Cell Phones Increase Traffic, Pedestrian Fatalities
Cell phones are a danger on the road in more ways than one. Two new studies show that talking on the phone while traveling, whether youre driving or on foot, is increasing both pedestrian deaths and those of drivers and passengers, and recommend crackdowns on cell1 use by both pedestrians and drivers.
These studies looked at cell phone use and motor vehicle accidents from 1975 through 2002, and factored in4 a number of variables, including vehicle speed, alcohol consumption, seat belt use, and miles driven. The studies found the cell phone-fatality correlation to be true even when including factors such as speed, alcohol consumption, and seat belt use.
However, this was not the case when cells were first used in the mid-1980s, when they caused a life-taking effect among pedestrians, drivers and passengers in vehicles. In those early days, when there were fewer than a million phones, fatalities increased, says Loeb, because drivers and pedestrians probably were still adjusting to the novelty of using them, and there werent enough cell phones in use to make a difference in summoning help following an accident, he explains.
Loeb and his co-authors used econometric models to analyze data from a number of government and private studies. He and his co-authors recommend that governments consider more aggressive policies to reduce cell phone use by both drivers and pedestrians, to reduce the number of fatalities.
crackdown n.制裁，严惩 outweigh v.超过 fatality n.死亡者 econometric adj.计量经济的
注释：
The new studies, lead-authored by Rutgers University, Newark, Economics Professor Peter D. Loeb ...第一作者为罗格斯大学纽瓦克分校的经济学教授 Peter D. Loeb 的新研究成果lead-author：第一作者;lead-authored 为动词的过去分 词形式，具有被动意义。罗格斯大学纽瓦克分校是美国新泽西州最负盛名的文理学院。
factored in：包括，把计算在内。
was canceled out：被抵消。
The two new studies, lead-authored by Professor Peter D. Loeb
B show that talking on the phone while driving increases pedestrian deaths.
D both A and C.
A Right after cell phones were invented.
C When cell phone users totaled to a certain number.
What is said about cell phone use in paragraph 4?
B The number of traffic deaths was reduced in the late 1980s and part of the 1990s due to cell phone use.
D The use of cell phones has a life-saving effect for pedestrians and drivers.
A It had a life-taking effect because there werent enough cell phones in use then.
C Traffic fatalities increased then because the number of cell phones in use decreased.
Which of the following statements DOES NOT answer the question What caused the life-saving effect to occur in the early 1990s?
B The number of cell phone users reached about 100 million.
D Cell phones enabled people to have quick access to 911 services.
D 根据短文第一段的内容，Loeb 教授的最新研究发现，开车或行路时打手机使司机和行 路人的死亡率上升，并建议采取严厉措施限制司机和行路人使用手机。B 是错误理解， 因为只有行路人被提到。
B A 是错误选择，因为该段的第四个句子 In the late 1980s and part of the 1990s, before the numbers of phones exploded, ...表明。手机数量在 80 年代末期和 90 年 代早期还未激增。C 的表述内容没有在文章中提到。句子cell phone use actually had a life-saving effect用的是过去式，说的是发生在 80 年代末期和 90 年代早 期的事情，而 D 句用的是一般现在时，表示通常的状况，所以是错误的选择。
B第六段最后一个句子说，当手机使用者数量达到 100 万时，life-saving effect 就被 抵消了，life-saving effect 超过了手机使用者能迅速呼叫 911 服务的优点。所以，B 不是问题的答案。其他选项都表述了该段的内容。