题材：交通 难度：★★★ 字数：429 建议时间：13分钟

　　Some accept their fate. Others try to reason with the police officer who has pulled them over for some real or imagined traffic offense. But when law enforcement is represented by computer driven camera that has immortalized your violation on film—as is the case at hundreds of intersections in more than 60 cities around the U.S.—it’s hard to talk your way out of a heavy fine. Yet that is precisely what so

me 300 motorists in San Diego succeeded in doing last week when a superior court judge rules that pictures taken by the so called red light cameras were unreliable and therefore unacceptable.

　　The first U.S.Court decision to reject all the traffic violations caught on camera,the ruling by judge Ronald Styn has fueled debate over the growing use of the devices.Police departments swear,and studies indicate,that the robocams (robot cameras) deter people from speeding and running red lights.A Lou Harris pool set for release this week finds that 69% of Americans support their use.Yet at least seven states have blocked proposals to implement them,and opponents—ranging from House majority leader Dick Armey to the American Civil Liberties Union—argue that the cameras violate privacy and place profit above public safety.

　　Part of the problem is that virtually all the devices in place are operated by private firms that handle everything from installing the machinery to identifying violations—often with minimal police oversight—and have an incentive to pull in as many drivers as they can.The companies get paid as much as $70 a ticket,and the total revenue is hardly chump change.“It’s all about money,” says Congressman Bob Barr,a leading critic.Not so,insists Terrance Gainer,Washington’s executive assistant chief of police.“We have reduced fatalities.If some company is making money off that,that is American way.”

　　Critics counter that there must be other,less intrusive ways to make intersections safer,such as lengthening the yellow light and adding turn lanes.“I object to this fixation we have with cameras and electronically gathered information,” says Barr.“It places too much confidence in technology.” That confidence,as Washington residents have learned,can be misplaced.

　　Another concern is privacy.While systems in Washington,Maryland and North Carolina photograph nothing but the rear of the car,others in Arizona,California,and Colorado take a picture of the driver’s seat as well—a bit of electronic monitoring that could land straying spouses in trouble a lot more serious than a traffic violation.

　　In Europe,where speedcams are destroyed by the thousands and are even less popular than they are here,resentful drivers have started to take the matters into their own hands,seeking out hidden cameras and knocking them over with their cars.

　　1.The court decision last week

　　［A］ triggered a dispute over the use of robocams.

　　［B］ exempt few camera caught violators from punishment.

　　［C］ found fewer red light camera supporters in America.

　　［D］ deterred some states from implementing camera devices.

　　2.Police department believes that

　　［A］ robocams should not be operated by private firms.

　　［B］ robocams are effective in maintaining traffic order.

　　［C］ speeding is the major cause of traffic fatalities.

　　［D］ companies operating cameras should not pursue money only.

　　3.Opponents’ arguments against cameras include all the following EXCEPT

　　［A］ they intrude into people’s privacy.

　　［B］ they give priority to the pursuit of profit.

　　［C］ they are operated by private firms.

　　［D］ they are under the supervision of police.

　　4.According to the passage,Bob Barr

　　［A］ is the majority leader in the House of Representatives.

　　［B］ is strongly against the American way of making money.

　　［C］ lacks confidence in modern technology.

　　［D］ doubts the authenticity of electronically gathered information.

　　5.Drivers in European countries

　　［A］ get angry at the red light cameras.

　　［B］ destroy thousands of the speedcams.

　　［C］ take the initiative in the use of speedcams.

　　［D］ take drastic measures with speedcams.