A Red Light for Scofflaws
给轻微违法行为亮红灯 1
take liberties with: misinterpret; treat something freely, without strict obrvance of the fact (随意对待) behave in a bold or impolite way towards，
2．Outlaw litter：unlawful stewing (a place) with rubbish
3.illicit noi：very loud noi which is not permitted
4. motorized anarchy：disorder or chaos created by motorists
5. take to: to be plead by or attracted to; begin to do sth. as a regular habit
6.dereliction：deliberate eglect；a tendency to be negligent ;
7.exempt from: not affected or bound by (=excud)
8.flurry: porfusion.abundance; great quantity
9.ordinance老师表扬了我: authoritative law，command or order; a regulation
10. pot smoker：One who smokes marijuana.大麻烟客
11. duck out of: avoid doing, esp. by making an excu (=back out)
12.fare beater：one who evades paying the fare on a public vehicle. “Beat” is U.S. slang meaning “cheat”
13. public nuisance：sth. offensive to the community, esp. in violation of others’ legal rights
14.toss-up：the tossing-up of a coin to decide something by its fall
15. mortal peril：danger that caus or is liable to cau death
16. brazen: shameless.
17.skirt： ignore; avoid; evade
未来的交通工具
18.subvert: destroy the power and influence
19．nullify: make ineffective; invalidate
Law-and-order is the longest-running and probably the best-loved political issue in U.S. history. Yet it is painfully apparent that millions of Americans who would never think of themlves as lawbreakers, let alone criminals, are taking increasing liberties with the legal codes that are designed to protect and nourish their society.
法律和秩序，可以说是美国历史上历时最久、或许还是人们最爱谈论的政治问题。然而，说来痛心，显然有成百万从来没有想过自己会违法——更不用说犯罪——的美国人，对于遵守那些旨在保护和维持他们的社会的法律条文，却愈来愈表现得放肆起来。
Indeed, there are moments today — amid outlaw litter, tax cheating, illicit noi and motorized anarchy — when it ems as though the scofflaw reprents the wave of the future. Harvard Sociologist David Riesman suspects that a majority of Americans have blithely taken to committing suppodly minor derelictions as a matter of cour. Already,
Riesman says, the ethic of U.S. society is in danger of becoming this: “You're a fool if you obey the rules.”
今天，随处乱扔拉圾、逃税、违禁噪音，以及开汽车的无序状态，真是比比皆是；有时简直使人觉得，践踏法令者似乎代表了未来的潮流。哈佛大学的社会学者戴维•里斯曼认为，大多数美国人木加越念什么都不以为然、毫无顾忌地喜欢犯些所谓的小过失。里期曼说，今天美国社会的道德规范已差不多快变成“谁守法谁就是傻瓜”了。
Nothing could be more obvious than the evidence supporting Riesman. Scofflaws abound in amazing variety.The graffiti-prone turn public surfaces into visual rubbish. Bicyclists often ride as though two-wheeled vehicles are exempt from all traffic laws. Litterbugs convert their communities into trash dumps.
里斯曼的论断，随处都可得到极为充分的证实。玩忽法令者形形色色，令人吃惊。喜欢在公共场所乱涂乱写的人，把这些地方弄得满目疮痍。骑自行车无拘无束，仿佛两轮车就可以不遵守交通规则似的。随处乱扔拉圾的人把他们的居住区变成了拉圾堆。抗日战争纪念馆
曰的组词Widespread flurries of ordinances have failed to clear public places of high-decibel portable radios, just as earlier laws failed to wipe out the beer-soaked hooliganism that plagues many parks.Tobacco addicts remain hopelessly blind to signs that say NO SMOKING. Respectably dresd pot smokers no longer bother to duck out of public sight to pass around a joint. The flagrant u of cocaine is a festering scandal in middle and upper-class life. And then there are (hello, everybody!) the jaywalkers.
到处张贴的禁令，也未能使公共场所免于手提收音机的高分贝噪音的污染，正如早先颁布禁令，禁止喝饱啤酒的流氓滋扰公园，竟毫无作用一样。烟草瘾君子对那些“禁止吸烟”的布告牌熟视无睹。衣冠楚楚的大麻烟客传递毒品也不再躲躲闪闪，避人耳目。可卡因毒品泛滥，成了中上层社会中愈来愈恼人勤于思考的丑闻。当然，还有那些不遵守交通规则，乱穿马路的人乡村的作文。
The dangers of scofflawry vary widely. The person who illegally spits on the sidewalk remains disgusting, but clearly pos less risk to others than the company that illegally buries hazardous chemical waste in an unauthorized location. The fare beater on the sub
way prents less threat to life than the landlord who ignores fire safety statutes. The most immediately and measurably dangerous scofflawry, however, also happens to be the most visible.
湖南食品践踏法令的危害有轻有重。在人行道上随地吐痰，当然是令人讨厌的；但与那些大工厂在非指定地点违法掩埋危险的化学废料的作法相比，其对公众的危害则要小多了。乘地铁不买票，当然不会像房东老板无视防火安全条文那样会危及人的生命安全。然而正是这些极常见的践踏法令行为的危害却最直接最明显。
The culprit is the American driver, who lawless activities today add up to a colossal public nuisance.The hazards range from routine double parking that jams city streets to the drunk driving that kills some 25,000 people and injures at least 650,000 others yearly. Illegal speeding on open highways? New surveys show that on some interstate highways 83% of all drivers are currently ignoring the federal 55 mph speed limit.
罪魁祸首要算那些无法无天的美国司机，其所做所为积累成今天的巨大公害。这种危害包括致使交通阻塞的常见的路边双排停车和导致每年车祸死亡 25,000 人、受伤至少 65 万人
的酒后开车。高速公路上超速行驶的情况又是怎样呢 ? 据近期统计，某些州际高速公路上，有83%的司机们都常常无视联邦政府关于最高时速 55 英里的限速规定。
The most flagrant scofflaw of them all is the red-light runner. The flouting of stop signals has got so bad in Boston that residents tell an anecdote about a cabby who insists that red lights are “ just for decoration ” .The power of the stoplight to control traffic ems to be waning everywhere. In Los Angeles, red-light running has become perhaps the city's most common traffic violation.
