1 . The Big Debate
Are road tests necessary for teen drivers?
Some say new drivers should be able to get a license without taking a road test.
| What you need to know ● The minimum age to get a driver’s license in most states is 16. Teens must complete a driver’s education course, pass a written test, and take a road test. ● Since the pandemic, Wisconsin has waived (放弃) road tests for drivers ages 16 and 17. The state is considering making this change permanent. Iowa and Nebraska have similar waivers. ● Studies show that teens ages 16-19 are at the highest risk of any age group to be in a motor vehicle crash. | |
| Yes - of course teen drivers need a test Even after taking a driving course and practicing for hours, teens do not have enough real-world experience to start driving on their own. It’s important to test a teen’s knowledge of the rules of the road—and not just with a written test. Plus, a road test ensures that every driver who passes has a certain level of knowledge. Nothing can substitute for a road test. | No - it’s not necessary for safe driving After 50 hours of supervised driving plus a driver’s education course, teens are more than prepared to get a license. And think of the time that will be saved. It lets busy motor vehicle departments complete work that piled up during the pandemic. Experts agree that practice is the best way to reduce car accidents. Skipping the road test and letting teens drive earlier gives them time to get better. |
| What do you think? What do you think? Are road tests necessary for teen drivers? Now that you’ve read more of the issue, have a parent or guardian visit the week junior.com/polls with you so you can vote in our debate. Vote YES if you think road tests are necessary for teen drivers or NO if you don’t. We’ll publish the results next week. | |
| A．Being older than 19. | B．Having driving experience. |
| C．Passing required tests. | D．Completing all school courses. |
| A．It gets teens prepared. | B．It reduces car accidents. |
| C．It saves time and effort. | D．It promotes driving education. |
| A．Teens. | B．Parents. | C．Drivers. | D．Experts. |
2 . Tired of your ordinary earthly vacations? Some day soon you might be able to board a rocket and get a room with a view of the whole planet — from a hotel in space.
At least, that is the sales pitch(高调) of several companies racing to become the first to host guests in orbit on purpose-built space stations.
“It sounds kind of crazy to us today because it is not a reality yet,” said Frank Bunger, founder of U.S. aerospace firm Orion Span, one of the companies vying to take travellers out of this world. “But that’s the nature of these things, it sounds crazy until it is normal.”
U.S. multimillionaire Dennis Tito became the world’s first paying space tourist in 2001, travelling to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket for a reported $20 million. A few others have followed. Since then, companies like Boeing, SpaceX and Blue Origin have been working on ways to bring the stars into reach for more people — opening up a new business frontier for would-be space hoteliers.
U.S. space agency NASA announced in June that it plans to allow two private citizens a year to stay at the ISS at a cost of about $35,000 per night for up to a month. The first mission could be as early as 2020.
But the growing movement has raised questions about the adequacy of current space laws, which mainly deal with exploration and keeping space free of weapons, not hotels and holidaymakers.
“It is difficult now to want to do things in space and get a clear answer from space law,” said Christopher Johnson, a space law adviser at the Secure World Foundation, a space advocacy group. “For something as advanced as hotels in space there is no clear guidance.”
1. What does the underlined word “vying” in Para. 3 mean?| A．Promising. | B．Competing. |
| C．Hesitating. | D．Risking. |
| A．To show he was wealthy enough. |
| B．To praise his contribution. |
| C．To tell us he was very brave. |
| D．To emphasize he took the lead. |
| A．By summary. | B．By comparison. |
| C．By listing figures. | D．By giving examples. |
| A．He opposes space travel. |
| B．He is in charge of a space law. |
| C．It’s urgent to make a space law. |
| D．Space hotels are badly needed. |
