Beijing plans to build huge free or low-cost parking lots beyond the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads to encourage more car owners to take buses or subways to the downtown area．
The plan is just one of the many measures the city plans to take to reduce its traffic jams．Low or no parking fees would be used as economic leverage(杠杆作用) to reduce growing parking demands from urban areas．
Car owners living in the suburbs will be encouraged to park their cars beyond the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads and take buses or subways to the downtown area．Statistics show that nearly one quarter of the city’s traffic flow is concentrated in the 62-square-kilometer downtown area within the Second Ring Road, which makes up only 12 percent of the city’s total area．
The Beijing Traffic Management Bureau receives between 400 and 500 calls reporting traffic jams every day and more than 90 percent of the roads are filled to capacity during rush hours every morning and evening．Part of the problem is the lack of easy links between bus routes, subways and cars．
According to the communication commission, half of the city’s investment in transportation will go towards public transit（公共交通） construction in the next few years, making a jump from the current only 20 per cent．Moreover, Beijing plans to change its layout （布局） by building new city centers, such as at Yizhuang, Tongzhou, Shunyi and Changping, in a bid to reduce the traffic flow to the downtown．
The current layout of Beijing-expanded ring roads around the same center of the Forbidden City, is seen as the root cause of the endless traffic jams．The downtown area is crowded with three business centers and one financial center, as well as nearly 400 government organs and institutions．
Traffic experts say building more urban centers around Beijing may reduce the number of residents living in the suburbs and traveling long distances to work downtown every day, thus reducing traffic flow．
40．In the coming years, if a man beyond the Fourth Ring Road goes to work in the downtown of Beijing, he is encouraged to _________．
A．take buses or subways B．take a taxi
C．drive the car quickly D．park his car in a place which asks for no fees
41．According to this passage, when more and more people drive to work in rush hour in Beijing, it is likely to _______．
A．save time B．cause traffic jams
C．cause traffic accidents D．reduce air pollution
42．The aim in building new city centers is to ________．
A．make it convenient for people to go shopping
B．develop its local resources
C．reduce the traffic flow to the downtown
D．solve the problem of more laid-off workers
43．The passage suggests the author ______．
A．is tired of driving to work
B．finds it costs less to take subways than to drive
C．is for the plan to reduce Beijing’s traffic congestion(拥挤)
D．has benefited a lot by driving to the downtown every day
第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节：（共15小题：每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Heather Mills McCartney lives an admirable life, attending celebrity parties, meeting regularly with the rich and famous and doing meaningful work for charity．All who work with her admire and respect her．But Heather’s life hasn’t always been so easy．When Heather was only 9 years old, her mother abandoned her and her two brothers．At the age of 13, she ran away from home and ended up living on the streets in London．Eventually, however, her exceptional beauty led to a career in modeling．At that time, Heather also began helping with the war relief efforts in former Yugoslavia．Through her modeling and relief work, she soon became famous．
But in August 1993, at age 25 her life changed once again．She was crossing the street in London when a motorcycle crashed into her．She was so badly injured that the doctors had to cut off her left leg．After that, she discovered she frequently needed to change her artificial limbs(假肢)．It was expensive and she felt it was a waste to just throw away the old one．It occurred to her to set up an organization that could deliver used artificial limbs to Yugoslavia and other war-torn countries．It was through her charity work that she met her husband Paul McCartney．
Throughout her life, Heather has risen above problems and focused on helping others．Her work with artificial limbs even earned her a nomination（提名） for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996．Heathe’s persistence and determination are what impresses anyone who knows her．Heather believes anyone can make a positive difference in the world．
36．This passage is mainly about _________．
A．Heather’s miserable life B．Heather’s contribution to the world
C．Heather’s success in her work D．Heather’s belief in life
37．Heather began her modeling career _________．
A．due to her mother’s encouragement
B．after her brothers abandoned her
C．because of her excellent intelligence and performances
D．because she was especially beautiful
38．Which of the following is Not true according to the passage?
A．Heather won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996．
B．Heather began her charity work while working as a model．
C．Her artificial limbs had to be replaced continuously．
D．Heather has never been defeated by her problems．
39．From the passage we can infer that people admire and respect Heather because_________．
A．she had a lot of misfortunes during her childhood．
B．she was a world-famous model
C．she is determined and never gives in
D．she made a great difference in the world
—Dane hasn't arrived yet
—____? To my knowledge, he is a punctual person．
|
A．How come |
B．So what |
C．What if |
D．Why not |
Even today I still remember the great fun we had____games on the beach on those happy days．
|
A．play |
B．to play |
C．playing |
D．played |
____quite recently, most mothers in Britain did not take paid work outside the home．
|
A．Before |
B．Until |
C．From |
D．Since |
____that tears came to her eyes．
|
A．She was so deep moved |
B．She was so moved deeply |
|
C．So deeply was she moved |
D．So deeply she was moved |
