1.        Car accidents happen everywhere every day and are the main cause of injury in the United States. In order to control the increasing（增长） accidents, many states have passed tough laws. Also, car manufacturers（制造商） have been trying to make safer cars to save lives.
      However, as there are more and more cars and drivers on the road, these safety measure （安全措施）are not enough to stop the increasing car accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration （管理部门）reports that a car accident happens every 10 seconds in the United States.
      Car accidents may be caused by different reasons. Some accidents are caused by driver's tiredness and illness or drunk driving. Some may be caused by speeding or running a red light. When this happens, by the time the driver realizes what has happened, it is usually too late. As for ages, young drivers usually have enough experience while elderly drivers of react slowly. Mechanical defects （机械毛病）such as a broken brake（刹车） are another cause of car accidents. Poor road and weather conditions can also be a cause.
     Talking about different causes of car accidents can help us know what precautions（预防措施） to take beforehand. We should tell our friends or family members not to drive in poor health or after drinking wine. We should tell teenager drivers to be careful with road and weather conditions and let elderly friends understand their driving limitation(局限性)。Besides, we should have our car checked regularly（规律地）. The most important thing for us to remember, however, is that we should always follow the traffic rules.

1. （1） What has the government done to try to control the increasing car accidents?
   

   A . They try to make safer cars. B . They try to build more roads. C . They have passed tough traffic laws. D . They make drivers have their car examined every month.
3. （2） What does the underlined word” elderly” possibly mean?
   

   A . Middle-aged B . Young C . Rather old D . Teenage
5. （3） Which of the following causes is different from the other three?
   

   A . Tiredness B . Illness C . Drinking D . a broken brake
7. （4） Which has nothing to do with a driver's age?
   

   A . Teenager drivers. B . Not knowing the traffic rules. C . Reacting slowly D . Driving slowly.
9. （5） In order to avoid accidents caused by mechanical defects, we should ___________.
   

   A . not run a red light B . drive the car when we are in good health C . not drive when we are too old D . have our cars examined regularly