过马路时发短信是违法的 Texting and walking made illegal

Hello and welcome to 6 minute English. My name is Neil and with me today is Rosie.
欢迎收听BBC六分钟英语栏目。我是尼尔，今天来到我们节目的还有罗西。
Hi there.
大家好。
Now Rosie, are you one of those people who walks down the road while trying to send a text message?
罗西，你属于那种走马路时还试图发短信的人吗？
Of course! I do it all the time.
当然是！我一直都这样做。
And have you ever had an accident because you haven’t been looking where you are going?
你曾因为没有看清方向而发生意外吗？
Funnily enough, yes! This happened to me only the other day.
说起来真怪，是的！前几天这件事就发生在我身上了。
Well the reason I was asking is that one town in America thinks that walking and texting has become such a problem that they have made it illegal!
我问这个的原因是，在美国一个小镇走路时发短信已成为一个违法的问题。
No way!
不可能！
But before we get onto that, I have a quiz question about strange but true laws which exist in the UK. Which one of these three is NOT a real law?a) It’s illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour.b) A pregnant woman can go to the toilet anywhere she wants.c) It’s illegal to speak French in front of a dog.
但在我们进入这个话题之前，我首先提问一个奇怪的有关英国存在的真实法律的问题。下面3个选项中哪个不是真正的法律？a)穿着盔甲进入议会大厦是非法的。b）孕妇可在任何一个地方上厕所。c）在狗面前讲法语是非法的。
Well they all sound completely ridiculous, but I am going to go for c).
它们听起来都很荒谬，但我想选c）。
We’ll hear the answer at the end of the programme. Now, back to our story about texting and walking. It’s illegal to text and drive at the same time in some countries, such as the UK and the USA, but this town in New Jersey is the first to ban texting while walking.
我们将在节目最后揭晓答案。现在，让我们回到发短信和步行的话题。在一些国家，驾车时发短信是违法的，如在美国、英国，但新泽西的这个城镇是第一个禁止步行时发短信的地方。
But it doesn’t apply to people who are walking down a pavement, or sidewalk as they say in America. It only applies to people who are walking down a road. This is known as jaywalking.
但这并不适用于行走在人行道上的人。这仅适用于那些行走在马路上的人们。这被称为乱穿马路。
So how much is the fine? Let’s listen to the first part of the report by the BBC’s Leana Hosea.
那么罚款是多少呢？让我们听听BBC记者霍齐亚报告的第一部分。
A town in New Jersey in the United States has started issuing eighty-five dollar fines to people they see texting whilst crossing the road. Thomas Ripoli is chief of the Fort Lee Police Department and he says he hopes the new law will reduce the number of accidents.
在美国新泽西的一个小镇，已经开始实行向过马路时发短信的人们收取85美元罚款。托马斯是李堡警局局长，他表示他希望这项新法律可以减少事故数量。
So Rosie, how much is the fine for jaywalking and texting?
那么罗西，乱穿马路发短信罚款多少钱呢？
It’s 85 dollars, which is a really expensive text message! But the chief of police is hopeful that the new law will reduce the number of accidents.
85美元，这真是一条昂贵的短信！但警察局长希望这项新法律将减少交通事故的数量。
Well, let’s face it, it is pretty dangerous to cross a road while texting as you’re not always looking at what’s coming – it’s easy to miss a car.
好吧，让我们正视它，当过马路时发短信是相当危险的，因为你无法察觉即将发生的事，你很容易无法发现有一辆车。
Yes, and there are other dangerous things which can happen whilst texting.
是的，当发短信时还可能发生其它危险的事情。
For example you could trip over... or bump into someone… Listen to our next clip to hear about a danger that is not quite so obvious. It involves an animal.Can you hear which one it is? Here’s the BBC’s Leana Hosea.
