听遍美国社会新闻--酒后开车法 在加州引起反响

Drunk Driving Laws Making Impact in California

The death of Deputy Jeff Anderson brought Rebecca Bearden to the reality that drinking drivers were not just the butt(1) of party jokes. They were killers needing to be stopped.

Rebecca Bearden: “We were hit head on by a wrong way drunk driver, point-two-eight with two priors and he hit us. My fiance(2) was killed; I was very critically(3) injured and was not expected to live.”

That’t when she joined MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving. While drunk driving has been illegal in California since 1911, enforcement(4) was lax【松弛的】 until MADD set out to change society’s perception(5) of the drunk driver.

Rebecca Bearden: “It’s not just a car accident. It is a crime(6), and it is a violent crime. And we have worked very hard and have succeeded in convincing(7) society that that is so.”

That change in mindset(8) meant that designated(9) drivers were not sissies(10) but socially responsible. Citizens embraced(11) sobriety(12) checkpoints as an acceptable inconvenience(13). It was okay to have a sober high school graduation.

Spike (of the California Highway Patrol) : “Those things have changed. It wasn’t that way 25 years ago.”

“In fact, your chances of surviving on a California highway are much better than the national average in part because the cops(14) and the CHP are out there doing what they can to keep the drunks from killing you.”

Alcohol(15) related deaths in California have gone DOWN 61% since 1980. While drivers and miles driven has gone UP 15%, the sanctions(16) are swift(17) and steep(18). In California an officer can yank(19) a driver’s license(20) on the spot if the driver tests drunk.

Cliff Helander(of the Department of Motor Vehicles): “We evaluated(21) the law when it was implemented(22) in 1990 and found that it has a reduction(23) of about 15% on alcohol related matters.”

The chances of being arrested again drop to half if the driver completes a treatment program.

The work is far from over. California still arrests a drunk driver every six minutes. And one in fifty California drivers knows someone killed by a drunk driver. There’s much yet to do.


听音瓶颈词汇

1. butt []n.笑柄；笑料
2. fiance []n.未婚夫
3. critically[]adv.严重地
4. enforcement[]n.实施；运行
5. perception[]n.感知；认识
6. crime []n.犯罪
7. convince[]v.使相信；使信服
8. mindset[]adj.思维；心态
9. designate[]v.指定；特定
10. sissy[]adj.柔嫩的；娘娘腔的
11. embrace[]v.拥护；支持
12. sobriety[]n.清醒；冷静
13. inconvenience[]n.不便；麻烦
14. cop[]n.警察
15. alcohol[]n.酒精；含酒精的饮料
16. sanction[]n.制裁；约束
17. swift []adj.快速的；敏捷的
18. steep[]adj.陡峭的
19. yank[]v.取消；吊销
20. license []n.执照
21. evaluate []v.评估
22. implement[]n.执行；实施
23. reduction []n.减少；削减

听音高级短语

set out 准备
in part 在某种程度上；部分地
on the spot 当场；现场

听音超级句型

It’s not just a ....It is a…
这不仅仅是…，它是…

…have changed. It wasn’t that way …years ago.
…有所改变，已不再像…年前一样。

Alcohol related deaths in California have gone down … since…
自从…来，加利福尼亚因酗酒造成的死亡事件已经下降了…