Why aren't seat belts required on all school buses?

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难词探意

1. rollover /΄rəʊləʊvə(r)/ n. 翻车；倾翻

2. compartmentalization /kəmˌpɑːtˌmεntəˌlaɪ΄zeɪʃən/ n. 隔间化；区室化

3. mandate /΄mændeɪt/ v. （政府或组织等经选举而获得的）授权；（政府的）任期

In general, parents and lawmakers alike seem pretty content to let children take school buses every day without giving much thought to the fact that those same kids would be firmly buckled up if they were riding in a car.In fact, for many of the younger and smaller kids, regular seat belts wouldn't even be sufficient in a car. They'd have to have the additional protection of a car seat.

Today's school buses have been designed for better crash androlloverprotection. They protect kids through “compartmentalization” which means spacing seats close together, as well as using seats with high and energy-absorbing backs to prevent children from being tossed around in a collision.

Unfortunately, though, deadly school bus crashes happened. Such was the case in November 2016 when a crash in Chattanooga,Tennessee killed six elementary school students.After another deadly school bus crash in May 2018 in Morris County,New Jersey,killed two including a child,and injured 43 others, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened a full investigation into school bus safety.

The NTSB's report concluded that to provide the best protection for all students of large school buses, the remaining step is for each state to require the seat belts in all new large school buses.

But today seat belts are only federallymandatedon small school buses, or those weighing 10,000 pounds (4,535 kilograms)or less.Currently only eight states have laws requiring seat belts on large school buses, though many others are considering similar legislation.

The number of lives that could be saved every year wouldn't be huge, and some opponents say adding belts is simply not worth the cost,which is estimated to be between $7,000 and $11,000 per bus.

Since most school buses are on the road for at least 10 and often up to 20 years, it's unlikely schools would choose to update older buses at that cost, which means it would potentially take decades for new legislation requiring seat belts to take effect as new buses slowly replace older ones.

As for now, it's unclear whether federal standards will change, but states are still free to set tougher restrictions as they see fit.

Reading Check

1. What can we know about the safety of the school buses?

A. Deadly school bus crashes still happen.

B. Parents and lawmakers are satisfied with the present situation.

C. Enough seat belts have been put in all new large school buses.

D. Putting spacing seats close together can ensure the safety completely.

2. What is the conclusion of the NTSB's report?

A. The best protection should be made for small school buses.

B. Laws should be made to guarantee seat belts on all school buses.

C. Full investigation should be conducted to replace older buses immediately.

D. The seat belts in all new large school buses should be required in each state.

3. Why are some people against adding belts?

A. It will cost too much to add belts.

B. It's difficult to change federal standards.

C. It still takes 10 years to replace older buses.

D. It's impossible for states to make stricter laws.

4. Where is the text most likely from?

A. A diary. B. A guidebook. C. A novel. D. A website.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

As for now, it's unclear whether federal standards will change, but states are still free to set tougher restrictions as they see fit.

【信息提取】本句中，it's unclear whether意为“目前还不清楚……”；这是一个主语从句，需注意的是，根据语义，unclear后面一般用从属连词whether而不是that。

【句式仿写】不知道我下次考试能不能表现得更好。