AN upper class British lady once declared: “Anyone seen on a bus after the age of 30 has been a failure in life.”

I guess she meant that if you’re middle aged and don’t have a car then you are a loser. How arrogant (傲慢) and ignorant！

Unfortunately, there are still people who think that way: that somehow public transport is only for the poor. And the rest have a right to their cars. Some wealthy folk in the West look down on buses and boast (吹噓) about how many years it has been since they last traveled by one.

How sad is that? Our roads are packed with cars and the air is full of the pollution they emit (排放). But still, many car users are unwillingly to get on a bus or a bike or a train to take themselves to work.

It’s convenient to drive, they’ll say. Buses are so unreliable, they’ll claim. And trains are expensive ---- at least in the UK.

It’s an attitude which may have to change. It doesn’t make sense to drive a car in a city where there’s a public transport system. Also, these rush hour commuters (往返上班者) usually travel alone.

As a result, transport authorities in the UK are looking at solutions to city center congestion (擁堵).

One is to increase the number of parking spaces at out-of-town railway stations. More motorists (乘汽車的人) can then leave their cars and travel into the city by train.

Light rail or tramways are another environmentally friendly solution. Many cities across Europe have installed light rail or tramway systems.

The subway in London is used by everyone, rich and poor. It’s the quickest way of getting around the city, whatever your bank balance.

And then there are the cycle hire schemes you find in many modern cities. In London and Paris, you can hire a bike by the hour to get you where you need to go.

While commuters in Beijing abandon their bicycles for cars, cycling to work grows in popularity in the West.

Many cyclists are willing to pay more than 10,000 yuan for their bicycles. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is often pictured cycling to work. David Cameron, the British prime minister, cycled to the House of Commons before he became leader. These days he takes the prime ministerial limousine (豪華轎車).

1.. According to the article, some British people, like the upper class woman, think that        .

A. buses are inconvenient                B. bus services are unnecessary

C. having a car is a sign of success         D. only the upper class should have cars

2. Which of the following measures is taken by transport authorities in the UK to solve city center congestion?

A. The development of cycle hire schemes.

B. Increasing the number of parking spaces in the city center.

C. Installing light rail or tramway systems in out-of-town areas.

D. Banning commuters from traveling alone during rush hour.

3.The author mentions the example of Boris Johnson in the last paragraph to        .

A. express his respect for the mayor of London

B. point to the growing popularity of cycling to work in the West

C. criticize Beijing commuters for abandoning their bicycles for cars

D. show that cars are still the most common means of transportation for famous people in Britain

4. Which of the following might the writer agree with?

A. The British prime minister should give up his limousine.

B. Beijing commuters should learn from British commuters.

C. British solutions to public transport problems are inadequate.

D. Many car owners need to change their attitudes if the traffic problem is to

【答案】

 

1.. C           

2..A

3..B

4..D

【解析】 略

 

練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS? The ancient Greeks wrote this way. The lack of punctuation marks(標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)) probably didn’t bother good readers, though. As they read, they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time, sentences switched directions. A sentence read from left to right. The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc.

The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They·put·a·point·between·each·word·in·a·sentence. The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a prick(刺).

       When the 5th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks: spaces and points. The space separated words and while the points showed pauses in reading. Then in the 13th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation. He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence. He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause. Over time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma.

       Since that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family. The exclamation mark comes form the Latin word xt. It was originally formed by putting an upper-case(大寫字母) I on the lower-case xt. The Latin word xt means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the Latin word question, meaning question. Eventually, scholars put it at the end of a sentence to show a question. Over time, it became a symbol formed by putting a lower-case q on an o.

         Punctuation is still changing today. New marks are coming into existence, and old punctuation marks are used in new ways. Take for example, the “interrobang.” This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both. For example, “She did what??” or “How much did you pay for that dress??” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or recognized – yet. But its invention shows that English is not yet finished with its punctuation.

Which of the following is a comma?

A. ,                             B. :                       C.   ;                    D. !

What’s the first paragraph mainly about?

A. The history of punctuation.

B. The introduction of punctuation.

C. The very beginning of punctuation.

D. The ancient Greek way of writing without punctuation.

Please put the following events in the order they happened.

a. The exclamation mark and question mark came into the punctuation family.

b. Comma came into existence.

c. Romans put a dot between words to separate words.

d. A period was used to end a sentence.

e. The “interrobang” was invented.

A. cbdae                B. dcbae                C. dbcea                D. cdbae

What is the most possible situation for “She did what??”?

A. You are told she gave her baby boy a good beat.

B. You are wondering what she did to save the poor boy.

C. You want to know what she did for a living after fleeing to a foreign country.

D. You demand someone else tell you what in the world happened to her.

According to the article, we learn ________.

