ONE sunny day in early autumn, several years ago, I got into a taxi and headed to the Capital Airport （首都机场） to catch a flight.
The first part of the ride was pretty smooth. We reached the Wuyuan Bridge （五元桥） in around a quarter of an hour. As we climbed up the bridge, the fishponds, the duck and pig farms in the nearby country gradually came into view. All of a sudden, I saw a black spot speeding up on the Airport Expressway(机场高速公路). It was running like a fast-moving snake, overtaking one vehicle after another. The temptation（诱惑） was irresistible（无法抗拒的）. Many vehicles soon followed suit. It kept taking the lead in this frenetic（发狂的） car race. Without warning, however, it suddenly slowed down（减速慢行） as it approached （接近） the Wuyuan Bridge. This move was deadly. The second car bumped right into it and the third right into the second. Altogether seven cars crashed in just a few seconds. Is this the whole story? No! Panic-stricken（惊慌失措）, one car moving in the opposite direction staggered（摇摇晃晃）. The car closely following（追尾） it tried to reduce speed but it was too late. It ran straight into its rear, then bounced（反弹） back and hit another. In a couple of minutes police cars and ambulances（救护车） came to the rescue. The expressway was soon closed. All the vehicles had to move into the shabby(破旧的) and bumpy（崎岖不平的） side road（辅路）. They crawled like ants. The end of the story is not surprising: I missed the flight.
Obviously the horrible traffic accident resulted from violation（违反） of safety rules. Therefore, we must maintain safe distance （保持车距）whenever we drive.