例如你可能会绊倒...或撞到某人...让我们听下一片段，去听听一个不是如此明显的危险。这涉及一只动物。看看你能听出是那种动物吗？下面让我们听听BBC霍齐亚的报道。
There have been some eye-catching videos which have gone viral showing people distracted while on a mobile phone. Recently in Los Angeles an 180-kilo black bear had wandered down into a residential area from the nearby forest. Aerial footage shows a man, who was apparently texting his boss to tell him he was running late for work and didn’t notice the bear lumbering down the street towards him until he was just a couple of metres away. He looked up from his phone and immediately turned and ran away as fast as he could.
一些像病毒般扩散的引人注目的视频显示人们用手机时会分心。最近在洛杉矶，一个重达180公斤的黑熊游荡至一个居民区附近的森林。空拍画面显示，一个男人显然正在向老板发短信说他工作迟到了，但他没有注意到熊正沿着路笨重缓慢地向他走来，直到他离熊几米远他才发现。他将视线从手机上移开，即刻尽快的跑掉了。
Oh my word! So a man was texting and walking down the street. He was texting his boss to tell him he was late for work…
我的天哪！所以这名男子在马路上行走时正在发短信。他给老板发短信说他上班迟到了...
But he didn’t see a bear lumbering down the street towards him. Lumbering means the bear was walking in a slow, heavy way.
但他没有发现一只熊正沿着路向他笨重缓慢地走来。lumber的意思是熊走的很慢，很笨重。
He finally saw the bear when it was just a few metres away and then he immediately ran away as fast as he could! The bear had wandered into a residential area - an area where people live.
他最终在离熊几米远时发现了熊，然后即刻尽快跑掉了！这只熊游荡进一个居民区——人们生活的区域。
He’s not the only one to have suffered due to texting and walking. In this final clip, we can hear about two other women who literally fell into something because they weren’t watching where they were going while texting. Can you hear what?
他不是唯一一个由于步行发短信遭受事故的人。在最后片段中，我们能听到两名女性分别因走路时发短信没有看路掉而进了某处。你能听到什么呢？
In China a teenage girl who was walking and talking on her mobile phone plunged six metres down a sinkhole in the street, after failing to notice caution signs. Another video shows a woman in a shopping mall who fell into a water fountain because she was distracted from texting.
在中国，一个十几岁的女孩走路时用手机聊天结果跌落进街道上6米深的深坑，因为她未能注意到警示标志。另一个视频中显示一名女子在购物中心时因发短信分心而掉入喷泉。
So, Rosie, where did they fall?
罗西，她们掉落到了哪里？
A teenage girl in China plunged – or fell - six metres down a sinkhole. A sinkhole is a large hole in the ground which a river flows into.
中国一名十几岁的女孩跌进一个6米深的污水坑中。sinkhole是指地面上河流流入的大洞。
And the other one fell into a water fountain in a shopping mall! Well, the more I hear about these accidents the less strange this new law in America sounds. And talking about strange laws reminds me that it’s time to answer our quiz question. I asked which one of these three is NOT a real law?a) It’s illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour.b) A pregnant woman can go to the toilet anywhere she wants.c) It’s illegal to speak French in front of a dog.
另一个人落入购物中心的喷泉中！我听到的事故越多越觉得美国的新法律并没有那么奇怪。谈论奇怪的法律让我想起是时候回答测试问题了。下面3个选项中哪个不是真正的法律？a)穿着盔甲进入议会大厦是非法的。b）孕妇可在任何一个地方上厕所。c）在狗面前讲法语是非法的。
I said it was c).
我选择了c）。
And you were right.
你的答案是正确的。
Time now for a quick recap of some of the words we’ve heard today.
让我们快速回忆一下今天听到的词汇吧。
sidewalk
人行道
jaywalking
乱穿马路
lumbering
笨拙地移动
residential area
居民区
plunged
掉进
sinkhole
污水坑
water fountain
喷泉
Join us again for more 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English!
欢迎继续收听BBC六分钟英语栏目！
Goodbye!
再见！