真に健全で個性豊かな人間教育の樹立

学校法人 武南学園 武南高等学校

英検2級長文問題 ネイティブ音声付

2020/06/20

英検2級の長文問題です。ネイティブによる音声もあります。

fewer rules, more safety

     As the number of cars increases each year, the roads in our towns and cities become more crowded and dangerous. For some time, governments have been searching for ways to solve this problem. The traditional approach has been to try to control both drivers and nondrivers. Traffic lights, speed limits, and signs are used to make drivers drive more carefully, while fences and pedestrian crossings are used to control where people cross the road. Now, however, a new movement is challenging this traditional approach to traffic safety.

     The movement began in the Netherlands, where traffic engineers discovered that the best way to increase road safety was to decrease the number of rules. One of the pioneers of this movement, Hans Monderman, redesigned a busy intersection in the town of Drachten which about 20,000 cars pass through each day. The intersection had become so dangerous that pedestrians and cyclists avoided it. Monderman decided to make the intersection into a "shared space" that could be used freely by cars, cyclists, and pedestrians. He removed all signs and traffic lights. 

     The result was that drivers began to slow down and watch out for other people. The number of accidents fell ― yet the average time that it took to cross the town remained the same. This was because drivers did not have to wait for traffic lights to change, so fewer traffic jams built up. British traffic expert Ben Hamilton-Baillie points out that the new approach works because it makes drivers more cautious. A driver driving through a crowded campsite, for example, is very unlikely to have an accident because he or she will drive slowly and carefully. The same applies to the new shared spaces.

     These Dutch experiments have worked so well that they are now being copied across the world. Improving traffic safety, however, is not the only aim of supporters of the movement. They also want to emphasize that roads are for everyone to use, not just for the drivers of cars. By treating drivers and nondrivers equally, they hope to encourage the development of a more cooperative attitude toward public spaces among all the residents of a town.

(1) What is one way that governments have traditionally tried to make roads safer?

1 They have tried to reduce the number of cars on the road.

2 They have suggested that pedestrians walk more carefully.

3 They have created more places for people to cross the road.

4 They have used speed limits to make drivers drive more carefully.

 

(2) How did Hans Monderman try to make the intersection in Drachten safer?

1 By taking away the signs and traffic lights.

2 By encouraging cyclists and pedestrians to avoid it.

3 By allowing people to put up their own signs in the area.

4 By decreasing the number of roads that drivers could use.

 

(3) It is believed that shared spaces are effective because

1 the traffic lights there change much faster than before.

2 they are less expensive for cars, cyclists, and pedestrians.

3 drivers pay more attention to others when driving through them.

4 people are more cautious when they are driving fast.

 

(4) What is one of the aims of the new movement?

1 To prevent drivers from using their cars.

2 To change the way people think about public spaces.

3 To encourage people to cooperate more with drivers.

4 To persuade people to move back to town centers.

 

(5) Which of the following is true?

1 The new movement was first started by Dutch traffic engineers.

2 Monderman's system has been criticized for its effect on pedestrians.

3 Supporters of the movement hope that it will lead to less use of cars.

4 Drivers tend to drive more quickly through shared spaces.

 

 

 

問題 pdf  (158KB)