阅读理解。
Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is in for an unwelcome surprise.
The car is fitted with a remote immobilizer (远程控制器) and a radio signal from a control center miles away
will make sure that once the thief turns the engine off, he will not be able to start it again.
The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cell phone, a micro-processor and
memory and a GPS satellite positioning receiver. If the car is stolen, a coded (编码的) cell phone signal will tell
the control center to block the vehicle's engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted.
In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves. "The pattern of vehicle crime
has changed," says Martyr Randall, a security expert. He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a
person how to steal a car, using a minimum of tools, but only if the car is more than 10 years old.
Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won't allow them to start unless
they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition (点火) key. In the UK, technologies like this have
helped to achieve a 31% drop in vehicle crime since 1997.
But determined thieves are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting hold of the owner's
keys. And key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system.
If the car travels 100 meters without the driver conforming (一致) the ID, the system will send a signal to
an operation center that it has been stolen. The 100-meter minimum avoids false alarm be- cause of some
possible errors of the GPS signal.
Staff at the center will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing and keep the police
informed of the vehicle's movements via the car's GPS unit.
1. What's the function of the remote immobilizer fitted to the car? [ ]
A. To help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief.
B. To order the car to lock automatically when stolen.
C. To prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops.
D. To send a radio signal to inform the car owner of the theft.
2. The underlined sentence "The pattern of vehicle crime has changed" suggests that ____. [ ]
A. it takes less time for the car thief to do the stealing
B. many self-prepared too]s can be used for car theft
C. the theft becomes more difficult because of modern technology
D. the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old
3. ____ is essential in making a modern car tougher to steal.[ ]
A. A micro-processor
B. A special ID code
C. A special cell phone
D. A GPS satellite positioning receiver
4. Why does the tracking system set a 100-meter minimum before sending an alarm to the operation center? [ ]
A. To leave time for the operation center to give an alarm.
B. To keep the police informed of the car's movement.
C. To give the driver time to contact the operation center.
D. To allow for possible mistakes in the GPS system.
5. What will the operation center do first after receiving an alarm?[ ]
A. Start the tracking system.
B. Stop the engine.
C. Contact the owner.
D. Locate the missing car.
