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?
The city of Honolulu, Hawaii wants everyone to learn that lesson. Texting while crossing the street will soon be banned in the city. Beginning on October 24, you could be fined from $15 to $99 if you step onto a Honolulu street while looking at your phone. Honolulu is the first major U. S. city to ban what is called "distracted walking". It recently passed a law in a seven-to-two vote. The law says: "No pedestrian shall cross a street or highway while viewing a mobile electronic device(装置).” 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 of being a major city with more pedestrians being hit in crosswalks, particularly our seniors, than that of almost any other cities 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, or GHSA, says pedestrian deaths in the United States increased by 25 percent between 2010 and 2015. That trend continued in 2016 with the number of pedestrian deaths rising to almost 6,000, 11% higher than that in 2015. Other U. S. cities may follow Honolulu. The State of Washington was the first to outlaw distracted driving back in 2007. Now, 46 other states as well as D. C, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U. S. Virgin Islands, also have laws against texting while driving.
1. What's the passage mainly about?| A．Honolulu will ban distracted walking. |
| B．Texting while walking draws public attention |
| C．More cities in the U. S. will ban texting while driving. |
| D．The number of people killed by cars in Honolulu is increasing. |
| A．Walking with police officers. |
| B．Making urgent calls. |
| C．Helping rescue workers. |
| D．Texting to consult about emergency services. |
| A．Texting while walking should be banned quickly. |
| B．Distracted walking caused a severe problem in Honolulu. |
| C．Cell phones led to more and more pedestrian deaths in the U. S. |
| D．Pedestrian deaths were caused by texting while walking. |
| A．Hawaii | B．Washington |
| C．Puerto Rico | D．Guam |
2 . Judge Frank Caprio is a famous person in the city of Providence, Rhode Island. And, he is starting to get noticed around the world, too. He is an 80-year-old judge in the capital city of Rhode Island, the smallest state in the U. S.. One of his jobs is to take charge of traffic court. That involves talking to people who have gotten traffic tickets for going though red lights or parking illegally. They go to traffic court to question the tickets. Caprio hears what they have to say. Then, he decides whether or not the ticket is legal.
Caprio recently heard the case of a young man who was driving his mother’s car. He went through a light after it turned red. After he spoke with the high school student, Caprio decided to let him off with a warning----if he promised to go to college and graduate.
Another video from the Providence traffic court came out earlier this week. It showed a woman speaking with Judge Caprio about a parking ticket. She went to traffic court after getting a ticket for parking in an area that only permitted parking after 10 a. m. . The ticket was written at 9:59 a. m. . The woman said the clock in her car showed 10 a. m., so she thought it would be OK. After some conversation, the judge decided to dismiss the ticket.
But Caprio did tell her, “You violated the city laws.” He held up a large book of rules. He smiled and the woman laughed. He said: “Our parking enforcement officers are second to none in the country!” After talking with the court officer, he said “I think 9:59 is close enough. Matter is dismissed.”
The video was viewed over 1 million times in just two days. One person wrote of the video: “This is so cute. What a great judge. LOVE THIS.” Others wondered if the video was real, because it seemed so funny. But, there actually are judges out there like Frank Caprio. He is as real as they come.
1. What punishment did the young man receive?| A．None | B．Fine |
| C．Education | D．Blame |
| A．ignored | B．followed |
| C．understood | D．broke |
| A．It was funny | B．It was so cute |
| C．It was not real | D．It was quite true |
