Question

If you haven’t heard or seen anything about Road Rage in the last few months, you’ve probably been avoiding the media. There have been countless stories about this new and scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. You have most likely encountered aggressive driving or Road Rage recently if you drive at all.

    While drunk driving remains a critical problem, the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, 41,907 people died on the highway last year. Of those deaths, the agency estimates that about two-thirds were caused at least in part by aggressive driving behavior.

    Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now, and why is it something that seemed almost nonexistent a few short years ago? Experts have several theories, and all are probably partially correct. One suggestion is sheer overcrowding. In the last decade, the number of cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent, and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent. However, the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent. That means more cars in the same amount of space; and the problem is magnified（增强） in urban areas. Also, people have less time and more things to do. With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day, stress levels have never been higher. Stress creates anxiety, which leads to short tempers. These factors, when combined in certain situations, can spell Road Rage.

    You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively, but you might be surprised. For instance, have you ever yelled out loud at a slower driver, sounded the horn long and hard at another car, or sped up to keep another driver from passing? If you recognize yourself in any of these situations, watch out!

    Whether you are getting angry at other drivers, or another driver is visibly upset with you, there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict. If you are easily influenced by Road Rage, the key is to discharge your emotion in a healthy way. If you are the target of another driver’s rage, do everything possible to get away from the other driver safely, including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way.

1.The first sentence in Para. 1 implies that ______. A. one may be angered by media reports and wants to avoid them

B. the media invented the term “Road Rage” only a few months ago C. Road Rage has received much media coverage in the last few months D. people not interested in the media know little about recent happenings

2.The underlined word “spell” in Para. 3 means ________.

A. relieve                B. cause             C. spread             D. prevent

3.Which of the following characterizes aggressive driving?

   A. Talking while driving.               B. Driving at high speed.

   C. Sounding the horn when passing.      D. Shouting at another driver.

4.The last paragraph is intended to _________.

A. tell people how to deal with Road Rage

   B. inform people how aggressive drivers could be

   C. show people how to control themselves when angry

   D. warn people against eye contact with another driver

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.A 

【解析】

1.C 推断题。议论文题目必然和文章主旨有直接关联。整篇文章讲述关于Road Rage行车安全的相关问题，所以排除完全无关的A选项和D选项。B选项的重点是media，C选项的重点是Road Rage，所以选C选项，与文章内容直接相关。

2.B  词汇题。所有词汇题的思路与完形填空解题思路完全一致。这里提问动词，动作发出者是these factors，即前文中提到的stress压力、anxiety焦虑和temper脾气，动作承受者是Road Rage，所以答案为B，压力、焦虑和脾气造成Road Rage的现象。

3.D 细节题。直接对应文章第四段的细节，选出D选项应该不难。C选项的细节原文中还有程度描述long and hard，A选项和B选项则没有提到，所以排除。

4.A  细节题。议论文中只有两方面重要：作者论点和作者建议。60题提问作者论点，63题则提问作者建议。根据文章最后一段there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict，可以选出A选项。注意文章最后一段不但提到了如何抑制自己的愤怒，还有如何应对对方的愤怒，所以C选项和D选项是片面的。