the street safely by looking both ways for cars. But do they also teach them to put away their cell phones?
Texting while crossing the street will soon be forbidden in the city of Honolulu, Hawaii. Beginning on October 24, you could be fined from $15 to $99 if you step into a Honolulu street while looking at your phone. Honolulu is the first major U.S. city to forbid what is called "distracted (分心的) walking." It recently passed a law in a seven to two vote. The law says: "No pedestrian (行人) shall cross a street or highway while viewing a mobile electronic device (设备)." In other words, do not look at a screen when you cross the street or you could be fined.
The law’s creators hope it will lower the number of people hit and killed by cars in the city. Mayor Kirk Caldwell told Reuters news agency, "We hold the unfortunate distinction (区分) of being a major city with more pedestrians being hit in crosswalks, particularly our seniors (老年人), than almost any other city in the country."
The law includes all electronic devices with screens: cell phones, tablets, gaming devices, digital cameras and laptop computers. The law does permit an exception. Pedestrians may use such devices in the street to call emergency services and rescue workers, such as firefighters and police officers.
Pedestrian deaths have been increasing as the use of cell phones rises. The Governors Highway Safety Association says pedestrian deaths in the United States increased 25 percent between 2010 and 2015. That trend (趋势) continued in 2016 with the number of pedestrian deaths rising to almost 6000, 11% higher than in 2015.
If you still want to text while walking, you could avoid being fined in Honolulu (and be safer, in general) by using a voice-controlled digital assistant such as Siri or Google Assistant. Or you could just wait until you are again, safely, off the street.
1. What is the new law about in Honolulu, Hawaii?| A．Pedestrians must follow traffic rules while on the street. |
| B．Texting is not allowed while crossing the street. |
| C．Cell phones cannot be used for the sake of safety. |
| D．Ways to reduce deaths caused by traffic accidents. |
| A．He will be grounded. | B．His electronic device will be taken away. |
| C．He will receive a fine. | D．His identity will be made public online. |
| A．Only voice-controlled digital assistants can be used while walking. |
| B．Only police officers can use such devices when emergency arises. |
| C．Only one such device can be allowed to use when crossing the street. |
| D．Only in case of emergency can a pedestrian be allowed to use a cell phone . |
| A．To cut down on accidents caused by "distracted walking". |
| B．To make sure electronic devices will be properly used. |
| C．To make the city as safe as the other ones while walking. |
| D．To force parents to teach their children to walk with care . |
2 . Thirty-two cases of illegal hunting or trading wild animals have been uncovered involving 33 suspects since a crackdown against illegal wildlife trade was launched on April 10.
Beijing police seized 74 wild animals grouped in China into the first-grade and second-grade state protected animals, including African grey parrots and cockatoos, as well as nearly 50 wild birds and 21 pangolin scales.
On April 16, police in the capital city’s Chaoyang district caught two suspects, who were respectively identified as Liu and Wang, for buying wild animals, and recovered more than 40 wild birds, including one cockatoo and one African grey parrot, at their homes, the statement said, adding the two suspects have been detained (拘留).
In another case, a 35-year-old man surnamed Hu was also sentenced to imprisonment in Daxing district after he was found selling wild animals through QQ, a popular instant messaging tool in the country. He was caught on April 14.
The bureau highlighted the importance of protecting the wildlife, noting Chinese laws and a new decision adopted by the nation’s top legislature (立法机关) have also shown the country’s determination against illegal trade of wild animals.
The Chinese Criminal Law clarifies that those illegally hunting, buying, selling or transporting wild animals on the state protection list, endangered animals or the wildlife-related products will face an imprisonment of more than 10 years and fines if their behaviors are identified as “extremely serious”.
On Feb 24, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislative body, also passed the decision that clearly states all wildlife on the protection list of the existing Wild Animal Protect Law or other laws, and all wild animals, including those artificially bred and farmed, are not permitted to be hunted or traded.
With the strict crackdown campaign against illegal trade of wild animals on the go in Beijing, the whole nation is attaching great importance to wild life protection.
1. The author mentions the cases at the very beginning of the passage to ______ .| A．explain the new laws on wildlife protection |
| B．show the present situation of wildlife extinction |
| C．highlight the problem of illegal trade of wild animals |
| D．introduce Beijing’s campaign against illegal wildlife trade |
| A．The number of wild animals is decreasing sharply. |
| B．Hunting and trading wildlife has become a nationwide concern. |
| C．Effective actions have been taken to prevent wildlife from illegal trade. |
| D．The strong action to stop trading illegal wild animals has a long way to go. |
| A．serious actions of trading wild animals will face fierce punishment |
| B．people risk heavy fines but no imprisonment for trade of wildlife |
| C．the trade of wildlife-related products will receive no punishment |
| D．those who hunt illegally may face 10 years of imprisonment |
| A．Determined. | B．Hopeful. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Doubtful. |
