Question

    Russian police have started a new attempt to get drivers to slow down at zebra crossings by having painted horses as zebras walk across on the busiest streets in some of the big cities in an attempt to improve road safety and raise awareness among Russia’s notoriously (臭名昭著地) careless drivers.

The light grey horses, painted with black stripes, carried signs on their backs reading: “Careful, children are on their way to school.” The police sent the “zebras” to several different locations in the Russian capital, where officials in orange vests walked them over zebra crossings and handed out leaflets (传单) to passing drivers.

Some held up rainbow-coloured umbrellas over the painted animals to protect them from the rain. Russian roads are notoriously dangerous and drivers still rarely take the initiative (主动采取措施) to avoid pedestrians. Nearly half of all traffic accidents in the country’s big cities are caused by cars hitting pedestrians, and a third of those occur on crossings, according to traffic police figures published last month.

In the first six months of this year, 378 people were killed and more than 6, 600 injured on pedestrian crossings in Russia, according to police. In Moscow alone, 43 people were killed, including two children.

Though police officials said that only safe paint would be used on the animals, animal rights activists still disagreed with the idea, accusing the police of “treating animals like garbage”.

“Children understand that paints are bad for animals,” the Interfax news agency quoted president of Vita animal rights group Irina Novozhilova as saying.

Let’s hope this part of the campaign is over and animals are left out of future attempts to raise pedestrians’ awareness.

1.Why do Moscow police have “zebras” walk across on the busiest streets?

A. To make a call on protecting animals.

B. To remind people zebras are in danger of extinction.

C. To tell people it is dangerous to cross streets.

D. To raise drivers’ awareness of road safety.

2.What does the underlined word “them” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A. The zebras. B. The horses.

C. The policemen. D. The drivers.

3.From the text we can learn that ________.

A. most Russian drivers have realized the seriousness of the problem

B. Russian drivers often ignore traffic lights

C. Russian drivers seldom give way to pedestrians

D. the driving skills of Russian drivers are bad

4.What do animal rights activists think of the new attempt?

A. Drivers must slow down at pedestrian crossings.

B. These animals are ill-treated by the police.

C. The paints used on the horses are safe.

D. Road safety should be improved.

5.Which word can best describe the author’s attitude towards the campaign?

A. Critical. B. Reserved.

C. Doubtful. D. Positive.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.B

5.A

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。俄罗斯警方开展了一项新的尝试，他们在马身上画上条纹，让马在商业街上走来走去，希望以此提高司机们的安全意识，提高道路安全。文章分析了这项运动背后的原因以及动物保护组织对这种做法的态度。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中的“Russia police have started a new attempt to get drivers to slow down at zebra crossings by having painted horses as zebras walk across on the busiest streets in some of the big cities in an attempt to improve road safety and raise awareness among Russia's notoriously careless drivers.”可知，俄罗斯警方开始了一项新的尝试，试图让司机在斑马线上放慢车速。在一些大城市，他们让“斑马”（被画上条纹的马）在商业街上走来走去，试图改善道路安全，提高素以粗心大意著称的俄罗斯司机的认识。故D选项正确。

2.词义猜测题。根据该段内容可知，浅灰色的马身上被画上黑色条纹。警方将这些“斑马”送到俄罗斯首都不同的地方。在这些地方，身穿橘色衣服的警官们领着它们穿过斑马线，同时给过往行人发传单。很明显，them指的是被画上斑马条纹的马，而非真正的斑马。故B选项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“Russian roads are notoriously dangerous and drivers still rarely take the initiative to avoid pedestrians. ”可知，俄罗斯的道路很危险，司机们仍然很少主动避让行人。由此可知，司机们很少给行人让路。故C选项正确。

4.细节理解题。根据第五段中的“animal rights activists still disagreed with the idea, accusing the police of “treating animals like garbage”可知，动物权利保护主义者不同意这种做法，指责警方将动物当作垃圾来对待，即：动物们受到了虐待。故B选项正确。

5.观点态度题。倒数第二和第三段主要介绍了动物权利保护主义者对警方这一做法的态度。他们认为这是在虐待动物。根据最后一段“Let’s hope this part of the campaign is over and animals are left out of future attempts to raise pedestrians’ awareness.”可知，作者希望这部分运动已经结束，动物被排除在未来提高行人意识的努力之外。即：作者也不赞成这种做法，希望不要用动物来提高行人意识。故作者对此的态度是批评的。A选项正确。