Question

    This month, Germany’s transport minister, Alexander Dobrindt, proposed the first set of rules for autonomous vehicles. They would define the driver’s role in such cars and govern how such cars perform in crashes where lives might be lost.

The proposal attempts to deal with what some call the “death valley” of autonomous vehicles: the grey area between semi-autonomous and fully driverless cars that could delay the driverless future.

Dobrindt wants three things: that a car always chooses property damage over personal injury; that it never distinguishes between humans based on age or race; and that if a human removes his or her hands from the driving wheel — to check email, say — the car’s maker is responsible if there is a crash.

“The change to the road traffic law will permit fully automatic driving,” says Dobrindt. It will put fully driverless cars on an equal legal footing to human drivers, he says.

Who is responsible for the operation of such vehicles is not clear among car makers, consumers and lawyers. “The liability issue is the biggest one of them all,” says Natasha Merat at the University of Leeds, UK.

An assumption behind UK insurance for driverless cars, introduced earlier this year, insists that a human “be watchful and monitoring the road” at every moment.

But that is not what many people have in mind when thinking of driverless cars. “When you say ‘driverless cars’, people expect driverless cars.” Merat says. “You know — no driver.”

Because of the confusion, Merat thinks some car makers will wait until vehicles can be fully automated without operation.

Driverless cars may end up being a form of public transport rather than vehicles you own, says Ryan Calo at Stanford University, California. That is happening in the UK and Singapore, where government-provided driverless vehicles are being launched.

That would go down poorly in the US, however. “The idea that the government would take over driverless cars and treat them as a public good would get absolutely nowhere here,” says Calo.

1.What does the phrase “death valley” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A.A place where cars often break down.

B.A case where passing a law is impossible.

C.An area where no driving is permitted.

D.A situation where drivers’ role is not clear.

2.The proposal put forward by Dobrindt aims to _____ .

A.stop people from breaking traffic rules

B.help promote fully automatic driving

C.protect drivers of all ages and races

D.prevent serious property damage

3.What do consumers think of the operation of driverless cars?

A.It should get the attention of insurance companies.

B.It should be the main concern of law makers.

C.It should not cause deadly traffic accidents.

D.It should involve no human responsibility.

4.What could be the best title for the passage?

A.Autonomous Driving: Whose Liability?

B.Fully Automatic Cars: A New Breakthrough

C.Autonomous Vehicles: Driver Removed!

D.Driverless Cars: Root of Road Accidents

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。从德国交通部长亚历山大·多布林特提出的第一套自动驾驶汽车规则入手，文章介绍了无人驾驶汽车运营中的责任划分问题。

1.词义猜测题。根据第一段中的They would define the driver’s role in such cars and govern how such cars perform in crashes where lives might be lost.可知，他们将定义司机在此类车辆中的角色，并管理此类车辆在可能造成人员伤亡的撞车事故中的表现；再根据第二段The proposal attempts to deal with what some call the “death valley” of autonomous vehicles: the grey area between semi-autonomous and fully driverless cars that could delay the driverless future.可知，该提案试图解决一些人所说的自动驾驶汽车的“死亡谷”：半自动驾驶汽车和完全无人驾驶汽车之间的灰色地带，这可能会推迟无人驾驶汽车的未来。由此可知，死亡谷指的就是在交通规则中驾驶员的责任划分不明确的情况，故D项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第四段中的“The change to the road traffic law will permit fully automatic driving,” says Dobrindt.”可知，多布林特说：“道路交通法的修改将允许全自动驾驶”，由此可知，布林特的这项提议旨在帮助推动完全自动驾驶，故B项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第六段An assumption behind UK insurance for driverless cars, introduced earlier this year, insists that a human “be watchful and monitoring the road” at every moment.可知，今年早些时候，英国推出了一项针对无人驾驶汽车的保险设想，该设想坚持让人类时刻保持警惕，监控道路状况，再结合第七段But that is not what many people have in mind when thinking of driverless cars. “When you say ‘driverless cars’, people expect driverless cars.” Merat says. “You know — no driver.”可知，但这并不是很多人在考虑无人驾驶汽车时所想的。“当你提到无人驾驶汽车，人们期待无人驾驶汽车，”梅拉特说，“你知道——没有司机。”由此可知，消费者认为无人驾驶汽车的操作不应该涉及人的责任，故D项正确。

4.主旨大意题。通读全文，特别是根据第五段中的Who is responsible for the operation of such vehicles is not clear among car makers, consumers and lawyers. “The liability issue is the biggest one of them all”可知，在汽车制造商、消费者和律师中，谁来负责无人驾驶汽车的运营还不明确，责任问题是最大问题之一，由此可知本文主要介绍的是无人驾驶汽车运营中的责任划分问题，故A项（自主驾驶——谁来负责？）适合做本文最佳标题。故选A。