Drunken driving—sometimes called America's socially accepted form of murder—has bee a national epidemic(流行病). Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past ten years.
A drunken driver is usually defined as one with a 0.10 blood alcohol content or roughly three beers, glasses of wine or several glasses of whisky drunk within two hours. Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American manly image and judges were serious in most courts, but the drunken slaughter(屠宰) has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially involving young children, that public opinion is no longer so tolerant.
Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, reversing(使翻转) a trend in the 1960s to reduce it to 18. After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people killed by 18-20-year-old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21.
Reformers, however, fear raising the drinking age will have little effect unless acpanied by educational programs to help young people to develop “responsible attitudes” about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink.
Though new laws have led to increased arrests and tests and, in many areas already, to a marked decline in accidents, some states are also punishing bars for serving customers too many drinks. A bar in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more double brandies to a customer who “obviously drunk” and later drove off the road, killing a nine-year-old boy.
As the accidents continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years of national prohibition(禁止) of alcohol that began in 1919, what President Hoover called the “noble experiment”. They forgot that legal prohibition didn’t stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption and organized crime. As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution.
【小题1】From the first paragraph, we can know that . A．most Americans like drinkingB．heavy drinking is hard to avoidC．many Americans are killed by drunk driversD．Americans are not shocked by traffic accidents【小题2】In America, public opinion about drunken driving has changed because . A．judges are no longer seriousB．new laws are introduced in some states C．the problem has attracted public attentionD．drivers do not appreciate their manly image【小题3】What can be inferred from the fact of the traffic accidents in New Jersey?A．The legal drinking age should be raised. B．Young drivers were usually bad. C．Most drivers hoped to raise the legal drinking age. D．Drivers should not be allowed to drink.【小题4】Laws recently introduced in some states have .A．reduced the number of deaths.B．resulted in fewer serious accidents.C．prevented bars from serving drunken customers.D．specified the amount drivers can drink.【小题5】Which of the following best shows the writer’s opinion of drunken driving? A．It may lead to organized crime. B．It is difficult to solve this problem. C．The new laws can stop heavy drinking. D．There should be no bars to serve drink.C
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(答案→)C
解析：本文讲述了在美国各地酒驾导致人死亡的事故越来越多，很多州都提高了驾车的年龄等具体的信息。
【小题1】C 细节题。根据第一段Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past ten years.说明很多人都死于酒驾，故C正确。
【小题2】C 推理题。根据第二段后3行but the drunken slaughter(屠宰) has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially involving young children, that public opinion is no longer so tolerant.说明现在的酒驾导致的死亡人数越来越多，酒驾行为已经引起了人们的关注。故C正确。
【小题3】A 推断题。 根据第三段After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people killed by 18-20-year-old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21.说明在新泽西州死于18-20岁的司机的人的数量很大，说明作者是支持提高喝酒的年龄的，故A正确。
【小题4】B 细节题。根据第五点1,2行Though new laws have led to increased arrests and tests and, in many areas already, to a marked decline in accidents说明事故的数量在下降，故B正确。
【小题5】B 推理题。根据文章最后一句As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution.说明这样的行为很难有很好的解决方法，故B正确。