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Are We Getting Closer To Having Our Cars Monitored And Controlled By The Government? CNN Hero: Dustin LaFont.

 
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello and terrific Tuesday, everyone. I`m Coy and I`m grateful to be spending part of this day with you right here on CNN 10.
 

terrific [təˋrɪfɪk] adj.【口】非常好的，了不起的

Let`s get our engines running today by fueling up our minds with some news on the road. Are we getting closer to having our cars monitored and

controlled by the government? The infrastructure law passed last year gave the Transportation Department three years to craft a mandate that new
 

craft [kræft] v.【美】精巧地制作

vehicles feature alcohol impairment detection technology.
 

impairment [ɪmˋpɛrmənt] n. 损伤

The National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency responsible for conducting independent accident investigations, is recommending alcohol

detection and calling for car makers to be incentivized to put speed limiters in new cars. Speed limitation could come in the form of a simple audible

incentivize [ɪnˈsentɪvaɪz] v. 激励

audible [ˋɔdəb!] adj. 可听见的，听得见的

or visual warning or even technology that would physically slow the vehicle down despite what the driver is doing.

Proponents say that it will make roads safer. Opponents say that it`s an attack on our freedom. What do you all think?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 32 people die of alcohol-related collisions every day, more than 11,000 per year,

with fatalities climbing five percent last year.
 

fatality [fəˋtælətɪ] n.（因意外事故的）死亡；死者；死亡事故

More now from CNN correspondent Pete Muntean who got a ride inside of one of the vehicles in New York, a state that already has the new technology in

place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here we go.

(voice-over): In this electric car, a lead foot can only get you so far. It`s equipped with intelligent speed assistance that means the car knows the
 

lead foot 的直譯是「鉛腿」，指一踩油門就踩到底，比喻開快車的人。a tendency to drive excessively fast

speed limit here is 20 miles per hour and it won`t let you go above it.

MEERA JOSHI, DEPUTY MAYOR OF OPERATIONS, NYC: So I`m pressing the pedal but you see actually the numbers going down.

MUNTEAN: Driving me is New York City Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi.

The city is the first in the U.S. to try speed limiter technology in 50 of its fleet vehicles.

JOSHI: We need to be at the forefront. There`s no reason today with so much technology and so much awareness that anybody should die at the hands
 

forefront [ˋfor͵frʌnt] n. 最前方，最前线

of an automobile.

MUNTEAN: Federal data shows more than 20,000 deaths on our roads in the first half of this year. It is one reason why in its latest safety

recommendation, the National Transportation Safety Board is calling on the federal government to start incentivizing car makers to put speed limiter

systems in new cars.

JENNIFER HOMENDY, NYSB CHAIR: We have to remember these aren`t just numbers these are people who have lost their lives.

New York`s speed limiter program works through something called telematics, stored data on local speed limits is cross-referenced with a car`s GPS
 

work through（逐步）解决（困难的）问题

telematics [͵tɛləˋmætɪks] n. 远程信息服务，无线数据通讯系统

cross-reference [ˋkrɔsˋrɛfərəns] v. 为……编制互相参照

 
position. Software in New York`s cars gives the driver an alarm, or simply just cuts off the accelerator when you reach the speed limit.

JOSHI: It`s called a dead pedal.

dead pedal: is typically a non-moving piece of rubber or metal that the driver is supposed to rest his or her left foot on when driving

MUNTEAN: This system does have an override. If you press this button, you can accelerate beyond the speed limit for 15 seconds in case you need to merge
 

override [ˋovɚ͵raɪd] n. 超驰控制装置; 超驰模式

merge [mɝdʒ] v. 合并; 汇合; alter, change, modify

or speed up to meet the flow of traffic.

PATRICIA WATFORD: If somebody`s in the fast lane driving too slow, then to me that caused more accidents than driving fast too.

BAYLEN MEYERS: It feels kind of intrusive and invasive.
 

intrusive [ɪnˋtrusɪv] adj. 侵入的，闯入的；打扰的

NAKU MAYO: I think from a regulatory standpoint, I think it might be overstepping some bounds.
 

overstep [ˋovɚˋstɛp] v. 违犯；超出……的限度

bound [baʊnd] n. 边界；领域

KARL BRAUER, EXEC. ANALYST, ISEECARS.COM: I think the average consumer is going to see this as an overreach by the government.
 

overreach [͵ovɚˋritʃ] n; v. 因伸展过长而超越

MUNTEAN: Industry expert Karl Brauer says it will be up to car makers to accelerate safety without putting the brakes on sales.

BRAUER: I think a move like this is certainly a sign of the future. It`s a preview of coming attractions and probably an unavoidable one.
 

preview [ˋpri͵vju] n. 预看；预先审查（或检查）

MUNTEAN: A change can`t come soon enough for Juan Paulido.

JUAN PAULIDO: I`m very hopeful they take it serious and they actually do make the changes.

MUNTEAN: His wife and kids were killed by an oncoming speeding drunk driver, a crash that served as inspiration for the NTSB calling for speed

limiter systems.

