Accidents are caused; they don't just happen. The reason may be easy to see: a shelf out of reach, a patch of ice on the misfortune—frustration, tiredness or just bad temper—that show what the accident really is, a sort of attack on oneself.

Road accidents, for example, happen frequently after a family quarrel, and we all know people who are accident-prone, so often at odds with themselves and the world that they seem to cause accidents for themselves and others.

By definition, an accident is something you can not predict or avoid, and the idea which used to be current, that the majority of road accidents are caused by a minority of criminally careless drivers, is not supported by insurance statistics. These show that most accidents involve ordinary motorists in a moments of carelessness or thoughtlessness.

It is not always clear, either, what sort of conditions make people more likely to have an accident. For instance, the law requires all factories to take safety precautions and most companies have safety committees to make sure the regulations are observed, but still, every day in Britain, some fifty thousand men and women are injured from work due to accidents. These accidents are largely the result of human error or misjudgment—noise and fatigue, boredom or worry are possible factors which contribute to this. Doctors who work in factories have found that those who drink too much, usually people who have a high anxiety level, run three times the normal risk of accidents at work.

16. The passage suggests that________.

A.Accidents are usually caused by psychological factors.

B.Accidents mostly result from slippery roads.

C.Drinkers run three times the normal risk of accidents in factories.

D.About 50 000people lose their lives at work in Britain every day.

17.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a factor of accidents?

A.Mood.

B.Tiredness.

C.Carelessness

D.Weather

18. The word “accidents-prone”(L.2 Para.2)means________.

A.likely to have accidents

B.injured in accidents

C.possible to die in accidents

D.responsible for road accidents

19. What can we infer about the author opinion of accidents?

A.Safety precautions are of little use in accidents.

B.Many accidents can and should be avoided.

C.Factory accidents , unlike road accidents, are inevitable.

D.Most road accidents are caused by just a few careless drivers.

20. The best title for the passage would be __________.

A.Accidents and Anxiety

B.How to Deal with Accidents on Road and in Factories

C.Human Factors in Accidents

D.How to Prevent Accidents on Road and in Factories