A. punctuation didn’t come into being until the 5th century.

B. no one can really tell what new marks we may have in the future.

C. the invention of “interrobang” is a failure since it is not widely used.

D. both the exclamation mark and the question mark come from Greek words.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Making an advertisement for television often costs more than a movie．For example, a two-hour movie costs $ 6 million to make．A TV commercial can cost more than $ 6 000 a second．And that does not include cost of paying for air time(電視節(jié)目開始的時(shí)間)．Which is more valuable, the program or the ad? In terms of money--and making money is what television is all about  the commercial is by far the more important．

    Research, market testing, talent, time and money-----all come together to make us want to buy a product．No matter how bad we think a commercial is, it works．The sales of Charm went up once the ads began．TV commercials actually buy their way into our head．We, in turn, buy the product．

    And the ads work because so much time an attention are given them．Here are some rules of commercial ad making．If you want to get the low middle-class buyer, make sure the announcer has a tough, manly voice．Put some people in the ad who work with their hands．If you want to sell to upper-class audience, make sure that the house, the furniture, and the hair style are the types that the group identifies (識(shí)別) with．If you want the buyer feel superior to the character selling the product, then make that person so stupid or silly that everyone will feel great about himself or herself

We laugh at commercials．We don't think we pay that much attention them．But facts show we are kidding ourselves．The making of a commercial that costs so much money is not kid stuff．It's big, big business．And it's telling us what to think, what we need, and what to buy．To put  it simply, the TV commercial is a form of brainwashing．

TV commercials are more important than other programs to television because _______．

   A．they bring in great profits (利潤)             B．they require a lot of money to make

C．they are not difficult to produce  D．they attract more viewers than other programs

The purpose of all the efforts made in turning out TV commercials is ________．

   A．to persuade people to buy the product      B．to show how valuable the product is

   C．to test the market value of the product     D．to make them as interesting as TV movies

From the rules set for making commercial ads, we can see that_________．

   A．the lower-middle-class buyer likes to work with his hand

   B．the more stupid the characters, the more buyers of the product

   C．a(chǎn)d designers attract different people with different skills

   D．a(chǎn)n upper-class buyer is more interested in houses and furniture than a lower-middle-class buyer

It is believed by the writer that_________．

   A．few people like to watch TV commercials

B．TV commercials are a good guide to buyers

   C．TV commercials often make people laugh

D．people do not think highly of TV commercials

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Making an advertisement for television often costs more than a movie. For example, a two-hour movie costs $6 million to make. A TV commercial（廣告節(jié)目）can cost more than $6000 a second. And that does not include cost of paying for air time. Which is more valuable, the program or the ad? In terms of money-and making money is what television is all about-the commercial is by far the more important.

Research, market testing, talent, time and money—all come together to make us want to buy a product．No matter how bad we think a commercial is, it works．The sales of Charm went up once the ads began．TV commercials actually buy their way into our head．We, in turn, buy the product.

And the ads work because so much time and attention are given to them．Here are some rules of commercial ad making．If you want to get the low middle-class buyer, make sure the announcer has a tough, manly voice．Put some people in the ad who work with their hands．If you want to sell to upper-class audience, make sure that the house, the furniture, and the hair style are the types that the group identifies with(認(rèn)同)．If you want the buyer feel superior to the character selling the product, then make that person so stupid or silly that everyone will feel great about himself or herself.

     We laugh at commercials．We don’t think we pay that much attention to them．But facts show we are kidding ourselves．The making of a commercial that costs so much money is not kid stuff（非常簡單的事物）．It’s a big, big business．And it’s telling us what to think, what we need, and what to buy．To put it simply, the TV commercial is a form of brainwashing.

TV commercials are more important than other programs to television because _______.

A．they bring in great profits

B．they require a lot of money to make

C．they are not difficult to produce

D．they attract more viewers than other programs

The purpose of all the efforts made in turning out TV commercials is _______.

A．to persuade people to buy the product

B．to show how valuable the product is

C．to test the market value of the product

D．to make them as interesting as TV movies

From the rules set for making commercial ads, we can see that_______.

A．the lower-middle-class buyer likes to work with his hand

B．the more stupid the characters, the more buyers of the product

C．a(chǎn)d designers attract different people with different skills

D．a(chǎn)n upper-class buyer is more interested in houses and furniture than a lower-middle-class

buyer

It is believed by the writer that_______.

