| 1. 难度：简单 | |
|
Passage seven(Stricter Traffic Law can Prevent Accidents) From the health point of view we are living in a marvelous age. We are immunized from birth against many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once fatal illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and surgery. It is almost certain that one day remedies will be found for the most stubborn remaining diseases. The expectation of life has increased enormously. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the incredible slaughter of men, women and children on the roads. Man versus the motor-car ! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people the world over are killed or horribly killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen. It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel, his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man’s very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They swear, they are ill-mannered and aggressive, willful as two-years-olds and utterly selfish. All their hidden frustrations, disappointments and jealousies seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving. The surprising thing is that society smiles so benignly on the motorist and seems to condone his behaviour. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable because of heavy tragic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is desecrated by road networks; and the mass annual slaughter becomes nothing more than a statistic, to be conveniently forgotten. It is high time a world code were created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are notoriously lax and even the strictest are not strict enough. A code which was universally accepted could only have a dramatically beneficial effect on the accident rate. Here are a few examples of some the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through stringent annual tests for safety. Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can impair a person’s driving ability. Present drinking and driving laws (where they exist) should be mad much stricter. Maximum and minimum speed limits should be imposed on all roads. Governments should lay down safety specifications for manufacturers, as has been done in the USA. All advertising stressing power and performance should be banned. These measures may sound inordinately harsh. But surely nothing should be considered as to severe if tit results in reducing the annual toll of human life. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars. 1.The main idea of this passage is A.Traffic accidents are mainly caused by motorists. B.Thousands of people the world over are killed each year. C.The laws of some countries about driving are too lax. D.Only stricter traffic laws can prevent accidents. 2.What does the author think of society toward motorists? A.Society smiles on the motorists. B.Huge car parks are built in the cities and towns. C.Victims of accidents are nothing. D.Society condones their rude driving. 3.Why does the author say:’ his car becomes the extension of his personality?’ A.Driving can show his real self. B.Driving can show the other part of his personality. C.Driving can bring out his character. D.His car embodies his temper. 4.Which of the followings is NOT mentioned as a way against traffic accidents? A.Build more highways. B.Stricter driving tests. C.Test drivers every three years. D.raise age limit and lay down safety specifications. 5.The attitude of the author is A.ironical B.critical C.appealing D.militant
|
|
| 2. 难度：简单 | |
|
Passage Seventeen (On the President’s Program) President Arling has put his long awaited economic restructuring program before the Congress. It provides a coordinated program of investment credits, research grants, education reforms, and tax changes designed to make American industry more competitive. This is necessary to reverse the economic slide into unemployment, lack of growth, and trade deficits that have plagued the economy for the past six years. The most liberal wing of the President’s party has called for stronger and more direct action. They want an incomes policy to check inflation while federal financing helps rebuild industry behind a wall of protective tariffs. The Republicans, however, decry even the modest, graduated tax increases in the President’s program. They want tax cuts and more open market. They say if federal money has to be injected into the economy, let it through defence spending. Both these alternatives ignore the unique nature of the economic problem before us. It is not simply a matter of markets or financing. The new technology allows vastly increased production for those able to master it. But it also threatens those who fail to adopt it with permanent second-class citizenship in the world economy. If an industry cannot lever itself up to the leading stage of technological advances, then it will not be able to compete effectively. If it cannot do this, no amount of government protectionism or access to foreign markets can keep it profitable for long. Without the profits and experience of technological excellence to reinvest, that industry can only fall still further behind its foreign competitors So the crux is the technology and that is where the President’s program focused. The danger is not that a plan will not be passed, it is that the ideologues of right and left will distort the bill with amendments that will blur its focus on technology. The economic restructuring plan should be passed intact. If we fail to restructure our economy now, we may not get a second chance. 1.The focus of the President’s program is on A.investment. B.economy. C.technology. D.tax. 2.What is the requirement of the most liberal wing of the Democratic-party? A.They want a more direct action. B.They want an incomes policy to check inflation. C.They want to rebuild industry. D.They want a wall of protective tariffs. 3.What is the editor’s attitude? A.support. B.distaste. C.Disapproval. D.Compromise. 4.The danger to the plan lies in A.the two parties’ objection. B.different idea of the two parties about the plan. C.its passage. D.distortion. 5.The passage is A.a review. B.a preface. C.a advertisement. D.an editorial.
|
|
