阅读理解

　　Today in schools, it's not unusual for students to sit in the same kinds of desks in the same kinds of classrooms as their parents did．

　　Schools have made progress by making use of computers and PDAs in the classroom, yet one design company believes that changes are needed, so they describe what a future classroom may look like．“Kids are being taught to sit at these wooden desks that are basically designed for writing,”said Mark Dziersk, the senior vice president of the design．“They're being lectured in a structured environment．”

　　The solution is a“customizable(按顾主的意思制造的)education system”called Gooru that reorganizes the classroom and replaces books, desks, pens, and so on．The three-part technology system consists of an interactive PDA called the GooBall, a backpack and a removable LCD screen for each student．Students can Sit, stand or lie down when using the devices, and are not limited to desks．

　　The idea was presented at last month's South by Southwest Interactive Conference．While some educators think the idea is interesting, they doubt whether schools will pay for the expensive and complicated system．

　　The GooBall is a co-operative communication device with six layers of learning software．The device monitors a student's heart rate and body temperature and uses GPS(Global Position System)to track where they are．It includes instant messaging, a compass, a watch, and a topic-specific quick-thinking system that directs a student to related articles and books about whatever they are studying．Students can also choose an animal painting to show their personality．The backpack provides the main power supply for the system and holds some personal items．The pocket keeps items locked tight with a fingerprint security zipper． The portable screen functions like a laptop, providing wireless Internet access and streaming video．It also has a touch screen surface．

　　“I think it's an excellent idea,”said Gary Tankard, a sixth-grader who has seen the prototype(原型)．“I'm sure that 90 percent of kids would really like to have it．”

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　　Although new laws have been passed in some American states to cut down on distracted(分心的)driving, many accidents and deaths were still related with it, especially using cell phones while driving．Recently the Obama administration is considering disabling cell phones in cars．aiming to cut down cell-phone-related road deaths．

　　Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the nation's anti-distracted-driving supporter, said in an interview on November 18 that federal officials are looking at technology to disable cell phones inside cars．

　　“I think it will be done, ”LaHood said。“I think the technology is there and I think you're going to see the technology become adaptable in automobiles to disable these cell phones．We need to do a lot more if we were going to save lives．”

　　Also on Thursday, the transportation government started a new “Faces of Distracted Driving” video campaign that features people who have been killed or lost their loved ones because of inattentive drivers．The video features heartbreaking stories of children killed in crashes because of phoning or text messaging, and new videos are expected to be added every few weeks．

　　A driver is four times more likely to crash while using a mobile phone．More than 5,500 people were killed last year by distracted drivers, and another 500, 000 were injured．LaHood has said it is never safe to talk on a cell phone while driving, hands-free or not．because it can really cause distraction．

　　Incidentally．a 1ot of people seem to agree with this viewpoint－a new research shows nearly two-thirds of Americans support a national ban on the use of cell phones while driving, even if the driver is using a hands-free device(装置)．But the research didn't ask how people feel about government-issued mobile phone scramblers or other disabling devices。