Passage # 48-50 Despite the recent pair of fatal crashes involving self-driving cars, there’s wide
agreement that autonomous vehicles will sharply reduce the number of people who
die in motor vehicle accidents. In the U.S. alone, traffic accidents claim more than
30,000 lives a year; experts say that by the middle of this century, that toll could fall
by up to 90 percent. Eventually, driverless cars will take human motorists out of the equation entirely.
When that happens, fewer traffic fatalities will be only the most obvious
consequence. Because automobiles are so central to our society and national
economy — and so much a part of everyday life — the switch to autonomous
vehicles is likely to alter our lives in strange and remarkable ways. Driverless cars will bring big changes to city infrastructure. Since driverless cars
will move with greater precision than human-driven vehicles, streets could be
narrower, with more space set aside for pedestrians and cyclists, according to a
report issued last fall by the National Association of City Transportation Officials. Crossing the street may be easier, too. With driverless cars watching out for
pedestrians, people may be able to cross the streets where it makes sense, rather
than trek a mile to the nearest stoplight. Driverless cars will also make for safer
intersections, and perhaps even do away with traffic lights, which, of course, came
about before cars themselves knew how to avoid collisions. With more cars spending more of their time on the road rather than parked,
there will be less need for parking lots and parking garages. That could free up space
for other uses, including parks. Driverless cars promise to transform the lives of people who have trouble
getting around because of illness, old age, or disability. For “all those folks, this is
basically a dream come true,” an engineer says of a world in which driverless cars are
ubiquitous. 【題組】50. What is the tone of the writer of the article?
(A) pessimistic (B) optimistic
(C) ironical (D) skeptical
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