You may have experienced the annoyance of being fined because of parking illegally or finding your car towed away(拖走)after leaving it parked somewhere for a couple of minutes.But now a high-tech car sticker that’s designed to be stuck to a car’s windscreen could help motorists avoid such a situation.
The TowStop sticker sends a text message to a driver when touched by a traffic policeman,to allow motorists to send a reply and give them time to move their cars immediately.Frankfurt-based IT consultant,Daniel Kalliontzis,came up with the idea and is raising money to put his €54(£43) sticker into production.
Car owners can put the sticker inside their car’s windscreen,having set it up with key information,such as their phone number.The slim design will include a sensor(传感器)that,when touched by a traffic policeman,will send a text message warning a driver of a possible fine.The driver could then type a reply for the policeman using a smartphone,which will appear on the sticker’s screen.
The smart sticker system will rely on the good will of traffic policemen and in a way,a German law.The law states:an officer has to choose the most efficient and inexpensive way for the car owner to remove the vehicle.It could be cheaper for the government to call the driver than to tow his car.
Mail Online asked the Department of Transport whether the sticker could be used in the UK in a similar way.A spokesman said,“In England there is no legal duty to warn the motorist before issuing the ticket.However,a policeman does have the discretion not to issue a ticket if he doesn’t think the situation is that bad or he just wants to issue a warning.”
So far,Mr.Kalliontzis has raised just over €3,000(£2,362)of his €50,000(£39,381) goal.If he manages to raise the money,the stickers will be shipped in June 2015.But it appears that car owners using the smart system could get some unnecessary warning messages,because anyone could touch the smart sticker.
The author wrote the third paragraph to _______________.
A.explain how a smart car sticker works |
B.advise drivers to buy a car sticker |
C.show the importance of a sensor |
D.tell drivers how to park a car |
We may infer from the text that in Britain _______________.
A.car owners don’t have to worry about a parking ticket |
B.smart car stickers wouldn’t work as well as in Germany |
C.traffic policemen prefer to call a driver rather than tow his car |
D.the Department of Transport thinks highly of smart car stickers |
The underlined word“discretion” in Paragraph 5 can best be replaced by“____________”.
A.trouble | B.pressure |
C.freedom | D.opportunity |
What would be the best title for the text?
A.Daniel Kalliontzis — a great inventor |
B.Environment-friendly car stickers |
C.Parking systems in Europe |
D.End of the parking ticket? |