A．few people like to watch TV commercials

B．TV commercials are a good guide to buyers

C．TV commercials often make people laugh

D．people do not think highly of TV commercials

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2013屆江西白鷺洲中學(xué)高三模擬考試英語卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解

Making an advertisement for television often costs more than a movie. For example, a two – hour movie costs ＄6 million to make. A TV commercial can cost more than ＄6 000 a second. And that does not include cost of paying for air time. Which is more valuable, the program or the ad? In terms of money – and making money is what television is all about – the commercial is by far the more important.
Research, market testing, talent, time and money —— all come together to make us want to buy a product.
No matter how bad we think a commercial is, it works. The sales of Charm went up once the ads began. TV commercials actually buy their way into our head. We, in turn, buy the product.
And the ads work because so much time and attention are given to them. Here are some rules of commercial ad making. If you want to get the low middle – class buyer, make sure the announcer has a though, manly voice. Put some people in the ad who work with their hands. If you want to sell to upper – class audience, make sure that the house,  the furniture, and the hair style are the types that the group identifies  with. If you want the buyer feel superior to the character selling the product, then make that person so stupid or silly that everyone will feel great about himself or herself.
We laugh at commercials. We don’t think we pay that much attention to them. But evidence shows we are kidding ourselves. The making of a commercial that costs so much money is not kid stuff. It’s big, big business. And it’s telling us what to think , what we need, and what to buy. To put simply, the TV commercial is a form of brainwashing.
【小題1】TV commercials are more important than other programs to television because      .

A．they bring in great profitsB．they require a lot of money to make
C．they are not difficult to produceD．they attract more viewers than other programs
【小題2】The purpose of all the efforts made in turning out TV commercials is         .`
A．to persuade people to buy the product
B．to show how valuable the product is
C．to test the market value of the product
D．to make them as interesting as TV movies
【小題3】From the rules set for making commercial ads, we can see that         .
A．the lower – middle – class buyer likes to work with his hand
B．the more stupid the characters, the more buyers of the product
C．a(chǎn)d designers attract different people with different skills
D．a(chǎn)n upper – class buyer is only interested in houses and furniture
【小題4】It is believed by the writer that         .
A．few people like to watch TV commercials
B．TV commercials are a good guide to buyers
C．TV commercials often make people laugh
D．people do not think highly of TV commercials
【小題5】What does the author actually mean in the last paragraph?
A．He asks TV viewers never to laugh at the TV commercial ads.
B．Commercials are used to show the true value of a product to be sold.
C．TV commercials cost much and they do influence us in one way or another.
D．Brainwashing must be introduced to sell something on TV.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2012-2013學(xué)年江西白鷺洲中學(xué)高三模擬考試英語卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Making an advertisement for television often costs more than a movie. For example, a two – hour movie costs ＄6 million to make. A TV commercial can cost more than ＄6 000 a second. And that does not include cost of paying for air time. Which is more valuable, the program or the ad? In terms of money – and making money is what television is all about – the commercial is by far the more important.

Research, market testing, talent, time and money —— all come together to make us want to buy a product.

No matter how bad we think a commercial is, it works. The sales of Charm went up once the ads began. TV commercials actually buy their way into our head. We, in turn, buy the product.

And the ads work because so much time and attention are given to them. Here are some rules of commercial ad making. If you want to get the low middle – class buyer, make sure the announcer has a though, manly voice. Put some people in the ad who work with their hands. If you want to sell to upper – class audience, make sure that the house,  the furniture, and the hair style are the types that the group identifies  with. If you want the buyer feel superior to the character selling the product, then make that person so stupid or silly that everyone will feel great about himself or herself.

We laugh at commercials. We don’t think we pay that much attention to them. But evidence shows we are kidding ourselves. The making of a commercial that costs so much money is not kid stuff. It’s big, big business. And it’s telling us what to think , what we need, and what to buy. To put simply, the TV commercial is a form of brainwashing.

1.TV commercials are more important than other programs to television because      .

A．they bring in great profits                 B．they require a lot of money to make

C．they are not difficult to produce            D．they attract more viewers than other programs

2.The purpose of all the efforts made in turning out TV commercials is         .`

A．to persuade people to buy the product

B．to show how valuable the product is

C．to test the market value of the product

D．to make them as interesting as TV movies

3.From the rules set for making commercial ads, we can see that         .

A．the lower – middle – class buyer likes to work with his hand

B．the more stupid the characters, the more buyers of the product

C．a(chǎn)d designers attract different people with different skills

D．a(chǎn)n upper – class buyer is only interested in houses and furniture

4.It is believed by the writer that         .

A．few people like to watch TV commercials

B．TV commercials are a good guide to buyers

C．TV commercials often make people laugh

D．people do not think highly of TV commercials

5.What does the author actually mean in the last paragraph?

A．He asks TV viewers never to laugh at the TV commercial ads.

B．Commercials are used to show the true value of a product to be sold.

C．TV commercials cost much and they do influence us in one way or another.

D．Brainwashing must be introduced to sell something on TV.

 

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案