Car Thieves Could Be Stopped Remotely
Speeding off1 in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch2. But he is in a nasty surprise3. The car is fitted with a remote immobilizer, and a radio signal from a control center miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine 1 , he will not be able to start it again.
For now, such devices 2 only available for fleets of trucks4 and specialist vehicles used on construction sites. But remote immobilization technology could soon start to trickle down to ordinary cars5, and 3 be available to ordinary cars in the UK 4 two months.
The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car incorporates6 5 miniature cellphone, a microprocessor and memory, and a GPS7 satellite positioning receiver. 6 the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the unit to block the vehicle’s engine management system and prevent the engine 7 restarted.
There are even plans for immobilizers 8 shut down vehicles on the moves8, though there are fears over the safety implications of such a system.
In the UK, an array of9 technical fixes10 is already making 9 harder for car thieves. “The pattern of vehicles crime has changed.” says Martyn Randall of Thatcham, a security research organization based in Berkshire11 that is funded in part 10 the motor insurance industry.
He says it would only take him a few minutes to 11 a novice how to steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools12. But only if the car is more than 10 years old.
Modern cars are a far tougher proposition13, as their engine management computer will not 12 them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out14 by the ignition key. In the UK, technologies like this 13 achieve a 31 per cent drop in vehicle-related crime15 since 1997.
But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars. Often by getting hold of the owner’s keys in a burglary. In 2000, 12 per cent of vehicles stolen in the UK were taken by using the owner’s keys, which doubles the previous year’s figure.
Remote-controlled immobilization system would 14 a major new obstacle in the criminal’s way by making such thefts pointless. A group that includes Thatcham, the police, insurance companies and security technology firms have developed standards for a system that could go on the market sooner than the expects.
詞匯： 15
immobilizer / i5mEubilaizE / n.使車輛不能調(diào)動的裝置 cellphone n.移動電話，手機 ignition /i^5niFEn / n.點火
trickle /5trikl/ v.慢慢移動 immobilization /i7mEubilai5zeiFEn / n.使車輛不能調(diào)動 12 burglary /5bE:^lEri/ n.夜竊行為;盜竊注釋：
1. speed off：超速駕駛
2. catch：捕獲物，獵獲物
3. nasty：very unpleasant or annoying使人不愉快的;煩人的
4. fleets of trucks：卡車隊。 Fleet：a group of vessels or vehicles owned or operated as a unit車隊
5. trickle down to ordinary cars：慢慢地用到普通汽車上。 trickle：to move or proceed slowly or bit by bit慢慢地或一點一點地移動或前進
6. incorporate：to cause to merge or combine together into a united whole混合，合并到某一整體中
7. GPS：Global Positioning System全球定位系統(tǒng)
8. vehicles on the move：在行駛中的車輛
9. an array of：一群;一批
10. technical fixes：技術裝置
11. Berkshire：a county of south-central England貝克郡，位于英格蘭中南部
12. a bare minimum of tools：極少的工具。 bare：just sufficient;mere剛剛充足的;僅僅
13. Modern cars are a far tougher proposition：現(xiàn)代車遠沒有這么簡單(偷盜現(xiàn)代車要困難得多 )。Proposition：a matter to be dealt with;a task任務，要處理的事務。
14. beam out：to emit or transmit發(fā)送，傳送
15. drop in vehicle-related crime：涉及車輛犯罪案的下降。 drop：decrease下降
練習：
1. A of B on C at D of
2. A is B was C were D are
3. A can B have to C need to D should
4. A after B for C in D at
5. A the B / C a D an
6. A With B If C But D And
7. A helping B being C get D be
8. A whose B who C that D when
9. A life B cars C warning D problem
10. A about B to C by D on
11. A use B inform C ask D teach
12. A let B allow C make D give
13. A have helped B helped C had helped D was helped
14. A speak B have C link D put
15. A lawyer B doctor C customer D specialist
答案與題解：
1. A 該段主要是說，如果車被盜，只要發(fā)出無線電信號， remote immobilizer就能使被盜車一旦停下就無法再啟動。因此，應選擇 A。如選擇， B switches the engine on(發(fā)動引擎 )句子意思便不符合文章內(nèi)容。 C和 D與 switch不搭配。
2. D devices是復數(shù)形式，描述的也是目前的事情，所以應使用 be的現(xiàn)在時復數(shù)形式 are。
3. D該句說，這種遙控技術會一點一點地，但很快地用于普通汽車。然后，作者推斷，在兩個月后這種技術就能用于英國的汽車。 A是錯誤的選項，因為該句前面用了 could表示委婉的推斷，在此不會用 can;B和 C與意思不符; should也是表示推斷。
4. C 從搭配上來看，可以選擇 B和 C，但是從意思上來看，必須選擇 C。for two months：已經(jīng)有兩個月了; in two months：兩個月后。不能選擇 A，因為不符合英語表達習慣。又如： They will graduate in one year.他們一年后畢業(yè)。
5. C 這里應該使用不定冠詞，而且 miniature cell phone后面的并列定語都使用不定冠詞。不能選擇 an，因為它后面的名詞由輔音開頭。
6. B 從語法結(jié)構來看，這里應選擇引導狀語從句的連詞，其他選項都會造成結(jié)構錯誤。而且， If正符合句子的意思。
7. B prevent sth. (from) doing是固定用法， restart這里要用被動語態(tài) being restarted，所以，應選擇 B。
8. C從句子的結(jié)構來看，這里需要一個關系代詞引導定語從句。關系代詞的先行詞 immobilizers是物不是人，所以只能用 that，不能用 who。
9. A 在四個選項中， B、C和 D顯然不符合文章的意思。這里作者要表達的意思是：使……日子難過，所以，應選擇 A。
10. C be funded是被動語態(tài)，空格后面是名詞短語，從句子的意思來判斷，這個名詞短語是動作 fund的執(zhí)行者，是謂語動詞動作邏輯上的主語，所以必須使用 by來引導這個名詞短語。
11. D 這個句子結(jié)構是： to take sb. time to do sth.。從意思上判斷，句子的意思應該是：他說只要花幾分鐘就能教會一個新手如何偷盜汽車。所以， D是答案。 use, inform和 ask 都不與 how to結(jié)構搭配。
12. B them后跟著 to，所以首先排除 A和 C (let sb. do sth. / make sb. do sth.)。句子的意思不允許選 D。… will not allow them to start …：……不允許它們啟動。
13. A 句子后面的時間狀語由 since引導，所以句子應該使用現(xiàn)在完成時。
14. D 從 obstacle in the criminal’s way這個名詞短語看出，應選擇 D，構成 put obstacle in somebody’s way(給某人設置障礙)這種固定用法。
15. C前面有 go on the market，預期的人應該是 customer。當然， specialists，doctor或 lawyer也可以預期，但總及不上 customer那么自然。