2023届高考英语三轮冲刺复习外刊阅读训练 (4)

2023届高考英语三轮复习·冲刺押题 外刊阅读理解训练4 ——改编自Driverless cars ready for hire in suburban Beijing 【文章】 Intelligent transport has taken a significant leap forward in suburban Beijing with the introduction of fully driverless taxis. The Chinese tech company Baidu and the autonomous vehicle start-up Pony.ai have been granted licenses to operate robotaxi services without a human driver present. Previously, all robotaxis had to have a human operator in case of emergency. However, both companies have now deployed 10 autonomous vehicles each in a 60 square-kilometer area in Yizhuang, the southern suburb of Beijing. This is a new chapter in intelligent mobility, whereby the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning and sensor technologies allow self-driving cars to navigate through complex urban environments on its own. Baidu and Pony.ai's deployment of driverless taxis is just the beginning. Baidu expects to expand its autonomous ride-hailing services across 65 cities in 2025 before further increasing deployment to 100 cities by 2030, according to forecasts from IHS Markit, global consultancy. As part of this expansion, the companies will be integrating the taxi system with passenger flow information. This means that people who need to travel can quickly check the location and time of a taxi within their neighbourhood. While these developments are exciting for many in China and beyond, questions abound over how these self-driving taxis are regulated. Moreover, skeptics argue that privately-owned electric vehicles with relatively high levels of safety features will remain more cost-effective in the long run than car-sharing services such as robotaxis. Nonetheless, the emergence of driverless taxi services represents an exciting step toward an efficient, sustainable and environmentally-friendly transportation system. It remains to be seen how corporations in China and other countries worldwide will continue to invest and develop in automotive AI research and eng