PAULIDO: It`s going to save lives. It`s going to prevent more accidents from happening and less families having to go through what I`m going

through.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Ten-second trivia:

"Velocipede", "hobby horse" and "running machine" were all early nicknames for what invention?
 

velocipede [vəˋlɑsə͵pid] n. 脚蹬两轮车（一种早期自行车）

Treadmill, bicycle, golf cart, or elevator?

Answer is the two-wheeled bicycle evolved and improved over the course of a century thanks to several inventors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Sticking with our transportation theme today, I`m going to introduce you now to Dustin LaFont, a former middle school history teacher whose non-

profit Front Yard Bikes helps thousands of kids in Louisiana turn bicycles into vehicles of opportunity. The program teaches students how to build

their own bikes and gives them academic and job training opportunities.

Meet now Dustin LaFont.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DUSTIN LAFONT, CNN HERO: Our kids in south Louisiana grew up knowing they have to be resilient from day one.

The ties stay together.

We have a lot of storms. We have such poverty. There`s not enough resources for education, for school, not enough food or nutrition.

We have a sobering murder rate, very high crime rate in Baton Rouge. If you look at the national ranks, we`re at the bottom of a lot of them.
 

sobering [ˋsobərɪŋ] adj. 重大的；严重的

Inside, let`s go, let`s go.

We could probably get you a whole new stem with a bar that has new grips, is that what you would like the most? Something like that there`s always
 

stem [stɛm] n.（工具的）柄，把，杆

this ingenuity we can make do with less and we can be creative and do more with it.
 

ingenuity [͵ɪndʒəˋnuətɪ] n. 心灵手巧；独创性

make do 凑合；将就

I want you to do this with me. All right. Can you grab onto it? And there we go.

All throughout my time at LSU, I was paying my way, so I just knew that if I was going to get to campus, I was going to do it by a bike. And if my

bike was going to break, well, I better learn to fix it.

One kid on the street from me had a broken bike, so I told him I`ll make you a deal, I will provide you the tools and I will teach you how to do

this, I thought that was my you know Good Samaritan deed being a good Cajun neighbor, and that would be the only time I would ever build a bike like that.
 

Samaritan [səˋmærətn] n. 撒马利亚人

Cajun [ˋkedʒən] n.（美国）亚拉巴马州西南部和密西西比州毗邻地区白人、印第安人、黑人混血种族之一

But the next day, I met his brother, you know? Then I met his sister, then I met 15 of his best friends who started coming to my house every day

looking for tools and bike pumps and bike parts. Kids would come after school and we would pull everything out and have this outdoor open

classroom in a yard.

At that point, people in the neighborhood just called us the Front Yard Bike Shop.

After getting my masters, I went to teach middle school, history. There was hundreds and hundreds of kids who had no extracurricular outlet in middle
 

extracurricular [͵ɛkstrəkəˋrɪkjəlɚ] adj. 课外的；业余的

outlet [ˋaʊt͵lɛt] n.（感情，精力等的）发泄途径（或方法）

school. They needed a space and a place to belong. Nothing was more infuriating than seeing a kid in my class and then one day that desk is
 

infuriating [ɪnˋfjurɪ͵etɪŋ] adj.【罕】十分生气的，大怒的

empty, because they were expelled.
 

expel [ɪkˋspɛl] v. 驱逐，赶走

I really want to teach that kid. I want to see them get to that accomplishment. Our program is really open to anybody who would like to

access it to build a bike. We want any kid of any age to come learn mechanics and build it, earn it.

I want you to take your lever and running around, all the way. There you go. So, now, we have to insert your tube next.
 

lever [ˋlɛvɚ] n. 控制杆

We have amazing talented wonderful kids who build and put in sweat and put in energy and put their all to making what they hope to be the vehicle of

opportunity.

We`ve seen over 2,000 kids participate in our programs.

I`m proud of you. I love you guys. I want to announce the winners.

In our space, our students get opportunity to see themselves as builders, creators and designers, dreamers. There you go. That`s all right.

It starts to build on this thought of affirming who they are, but they`re a wonderful person, but they`re a person that makes the world better. But
 

affirm [əˋfɝm] v. 证实，确认

they are beautiful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: And here`s something to talk about for today`s "10 out of 10".

It looks like it`s straight out of a spy movie. This massive yacht nearly half a football field long has open-air dining, a sprawled out sun deck
 

straight [stret] adj. 纯粹的

open-air [ˋopənˋɛr] adj. 露天的；户外的

with, a boat-a-full swimming pool, but it transforms, seals up and becomes a fancy schmancy submarine, too. You and 120 of your closest peers can dive
 

schmancy: extremely or excessively fancy

650 feet beneath the sea for up to four days at a time.

Unfortunately, it costs about $25 million, so dry land looks just fine too.

That`s about all I have time for today. Remember, you are all more powerful than you know.

Before I go I want to give a special shout out to a crew from Wichita, Kansas, the Sunflower State. Hamilton Middle School sending us the love and

we`re sending it right back at you. Yachts what I`m talking about.

I`m Coy and this is CNN 10.

END