Lesson 28 Are Cars Doing More Harm Than Good？
Text Cars Only Bring Peogle Trouble Today any Chinese can enjoy the luxury of owning a private car——if he can afford it, that is. And to be able to afford it, you have first of all to pay a five or six figure sum to buy a machine. Even the toylike Polish midget Fiat costs something like 20,000 yuan. Any decent car would cost ten times that much. But however large this initial sum you have to pay, the real drain on your purse is yet to come, in the running and maintenance of the machine——the various taxes, the fuel, and of course the repairs. The last item especially is a bottomless pit. Any single repair may cost you thousands. If your car is of foreign make and you have to change a spare part, then God help you！
The financial burden is not your only worry. When you buy a car, you are like an elderly.man who marries a young wife. You have to guard her jealously, and protect her from prowling wolves who are constantly at your gate. A famous violinist who bought a second-hand car last year had to buy a pair of binoculars at the same time too, because he had to watch the car from his window every few minutes. Not only the car itself, but accesories such as rear-view mirrors, batteries, even wheels are all objects of prey.
I once read about a man in Shanghai who had the luck to win a car in a savings' lottery. Of course it was the cheapest of all cars, a Polish midget Fiat mentioned above. Nevertheless for the rnan who won it, it was the chance of a life time, and he could hardly believe in his own luck. But his joy was short-lived, for the troubles that followed were enough to put any man into utter despair. First of all he couldn't get a license plate. He was sent from place to place, and after months of running around and after having handed out around four thousand yuan （ the greater part of which as “good will gifts”） he finally becarr.e the proud legal owner of the car.
But his troubles were by no means over. Like the violinist, he found he had to guard his newly-wedded “bride” from all sorts of violations. In fact the whole family had to take turn s for the “night shift”, which meant sleep in the car to protect her from night prowlers. Our friend had the hardest time because he is a tall fellow with long limbs.For him to sleep in a toy-like midget car was literally a form of torture. When he clarnbered out of the car in the morning, he found he could hardly walk. Obviously things couldn't go on like that and so in the end he found a place to park his car for the night-in a school about two bus-stops away. The distance was noth ing compared with the parking fee he had to pay the school every month.But the greatest inconvenience was the fact that he had to get his car out of the school before eight every morning when school starts.
With conditions as they are in our country, one may well wonder who would ever want to own a private car. According to officially published figures, there were over 4,000 private cars in Beijing at the beginning of this year. That's a big leap from just over a hundred five years ago-a forty times increase. But in proportion to Beijing's population, the figure is piteously low, probably the lowest compared to other capitals in the world.
II . Read Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoints while reading. 1. The Advantages of the Car The use of the motor car is becoming more and more widespread in the twentieth century. As an increasing number of countries develop both technically and economically, so a larger proportion of the world's population is able to buy and use a car. Possessing a car gives a much greater degree of mobility, enabling the driver to move around freely. The owner of a car is no longer forced to rely on public transport and is, therefore, not compelled to work locally.
He can choose from a greater variety of jobs and probably changes his work more frequently as he is not restricted to a choice within a small radius. Travelling to work by car is also more comfortable than having to use public transport, the driver can adjust the heating in winter and the air conditioning in summer to suit his own needs and preference. There is no irritation caused by waiting for trains, buses or underground. trains, standing in long patient queues, or sitting on draughty platforms, for as long as half an
hour sometimes. With the building of good fast motorways long distances can be covered rapidly and pleasantly. For the first time in fhis century also, many people are now able to enjoy their leisure time to the full by making trips to the country or seaside at the weekends, instead of being confined to their immediate neighbourhood. This feeling of independence, and the freedom to go where you please, is perhaps the greatest advantage of the car.
2. The Drawbacks of the Car When considering the drawbacks, perhaps pollution is of prime importance. As more and more cars are produced and used, so the emission from their exhaust pipes contains an ever larger volume of poisonous gas. Some of the contents of this gas, such as lead, not only pollute the atmosphere but cause actual harm to the health of people. Many of the minor illness of modern industrial society, headaches, tiredness, and stomach upsets are thought to arise from breathing polluted air. Doctors' surgeries are full of people suffering from illness caused by pollution.
It is also becoming increasingly difficult to deal with the problem of traffic in towns. Most of the important cities of the world suffer from traffic congestion. In fact, any advantage gained in comfort is often cancelled out in city by the frustration caused by traffic jams, endless queues of cars crawling bumper to bumper through all the main streets. As an increasing number of traffic regulation schemes are devised, the poor bewildered driver finds himself diverted and forced into one-way systems which cause even greater delays than the traffic jams they are supposed to prevent. The soaring cost of petrol and the increased licence fees and road tax all add to the driver's worries In fact, he must sometimes wonder if the motor car is such a boon, or just a menace.
3. Cars Are the Major Cause of Road Accidents From the health point of view we are living in a marvellous age. We are immunised from birth against many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once fatal illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and surgery. It is almost certain that one day rsmedies will be found for the most stubborn remaining disease. The expectation of life has increased enormously. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the incredible slaughter of men, women and children on the roads. Man versus the motor-car！ It is a never- ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people the world over are killed or horribly mutilated each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.
It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel, his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man's very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They swear, they are ill-mannered and aggressive, wilful as two-year-olds and utterly selfish. All their hidden frustrations, disappointments and jealousies seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving.
The surprising thing is that society smiles so benignly on the motorist and seems to condone his behaviour. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable because of heavy traffic； towns are made ugly by huge car parks； the countryside is desecrated by road networks； and the mass annual slaughter becomes nothing more than a statistic, to be conveniently forgotten.
With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are notoriously lax and even the strictest are not strict enough. The driving test should be standardised and made far more difficult than it is； all drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so； the age at which young peopleare allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21； all vehicles should be put through stringent annual tests for safety.Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can impair a person's driving ability.
Present drinking and driving laws （where they exist） should be made much stricter. Maximum and minimum speed limits should be imposed on all roads. These measures may sound inordinately harsh, but surely nothing should be considered as too severe if it results in reducing the annual toll of human life. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars.