On the night of May 9, 2011, musician Gao Xiaosong ran his car into three other cars in Beijing.
But it wasn’t just a car accident—he was drunk(喝醉的).
Now, Gao has to go to prison (监狱) for six months and pay a 4,000 yuan fine.
Gao is the first star to be punished under China’s new drunk driving law.
From May 1 on, drunk drivers will pay a fine, and be banned from driving for five years or even forever.
Drunk driving has become a serious social problem in China.
According to the Ministry of Public Security (公安部), police caught more than half a million drunk drivers last year, a 68 % increase from 2009.
The new law sees drunk driving as a crime.
In the West, drunk driving is also a crime.
In the US, for example, if the police catch a drunk driver, the driver will pay a fine, lose his or her license (驾照) and even go to prison. If the driver wants to drive again, he or she must do
public service, and take part in educational programs.
You may think: drunk driving is a crime? Isn’t this law too unkind? But experts say: not at all.
“It is to protect people’s rights to life and health,” Li Gang, lawyer in Chengdu, told China Daily. “Drunk driving is very dangerous. No matter what the results are, it should not be allowed.”
小题1: Mr. Gao ran his car into three other cars because _________.
A. he went home too late
B. he drank too much wine
C. the road was too crowded
小题2: What does the underlined word “fine” in the third paragraph refer to(指)?
A. Health. B. Weather. C. Money.
小题3:When did the new law come into use?
A. May 1, 2010. B. May 1, 2011. C. May 9, 2011.
小题4:What do experts think of the new law?
A. Drunk driving is a crime.
B. The law is not kind to drunk drivers.
C. Driving has become a serious problem.
小题5: Which of the following sentence is TRUE?
A. Li Gang from Chengdu doesn’t like the law.
B. In the US, drunk drivers will only lose their licenses.
C. There were more drunk drivers in 2010 than in 2009.
