Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is in for an unwelcome surprise. The car is filled with a remote immobilizer and a radio signal from a control center miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start it again.

The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cellphone, a micro-processor and memory, and a GPS satellite positioning receiver. If the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the control center to block the vehicle’s engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted.

In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves. “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed,” says Martyn Randall, a security expert. He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a minimum of tools, but only if the car is more than 10 years old.

Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won’t allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition(点火) key. In the UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997.

But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting hold of the owner’s keys. And key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system.

If the car travels 100 meters without the driver confirming their ID, the system will send a signal to an operation center that it has been stolen. The hundred meters minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal.

Staff at the center will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing and keep police informed of the vehicle’s movements via the car’s GPS unit.

【小题1】What’s the function of the remote immobilizer fitted to the car?

A．To help the police make a surprise attack on the car.

B．To order the car to lock automatically when stolen.

C．To prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops.

D．To send a radio signal to inform the car owner of the thief.

【小题2】By saying “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed”, Martyn Randall suggests that _____.

A．it takes less time for the car thief to do the stealing

B．many self-prepared tools can be used for car theft

C．the theft becomes more difficult because of modern technology

D．the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old

【小题3】What is essential in making a modern car tougher to steal?

A．A micro-professor.	B．A unique ID code
C．A special cell phone	D．A GPS satellite positioning receiver.

【小题4】Why does the tracking system set a 100-meter minimum before sending an alarm to the operation center?

A．To leave time for the operation center to give an alarm.

B．To keep police informed of the car’s movement.

C．To give the driver time to contact the operation center.

D．To allow for possible errors in the GPS system.

【小题5】What will the operation center do first after receiving an alarm?

A．Start the tracking system.	B．Stop the engine.
C．Contact the owner.	D．Locate the missing car.