A recent study, published in last week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, offers a picture of how risky it is to get a lift from a teenage driver, Indeed, a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers is three times as likely to have a fatal accident as a teenager driving alone, By contrast, the risk of death for drivers between 30 and 59 decreases with each additional passenger. 
　　The authors also found that the death rates for teenage drivers increased dramatically after 10 p.m., and especially after midnight, with passengers in the car, the driver was even more likely to die in a late-night accident. 
　　Robert Foss, a scientist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, says the higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with “really stupid behavior” than with just a lack of driving experience. “The basic issue.” Be says, “is that adults who are responsible for issuing licenses fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is.” 
　　Both he and the author of the study believe that the way to mitigate (使…缓解) the problem is to have states institute so-called graduated licensing systems, in which getting a license is a multistage process. A graduated license requires that a teenager first prove himself capable of driving in the presence of an adult, followed by a period of driving with night of passenger restrictions, before graduating to full driving privileges. 
　　Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes, according to recent studies. About half of the states now have some sort of graduated licensing system in place, but only 10 of those states have restrictions on passengers, California is the strictest, with a novice (新手) driver prohibited from carrying any passenger under 20 (without the presence of an adult over 25) for the first six months.

　　21. Which of the following situations is most dangerous according to the passage? 
　　A) Adults giving a lift to teenagers on the highway after 10 p.m. 
　　B) A teenager driving after midnight with passengers in the car. 
　　C) Adults driving with three or more teenage passengers late at night. 
　　D) A teenager getting a lift from a stranger on the highway at midnight. 

　　22. According to Robert Foss. The high death rate of teenage drivers is mainly due to ________. 
　　A) their frequent driving at night 
　　B) their improper way of driving 
　　C) their lack of driving experience 
　　D) their driving with passengers

　　23. According to Paragraph 3. which of the following statements is TRUE? 
　　A) Teenagers should spend more time learning to drive. 
　　B) Driving is a skill too complicated for teenagers to learn. 
　　C) Restrictions should be imposed on teenagers applying to take driving lessons. 
　　D) The licensing authorities are partly responsible for teenagers’ driving accidents. 

　　24. A suggested measure to be taken to reduce teenagers’ driving accidents is that ________. 
　　A) driving in the presence of an adult should be made a rule 
　　B) they should be prohibited from taking on passengers 
　　C) they should not be allowed to drive after 10 p.m. 
　　D) the licensing system should be improved 

　　25. The present situation in about half of the states is that the graduated licensing system ________. 
　　A) is under discussion 
　　B) is about to be set up 
　　C) has been put into effect 
　　D) has been perfected

　　这篇文章讲的是青少年驾车车祸死亡率过高的问题。文章总共五个段落，基本呈现了一个“提出问题”、“分析原因”、“解决办法”三步格局。这也是论说文最常用的结构，了解这种结构对于理解文章的意义是有好处的。 
　　前两段提出问题，问题通常是具体的问题，作者只需以例举的方式向读者呈现问题就可以了。开头先是交代了获知问题的来源：美国医学协会杂志上的一篇研究（Journal of the American Medical Association）。这条信息可以说一箭双雕，既能表明这一问题的严重性（否则一个医学协会不会进行研究），又不必多费篇幅去证明这一问题的真实性、普遍性（美国医学协会当然具有权威性）。 
　　How risky it is to get a lift from a teenage driver，这是一个总领句，意思是搭一个青少年驾驶者的车是多么的危险。随后是一个例子，一个16岁的司机搭载三四名乘客时，其发生致命事故的可能性是他单独驾车时的3倍（a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers is three times as likely to have a fatal accident as a teenager driving alone）。而与此对应，30到59岁的司机搭载乘客时其发生致死车祸的可能性却在降低（the risk of death for drivers between 30 and 59 decreases）。 
　　下一段继续举例。青少年在晚上10点以后驾车的死亡率大幅上升。车内同时又有乘客的话，则发生致死事故的可能性会更高。 
　　问题呈现完毕，接下来就是分析原因了。作者以权威人士Robert Foss之口说出了问题背后的实质：higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with “really stupid behavior” than with just a lack of driving experience，这个句子较难理解，关键在于吃透have less to do with……than这个句型。这个句型的原型是have something to do with，意思是与……有关，那么have less to do with ……than就是“与……的关系不如与……的关系大”的意思。这句话想要表达的意思就是：与将其归因于“愚蠢行为”相比，用缺少驾驶经验来解释如此高的死亡率更为合理。他继续分析道，问题的根本在于负责发放驾照的大人们没有意识到驾车的复杂性和技术难度（fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is）。 
　　问题的解决方案在于使各州发布“驾照分步发放系统”（graduated licensing systems），这一系统要求青少年首先要具备在成人监护下驾车的能力，随后是乘客人数限制，最后是完全不受限制地驾驶权限。 
　　这一系统的实施情况和效果如何呢？最后一段写到，它减少了青少年司机所发生的车祸数量（reduced teenage driver crashes）。有大约一半的州实施了类似的系统，不过只有10个州对乘客进行了限制（only 10 of those states have restrictions on passengers），加利福尼亚在这方面限制最严。
 
