Hoverboards are quite convient for people to carry or ride on the busy street, especially in college camps, more and more students choose to ride a hoverboard to class.
So hoverboards(电动滑板）were among the most popular Christmas gifts of 2015. They may have also been most dangerous gifts of 2015.
A true hoverboard looks like a skateboard without wheels. To “hover” means to float in the air without moving much in any direction. The popularity of hoverboards began in the 1980s, with the “Back to the Future” movies. Characters in the second and third films used hoverboards as transportation.
This year’s popular hoverboards, however, do not actually hover. They have wheels. And? as it turns out, they are not easy to use.
Adults and children around the world suffered hoverboard-related injuries over the weekend. Many posted pictures of the damage on social media. Twitter user David Douglas posted a pho to of both him and a young girl with the broken arms they suffered on Christmas Day. And another user Erin Rafferty uploaded a video of her mother falling off a hoverboard, with the caption, “Who let mom on the hoverboard?”
Falling is not the only risk with some hoverboards. They are also a fire risk. At one store in Texas, an employee tried to fix a hoverboard a customer brought in. The hoverboard then caught fire.
Studies suggest that some hoverboard brands have defective batteries o r plugs.
Many major airlines worldwide have banned hoverboards because of the fire risk. But some passengers did not hear the news. Australian actor Russell Crowesaid on Monday about his disappointment that Virgin Australia Airlines did not permit his children to take their hoverboards on the plane.
Major retailers (零售商）are also taking steps to improve the safety of the hoverboards they sell. Amazon in the United States now only sells hoverboards from brands that have submitted safety standard documents. The UK’s Amazon no longer sells hoverboards. It has also advised customers who bought unsafe brands of hoverboards to throw them away.
12. What’s the problem with this year’s hoverboards?
A. They don’t have wheels. B. They are difficult to handle.
C. They catch fire in the sun. D. They can’t move in any direction.
13.We can infer from the passage that .
A. hoverboards are still enjoying equal popularity as before.
B. hoverboards are still sold on Amazon in the United States.
C. passengers are forbidden to get on planes with hoverboards.
D. the number of hoverboard-related injuries is declining.
14.The underlined word “defective” in the sixth paragraph probably means _____.
A. dead B. faulty C. dry D. spare
15.We can probably read this passage in a .
A. science fiction B. magazine C. newspaper D.moviereview
