Pushbike Peril
Low speed bicycle crashes can badly injure 一 or even kill 一 children if they fall onto the ends of the handlebars. So a team of engineers is redesigning the humble handlebar in a bid to make it safer.
Kristy Arbogast, a bioengineer at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, began the project with her colleagues after a study of serious abdominal injuries in children in the past 30 years showed2 that more than a third were caused by bicycle accidents. The task was to identify how the injuries occurred and come up with some countermeasures,3 she says.
By interviewing the children and their parents，Arbogast and her team were able to4 reconstruct many of the accidents and identified a common mechanism responsible for serious injuries. They discovered that most occur when children hit an obstacle at a slow speed，causing them to topple over5. To maintain their balance they turn the handlebars through 90 degrees 一 but their momentum forces them into the end of the handlebars. The bike then falls over and the other end of the handlebars hits the ground, ramming it into their abdomen6.
The solution the group came up with is a handgrip fitted with a spring and damping system.
The spring absorbs up to 50 per cent of the forces transmitted through the handlebars in an impact. The group hopes to commercialize the device，which should add only a few dollars to the cost of a bike. But our task has been one of education because up until now, bicycle manufacturers were unaware of the problem, says Arbogast.
The team has also approached the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to try to persuade manufacturers to adopt the new design. A decision is expected later this year.
注释：
1. So a team of engineers is redesigning the humble handlebar in a bid to make it safer.因此，一些 工程师正在重新设计这种欠合理的车把，以使其更安全。humble意为在级别上、质量上、 位置上低的bid在这里应作努力，企图,争取解。
2. after a study of serious abdominal injuries in children in the past 30 years showed:是一个时间状 语从句，主语是a study，谓语是showed。
3. The task was to identify how the injuries occurred and come up with some countermeasures.要 做的工作就是找出受伤的原因及其对策。be to +不定式可以表示按计划、安排将要发生的 事情。come up with意为找到。
4.were able to:在此句中表示过去曾经做成某事，相当于succeeded in doing sth. 。
5.topple over：翻倒
6. ramming it into their abdomen:把它压入他们的腹部。ram sth. into sth.意为将某物压入、打入或填入某物。
练习：
1.According to the passage, some engineers are trying to improve the handlebars because
A they are not noble enough.
B they may kill children.
C they are likely to crash.
D they make the bike move at a low speed.
2.In paragraph 2，the author mentions a study of serious abdominal injuries A to discuss how abdominal injuries in children occur.
B to show that more than a third injuries were caused by bicycle accidents.
C to point out what the countermeasures can be.
D to tell us why Kristy Arbogast began the project.
3.Paragraph 3 mainly discusses
A why the children and their parents were interviewed.
B when the children turn the handlebars through 90 degrees.
C what causes the children to topple over.
D how serious injuries occur.
4.The passage implies that
A it is not easy to persuade manufacturers to adopt the new design.
B the team of engineers has not found any countermeasures.
C children like to ride bicycles at a very low speed.
D a lot of children were killed in bicycle accidents in the past 30 years.
5. In which of the following ways the handgrip work?
A It can be commercialized.
B It reduces the dangerous forces in bicycle accidents.
C It adds a few dollars to the cost of a bike.
D It changes the direction of the handlebars in an impact.
答案与题解：
1.B文章i开始处就讲，儿童骑慢车跌倒时，如果撞在车把两端，会受重伤甚至丧命。因此， 一些工程师正在重新设计这种欠合理的车把，以使其更安全。前面是因，后面是果。重新设计意味着试图改进。
2. D第二段讲Kristy Arbogast开始做这个项目是在一项研究有了结果之后，这项研究的结果 表明在过去的30年里，超过1/3的儿童腹部受重伤的情况起因于自行车事故。这个研究结 果是开始做项目的促动因素之一。
3. D第三段的第一个句子是这一段的主题句，它指出了这一段的中心：受重伤的机理。第二、 三、四个句子具体描述了这一机理。选项D与此相一致。
4.A这是一个推理题。从第四段的最后一个句子和第五段的第一个句子可以推出A，即说服 生产厂家釆纳新设计并非易事。根据第四段第一个句子，我们可以断定选项B是错的。选 项C的内容孩子们喜欢骑慢车无法从文章中推出。根据文章的开头，自行车事故致使 孩子们丧生只是一种可能性，我们无法就此推出选项D。
5.B此题问及握柄的工作原理。文章第四段第二个句子讲到，在撞击过程中，握柄上的弹簧 会吸收掉50%沿车把传递的冲撞力，据此，答案应该选B。
译文：自行车的危险
儿童骑慢车跌倒时，如果撞在车把两端，会受重伤甚至丧命。因此，一些工程师正在重新设计这 种欠合理的车把，以使其更安全。
宾夕法尼亚in费城的儿童医院的生物工程师Kristy Arbogast和她的同事开始做这个项目是在 一项研究有了结果之后，这项研究的结果表明在过去的30年里，超过1/3的儿童腹部受重伤的情况 起因于自行车事故。她说:要做的工作就是找出受伤的原因及其对策。
通过访问这些孩子和他们的家长，Arbogast和她的同事得以推想其中的许多事故，并且确认一 个共同的机械装置造成了这些严重伤害。他们发现大部分伤害发生在孩子慢速撞到某种使他们跌 倒的障碍物的时候。为了保持平衡，他们把车把转过90度但是他们的冲力使他们压进车把一 端中。然后车子摔倒,车把的另一头碰到地面，把它压入他们的腹部。
这个团队得出的解决方法是装有弹簧和减幅系统的手抦。在撞击过程中，握柄上的弹簧会吸收 掉50%沿车把传递的冲撞力。这个团队希望能够便这种装置商业化，这只需要自行车的价格提高 几美元。Arbogast说:但是我们的任务是教育，因为迄今为止，自行车制造商还没有意识到这个问 题。这个团队还通过美国消费产品安全委员会努力说服制造商采纳新设计。今年晚些时候可望有 所决定。