The meaning of 'viral photo' and 'reading' in this article.
I read an article about police jokingly administering a breath test to a toddler.

The article is as follows:
Police officers jokingly pulled over a toddler who was riding around near their cruiser in a pink toy car. A viral photo shared on Facebook showed the officers’ pretending to administer a Breathalyzer test.
In a statement, the police department said the little girl was pulled over in northwest England Friday for having no insurance and veering from side to side. "The officers were naturally suspicious, and after her parents revealed she’d had a couple of bottles that morning, they played along and pretended to take a breath test. Thankfully, the tot’s reading was clear and she was free to go." the statement continued.

Q1. What does viral photo in this article mean?
Q2. The police said the tot's reading was clear. What does reading in this mean?
Q3. It seems that it's illegal not to have car insurance. How can the police know whether or not a driver has one?

Question

The meaning of 'viral photo' and 'reading' in this article.
I read an article about police jokingly administering a breath test to a toddler.

The article is as follows:
Police officers jokingly pulled over a toddler who was riding around near their cruiser in a pink toy car. A viral photo shared on Facebook showed the officers’ pretending to administer a Breathalyzer test.
In a statement, the police department said the little girl was pulled over in northwest England Friday for having no insurance and veering from side to side. "The officers were naturally suspicious, and after her parents revealed she’d had a couple of bottles that morning, they played along and pretended to take a breath test. Thankfully, the tot’s reading was clear and she was free to go." the statement continued.

Q1. What does viral photo in this article mean?
Q2. The police said the tot's reading was clear. What does reading in this mean?
Q3. It seems that it's illegal not to have car insurance. How can the police know whether or not a driver has one?

Answer

1.  "Viral photo" means a photo that is being shared around social networking sites and has a lot of sharers and views.  You may also hear words like "viral video" or "viral news story."   The idea is that the thing spreads from person to person to person, kind of like a virus spreads from person to person to person.

2.  The "reading" is the output from the breathalyzer.  So, if your reading was clear, it means the breathalyzer shows you were not drunk.

3.  In most places in the US, you're required to carry "proof of insurance" when you're driving a car.   After you buy insurance, the insurance company sends you a card that says that you've bought insurance from them.  I'm assuming something similar is in place in the UK.

Answer

Q1. A"viral photo" is one which is shared on social media. You might share a photo with your friends on social media. In turn, they share the photo with their friends, who share it with others, and so on.  A video shared by many through, for example, Youtube becomes a viral video.

Q2. Police here in England use  a breath testing meter when they stop a driver at the side of the road if they suspect that the driver has been drinking alcohol. The driver will exhale into a special machine which gives a numerical indication (a reading) of the amount of alcohol present in the driver's blood.

Q3. There is a lot of information held on a central database about the legal condition of a car. It is easy for the police to check this.

Please note, this story was NOT a serious intervention by the police. It was just for fun.

Answer

Q1. What does viral photo in this article mean?

To say that something has "gone viral" on the Internet means that it has been seen by many people very quickly. Just like a real virus (like the flu) can spread quickly and affect many people, a viral photo or Internet on the video can spread to many people very quickly.

Q2. The police said the tot's reading was clear. What does reading in this mean?

It means that the child's breath did not show any signs of alcohol, which is what the Breathalyzer tests for.

Q3. It seems that it's illegal not to have car insurance. How can the police know whether or not a driver has one?

I am not sure about England, but in the United States if you get stopped by the police while you are driving, the first thing they ask is to see your driver's license, proof that the car is yours and a card showing that you have insurance.

Answer

Q2. Reading = the awareness of the toddler

Answer

Viral photo in this article means that the photo has spread all over the social media. thus, it's not related to any infection or disease .

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