VOA慢速英语：检察官:Uber司机有犯罪记录

Lawyers in two California cities have expanded their civil lawsuit against the online ride-sharing service Uber. Court records show that the company has hired people previously convicted of murder and sex crimes, despite background checks.

加州两个城市的律师已经展开了他们的民事诉讼，控诉在线共乘服务Uber。法庭记录显示，尽管进行背景调查，但该公司依然聘请之前被判有谋杀及性犯罪的人。

The district attorneys of San Franciscoand Los Angeles filed an updated complaint against Uber on Tuesday. The complaint stated "systemic failures in Uber's background check process" were revealed after they first filed against Uber in December.

周二，旧金山和洛杉矶地方检察官提交了一份最新对Uber的控告。诉状所述：“在12月，他们第一次对Uber提出诉讼之后，Uber背景调查程序的系统性故障才被揭示出来。”

An Uber sign is seen on a car in New York City.

The new complaint said registered sex offenders, identity thieves, burglars, a kidnapper and a convicted murderer had passed Uber's screening process.

新的诉状中称已被记录在案的性犯罪者、身份窃贼、夜贼、绑匪以及一个杀人犯都已通过Uber的筛选工序。

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement Wednesday, "I support technological innovation.Innovation, however, does not give companies a license to mislead consumers about issues affecting their safety."

周三，旧金山地区检察官乔治·加斯科在一份声明表示，“我支持科技创新。但是，创新并不是给予公司许可，在影响消费者安全的问题上误导他们。

Uber is based in San Francisco. The company said in a statement that its screening system is just as effective as the screening system used by traditional taxi companies.

Uber的总部设在旧金山。该公司在一份声明中表示，它的筛选系统与传统出租车公司使用的筛选系统一样高效。

"We continue to work on improving safety for riders and drivers before, during and after the trip," it said.

它表示：“在行程之前、期间及之后，我们将继续努力提高乘客及司机的安全性。”

The company added that last year it had denied more than 600 people who had applied to become drivers, because they had been convicted of violent and drunken driving crimes.

该公司还表示，去年它已经拒绝600多人成为司机的申请，因为他们被判有暴力和酒后驾车的罪行。

In the original complaint filed in December, city prosecutors said that Uber drivers work at airports without proper permits. They also said the company has been charging an extra $4 fee to passengers traveling to airports, without paying anything to the airport. Visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

在十二月已提交的最初的起诉书中，全市检察机关表示，在机场工作的Uber司机没有经过允许。他们还表示，该公司向前往机场的乘客收取额外的4美元费用,，却没有支付给机场任何费用。

Uber operates its ride-share program in 57 countries and has an estimated value of more than $40 billion. It is one of the fastest-growing sharing-economy companies.

Uber在57个国家运作其共乘程序，并且其估值超过400亿美元。它是增长最快的分享制经济公司之一。

The company has been questioned for its safety record in other countries, as well. In December, theIndian government called for all unregistered taxi services to halt operations, after the reported rape of a woman by an Uber driver in New Delhi.

在其他国家，就其安全记录而言，该公司也遭到质疑。去年十二月，在新德里，Uber司机强奸一名妇女的案件被报道后，印度政府要求所有未注册的出租车服务停止作业。

Uber has also faced bans in Germany, Spain and Thailand.

Uber还在德国、西班牙和泰国面遭到禁令。

I'm Jim Tedder.

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Words in This Story

convict - v. to proven that someone is guilty of a crime in a court of law

background check- n. the process of looking up criminal and/or financial records of an individual or an organization

screening - n. the act of examining people or things in order to decide if they are suitable for a particular purpose

innovation - n. the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods

sharing economy- n. a business concept that uses the ability (and the preference) for people to rent or borrow goods rather than buy and own them.