1992年1月英语四级 - 阅读理解B

Last summer, Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole announced a new rule: Unless states representing two-thirds of the country’s population pass compulsory seat-belt-use laws by April 1989, all new vehicles will have to be fitted with air bags or automatic seat belts.
去年夏天，交通部长伊丽莎白·多尔宣布了一项新规定：除非代表全国三分之二人口的州在1989年4月前通过强制性安全带使用法，否则所有新车都必须安装安全气囊或自动安全带。

The rule wouldn’t have been necessary but for one simple fact. Even though seat belts could prevent nearly half of the deaths in fatal car accidents, 85 percent of the population simply won’t wear them.
如果不是因为一个简单的事实，这个规定就没有必要。尽管安全带可以防止近一半的致命车祸死亡，但85%的人口根本不会系安全带。

Why not? Behavioral engineers have found that there are all sorts of reasons—usually unstated. These are some of the most popular. It’s safer to be thrown from a car man trapped. According to E. Scott Geller, that’s a faulty argument. “In fact”, he says, “being thrown from a car is twenty-five times more dangerous than being trapped”.
为什么不呢？行为工程师发现有各种各样的原因——通常没有说明。这些最流行：困在车里的人从车上抛出来更安全。根据E.Scott Geller的说法，这是一个错误的论点。“事实上”，他说，“从车上扔下来比被困危险25倍”。

It won’t happen to me; I’m a good driver. But what about the other person who may be a terrible driver? The data show that the average incidence for all accidents in one per driver every 10 years.
这不会发生在我身上；我是个好司机。但如果是一个糟糕的司机呢？数据显示，所有事故的平均发生率为每名司机10年一次。

My car will end up underwater or on fire, and I won’t be able to get out. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only 0.5 percent of all injury-producing accidents occur under these conditions. “If you’re wearing a belt, you’ve got a better chance of being conscious and not having your legs broken—distinct advantages in getting out of a dangerous situation”.
我的车在水下或着火，我就出不去了。根据美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）的数据，只有0.5%的伤害事故发生在这种情况下。“如果你系着安全带，你就有更好的机会保持清醒，不会断腿——这对摆脱危险处境有明显的好处”。

I’m only going a few blocks. Yet 80 percent of accidents happen at speeds or less that 25 miles per hour, 75 percent happen within 25 miles of home.
我仅仅走了几个街区。然而，80%的事故发生于时速小于25英里，75%发生在离家25英里的范围内。