The Intelligent Transport team at Newcastle University have turned an electric car into a mobile laboratory named “DriveLAB” in order to understand the challenges faced by older drivers and to discover where the key stress points are.
纽卡斯尔大学的智能交通团队将一辆电动车改造成了一个名为“DriveLAB”的移动实验室，以便了解老年驾驶员面临的挑战，并发现主要的压力点在哪里。

Research shows that giving up driving is one of the key reasons for a fall in health and well-being among older people, leading to them becoming more isolated(隔绝) and inactive.
研究表明，放弃驾驶是老年人健康和福祉下降的主要原因之一，导致他们变得更加孤立和不活跃。

Led by Professor Phil Blythe, the Newcastle team are developing in-vehicle technologies for older drivers which they hope could help them to continue driving into later life.
在Phil Blythe教授的领导下，纽卡斯尔团队正在为老年驾驶员开发车内技术，他们希望这些技术能帮助老年人继续驾驶到晚年。

These include custom-made navigation(导航) tools, night vision systems and intelligent speed adaptations. Phil Blythe explains: “For many older people, particularly those living alone or in the country, driving is important for preserving their independence, giving them the freedom to get out and about without having to rely on others.”
这些技术包括定制的导航工具、夜视系统和智能速度调整。Phil Blythe解释说：“对于许多老年人来说，尤其是那些独居或居住在农村的人，驾驶对于保持他们的独立性很重要，让他们有自由外出，不必依赖他人。”

“But we all have to accept that as we get older our reactions slow down and this often results in people avoiding any potentially challenging driving conditions and losing confidence in their driving skills. The result is that people stop driving before they really need to.”
“但我们必须接受，随着年龄的增长，我们的反应会变慢，这通常导致人们避免任何可能具有挑战性的驾驶条件，并失去对驾驶技能的信心。结果是，人们在真正需要之前就停止了驾驶。”

Dr Amy Guo, the leading researcher on the older driver study, explains, “The DriveLAB is helping us to understand what the key points and difficulties are for older drivers and how we might use technology to address these problems.
Dr Amy Guo，老年驾驶员研究的主要研究员解释说：“DriveLAB正在帮助我们了解老年驾驶员的主要难点和困难是什么，以及我们如何可能利用技术来解决这些问题。”

“For example, most of us would expect older drivers always go slower than everyone else but surprisingly, we found that in 30mph zones they struggled to keep at a constant speed and so were more likely to break the speed limit and be at risk of getting fined. We’re looking at the benefits of systems which control their speed as a way of preventing that.
“例如，我们大多数人会认为老年驾驶员总是比其他人开得慢，但令人惊讶的是，我们发现在30英里每小时的区域内，他们很难保持恒定的速度，因此更有可能超速并被罚款。我们正在研究控制他们速度的系统的益处，以防止这种情况发生。”

“We hope that our work will help with technological solutions(解决方案) to ensure that older drivers stay safer behind the wheel.”
“我们希望我们的工作将有助于提供技术解决方案，确保老年驾驶员在驾驶时更加安全。”

1. What is the purpose of the Drivel AB?
   A.To explore newmeans of transport.
   B.To design new types of cars.
   C.To find out older driver`s problems.
   D.To teach people traffic rules.
   答案：C

2. Why is driving important for older people according to Phil Blythe?
   A.It keeps them independent.
   B.It helps them save time.
   C.It builds up their strength.
   D.It cures their mental illnesses.
   答案：A

3. What do researchers hope to do for older drivers?
   A.Improve their driving skills.
   B.Develop driver-assist technologles.
   C.Provide tips on repairing their cars.
   D.Organize regular physical checkups.
   答案：B

4. What is the best title for the text?
   A.A new Model Electric Car
   B.A Solution to Traffic Problem
   C.Driving Service for elders
   D.Keeping Older Drivers on the Road
   答案：D