Question

    Have you ever wondered why people drive on a different side of the road? It might seem strange that U. K. drivers stay on the left, but they’re not the only ones. 1.

Originally, almost everybody traveled on the left side of the road. However their way of transport was quite different from today: 2. For Medieval swordsmen on horseback, it made sense to keep to the left to have their right arms closer to their enemies. Getting on or off was also easier from the left side of the horse, and safer done by the side of the road than in the center.

3. Things changed in the late 1700s when large wagons pulled by several pairs of horses were used to transport farm products in France and the United States. In the absence of a driver’s seat inside the wagon, the driver sat behind the left horse, with his right arm free to use his whip to keep the horses moving. Since he was sitting on the left, he wanted other wagons to pass on his left. 4.

The British Government refused to give up their left-hand driving ways, and in 1773 introduced the General Highways Act, which encouraged driving on the left.

When Henry Ford unveiled his Model T in 1908，the driver’s seat was on the left, meaning that cars would have to drive on the right hand side of the road to allow front and back passengers to exit the car onto the roadside.5. And this is highly unlikely to change.

A.Think four legs instead of four wheels.

B.Do people get used to driving on the right?

C.However, British drivers remain on the left.

D.So why did people stop traveling on the left?

E.Therefore, he kept to the right side of the road.

F.Around 35 percent of the world population does the same.

G.This was later made law thanks to The Highway Act of 1835.

Answer

1.F

2.A

3.D

4.E

5.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲了现在大部分国家，车辆都是靠右行驶，但是有一些国家是靠左行驶。作者讲了由靠左行驶发展到靠右行驶的历史。

1.考查段尾句。根据上文“It might seem strange that U.K. drivers stay on the left but they’re not the only ones.”可知，英国司机靠左行驶可能看上去比较奇怪，但实际上并不是只有英国这样做。因此此处应介绍其他靠左行驶的情况。F项意为“世界人口的35%也这样做”，承接上文，符合文意。故选F项。

2.考查段中句。由上文“Originally, almost everybody traveled on the left side of the road. However their way of transport was quite different from today:”可知，最初几乎每个人都在路的左侧行驶。但是，他们的交通方式与今天大不相同。today后面是冒号，因此接下来要举例子说明过去时候的人的交通方式。根据下文“For Medieval swordsmen on horseback, it made sense to keep to the left to have their right arms closer to their enemies.”可知，对于中世纪在马背上的剑客来说，靠左边行走能让他们的右手离敌人更近，利于战斗。A项意为“想一下中世纪四条腿的交通工具而不是现代四个轮子的交通工具”，承上启下，符合语境。空格后的句子中的horseback与A项的legs相关。故选A项。

3.考查段首句。根据空格后的下文可知，从18世纪末开始，人们开始使用双马运货马车。司机坐在左边的马后，方便用右手挥鞭。因为司机坐在左边，所以他希望其他马车在他的左边行驶。这些是在讲随着时间的推移，靠左行驶发生了变化，即人们靠右行驶的历史由来。D项意为“那么为什么人们停止靠左行驶呢”，引出下文，符合文意。故选D项。

4.考查段尾句。根据上文“Since he was sitting on the left, he wanted other wagons to pass on his left.”可知，既然司机坐在左边。那么他会希望其他的马车从他的左边经过。因此司机靠右边行驶才能实现以上行为。E项意为“因此，他会靠右边行驶”，承接上文，符合文意。故选E项。

5.考查段中句。根据上文“cars would have to drive on the right hand side of the road to allow front and back passengers to exit the car onto the roadside.”可知，美国汽车工程师福特将自己的T模型公之于众，提倡汽车要靠右行驶，方便前后的乘客下车。且根据下文 “And this is highly unlikely to change.”可知，靠右行驶不符合英国的习惯，所以他们不可能改变。因此此处应提及英国的驾驶习惯。C项意为“然而，英国司机还是保持靠左行驶”，承上启下，符合语境。故选C项。