Watch out for the iPod zombies. Cyclists distracted by music blaring in their ears have become the latest menace on Britain’s roads.
要小心iPod殭屍。因耳中震耳欲聾音樂而分心的單車族，已成英國最新交通大患。
The fashion for cyclists to wear earphones on crowded city streets is being held partly responsible for the recent upsurge in cycling injuries and deaths, as well as collisions with pedestrians.
單車族在擁擠的城市街道中戴耳機的時尚，被認為要為近來騎單車受傷及致死，還有撞到行人的事件急劇上升，負起部份責任。
Road safety groups are alarmed at the practice and this weekend Edmund King, the president of the AA, called on the Department for Transport （DfT） to launch a campaign warning cyclists of the risk.
道路安全團體對這種行為感到擔憂，英國汽車協會主席埃德蒙．金恩本週末呼籲運輸部發起活動向單車族警告這種風險。
The latest DfT figures show that 820 cyclists were killed or seriously injured in the three months to June, a 19% rise on the same period in 2008. It is not known how many of these cases were caused by people listening to music because the DfT and the police do not record the information.
運輸部最新數據顯示，6月為止的3個月裡，英國有820名單車族喪生或重傷，比2008年同期增加19%，不清楚這其中多少是民眾聽音樂造成，因運輸部與警方沒有記錄相關資訊。
There is currently no legislation in place to govern either the use of music players or the wearing of helmets on the road, but cyclists can be prosecuted for dangerous riding — an offence that attracts a maximum penalty of £2,500.
騎車使用音樂播放器或戴耳罩，目前無法可管，但單車族可依危險駕駛罪名起訴，最高可罰2500英鎊。
新聞辭典 Dictionary
watch out for：片語，密切注意、留神。例句：Watch out for the dog! （小心那條狗！）
upsurge：名詞， 急劇上升；飆升；猛增。例句：The upsurge of the oil price is incredible. （油價的高漲讓人咋舌。）
pedestrian：名詞，指行人。pedestrian也可當形容詞用，指平淡無奇或乏味的。例句：Twice I took pedestrian jobs to keep us going.（我有兩次找了份乏味的差事來維持我們的生計。）
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