Self-Driving Cars and Privacy

自動駕駛汽車與隱私

Jul 10, 2026, 09:00

Introduction

Police in California stopped two young people. A self-driving car company called Waymo told the police about them.

加州警方攔截了兩名年輕人。一家名為 Waymo 的自動駕駛汽車公司向警方舉報了他們。

Main Body

Two 15-year-old boys were in a Waymo car. They drank alcohol and used a toy gun. Waymo saw this with cameras. The company stopped the car and called the police. The police took the boys, but then they went home to their parents.

兩名 15 歲的男孩乘坐 Waymo 汽車。他們喝酒並使用了玩具槍。Waymo 透過攝影機發現了這一情況。公司隨後將車停下並通知警方。警方將男孩帶走，但隨後他們回到了父母家中。

Waymo cars have many cameras and sensors. These tools keep the car safe. But some people are worried. They think the cars are like police cameras on wheels. Some people even broke the cars because they were angry.

Waymo 汽車配備許多攝影機與感測器。這些工具旨在確保行車安全。但有些人感到擔憂，認為這些車就像是裝在輪子上的警察攝影機。有些人甚至因為憤怒而毀壞了這些車。

Google owns Waymo. The government asks Google for a lot of user data. Google gives this data to the government many times. Some people think this is okay. Other people think it is bad for privacy. Many Americans do not like driverless cars.

Google 擁有 Waymo。政府經常要求 Google 提供大量用戶數據，而 Google 也多次將數據提供給政府。有些人認為這沒關係，但其他人則認為這損害了隱私。

Conclusion

This story shows that we must decide between safety and privacy in new cars.

這個故事顯示，在面對新型汽車時，我們必須在安全與隱私之間做出抉擇。

Vocabulary Learning

🧩 The 'Action' Pattern

Look at how the story tells us what happened. It uses a simple formula: Who $\rightarrow$ Did What $\rightarrow$ To Whom.

Waymo (Who) $\rightarrow$ saw (Did What) $\rightarrow$ this (To Whom)
The police (Who) $\rightarrow$ took (Did What) $\rightarrow$ the boys (To Whom)
Google (Who) $\rightarrow$ gives (Did What) $\rightarrow$ data (To Whom)

Why this helps you reach A2: When you want to describe a situation, don't overthink it. Just pick a person/company, an action word, and the object.

💡 Useful Word Pairs

In the text, we see words that work together to explain a a big idea:

$→$ Self-driving car (A car with no human driver) $→$ User data (Information about a person using a service) $→$ Police cameras (Cameras used for law and order)

⚠️ The 'Contrast' Trick

To show two different opinions, use Some... Other...

"Some people think this is okay. Other people think it is bad."

This is the fastest way to express a debate in English without using difficult grammar.

Vocabulary Learning

self-driving (adj.)

A car that can move without a person driving it

Example:A self-driving car uses computers to find the way.

sensors (n.)

Tools that detect light, heat, or movement

Example:The car has sensors to stop before it hits a wall.

worried (adj.)

Feeling unhappy because you think something bad will happen

Example:I am worried about the rain tomorrow.

data (n.)

Information, usually in numbers or facts

Example:The computer stores a lot of user data.

privacy (n.)

The state of being alone or keeping secrets from others

Example:I want privacy when I am reading my diary.

driverless (adj.)

Having no human driver

Example:Driverless taxis are becoming popular in some cities.

Practice A2 words in a crossword→