　　21. B 
　　根据文章内容，下列哪种情况最为危险。 
　　关于驾车危险性问题，在文章开头举的几个例子中有充分的说明。第一个例子说一个16岁的司机搭载三四名乘客时，其发生致命事故的可能性是他单独驾车时的3倍，第二个例子说青少年在晚上10点以后驾车的死亡率大幅上升；车内同时又有乘客的话，则发生致死事故的可能性会更高。把这道题的几个选项和上面的例子进行对比就可以找到正确答案。 
　　A，夜里10点以后，成年人在高速公路上驾车搭载未成年人。例子的说法是夜里10点以后青少年驾车同时搭载别人的危险性高，而不是成年人驾车。A把主体搞错了。 
　　B，一个未成年人在午夜后驾车，车中坐有乘客。第二段的例子提到了个这个说法。 
　　C，成年人在深夜驾车搭载三个或三个以上未成年乘客。文章例子中提到的危险情况都为驾车人是未成年人。 
　　D，未成年人在午夜高速公路上搭载陌生人的车。这个选项体现了出题人的想象力，在现实中，未成年人夜间搭载陌生人的车的确非常危险，但这不在文章的讨论范围。
 
　　22. C 
　　题目的意思是根据Robert Foss的说法，青少年驾车者的高死亡率主要是因为什么。 
　　A，他们经常在夜间驾车。 
　　B，他们驾驶的方式不恰当。 
　　C，他们缺乏驾驶经验。 
　　D，他们驾车搭载了乘客。 
　　文章提到Robert Foss是在第三段，（Robert Foss, a scientist at the University），那么答案也只能在第三段寻找，至多参考一下第四段。正确理解这句话的意思：higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with “really stupid behavior” than with just a lack of driving experience——高死亡率与驾驶经验缺失的关系比“做傻事”更大。由此可见C所说的缺少驾驶经验是正确的。 

　　23. D 
　　根据第三段的内容，下列哪项叙述是正确的。 
　　观察第三段，是一个不是很长的段落。在小段上出题，同时又指明把考查范围限定在该段，则很有可能这个小段出现了难句。 
　　第三段一共只有两句话，上一题已经考查过了第一句，两句话同时考查一句话的可能性很小，所以要把注意力集中在第二句话的理解上，而彻底了解这句话的意思应该结合后文。第二句引用了Robert的原话：The basic issue is that adults who are responsible for issuing licenses fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is——从字面上看，这句话意思是：根本问题是，负责发放驾照的成年人（adults who are responsible for issuing licenses）没能 （fail to）认识到驾驶汽车非常复杂且技术性很强（recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is）。 
　　A，青少年应该花更多的时间来学习驾驶。句子最后提到驾驶汽车非常复杂且技术性很强，不过解决方案必定是花费更多时间吗？不见得。改变发放驾照程序就是一例。 
　　B，学习驾驶技术对于青少年来说是过于复杂了。句子最后提到驾驶汽车非常复杂且技术性很强，不过这就意味着青少年不能学习驾驶技术了吗？不是，解决方案是下文提到的调整发放驾照的程序。 
　　C，对青少年的驾驶学习申请应该加以限制。限制学习人数不是解决办法，文章也没有提到这一点。 
　　D，发放驾照部门应对青少年驾车事故负部分责任。从第二句字面意思可以直接推出D的结论。另外，后文提出的解决方案是改变管理当局的现有政策，从这一点也可看出管理当局应该负有一定责任。 

　　24.D 
　　题目问文中提到了关于减少青少年驾车事故的措施的建议，这条建议是什么。 
　　A，应该把在大人监护下才能驾车制定成规则。 
　　B，青少年应被禁止搭载乘客。 
　　C，他们不应被允许在夜里10点以后驾车。 
　　D，应当改进驾照发放系统。 
　　这道题比较简单，文章的第四五两段讲的都是驾照发放系统的改进问题，应当选择D。对于A、B、C所说的几条建议，在最后两段介绍的建议中都只字未提，所以不应选择。 

　　25.C 
　　目前大约一半左右的州的情况是驾照分步发放系统如何如何。 
　　A，正处讨论中。 
　　B，将要得到确立。 
　　C，已经起到了效果。 
　　D，已经得到完善。 
　　这道题考查最后一段的内容。第一句Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes的意思很明了，分步发放系统已经减少青少年驾车事故，这说明这一系统已经起到了效果，与C的说法一致。后面的一句话是个长句，大体意思是说一半的州虽然实施了分步发放系统，但在乘客限制上不是很严格，只有加利福尼亚较为严格。这说明这一系统还需要进行完善，D就不对了。文章没有提到这一系统是否正处讨论中，从已经实施这一情况来看，应该是讨论过并得到确立了。这样A和B的说法就都是错误的。