Question

    During Amsterdam’s chaotic rush hour, nine-year-old Lotta Crok cycles to a very busy crossing. “Look,” she says. “There’s traffic coming from everywhere. Four buses from four different directions. For a child on a bike that’s really confusing!”

Lotta is the first junior cycle mayor in the world and her working area is the Dutch capital. You would think this challenge would be superfluous in a city known as the bicycle capital of the world. The number of bicycles in Amsterdam is estimated at 810,000 more than the city’s 750,000 inhabitants and 63% of the population cycle daily.

But children who cycle in Amsterdam face challenges. Lotta says: “The three biggest problems for us are cars, cycling tourists and scooters(小型摩托). The cars take up too much space, the tourists are always swinging side to side and stop when you least expect it, and the scooters simply run you over.”

Lotta became junior cycle mayor in June last year when she won a contest in which school children were asked to come up with plans to make cycling safer and more fun. Her idea was to add children’s bikes to the popular bike share programme.

Since Lotta was appointed junior cycle mayor, she has been busy giving interviews, opening cycling contests in the city and being a jury member during the Amsterdam Light Parade, an event in which Amsterdammers decorate their bikes with lights.

She is now planning a meeting with the city’s mayor to discuss ideas that children have come up with: “One of our proposals is a bicycle park where children can learn how to cycle. Right now, most of us learn it in the street, which can be quite busy. Another idea is to create an app for tourists to teach them the rules of cycling, because most of them really don’t know.”

Following the success of the Amsterdam plan, cycle mayors around the world are now planning to appoint junior colleagues. “They see it works really well,” Boerma, the senior major, says. “I talk to the parents. Lotta talks to the children. And if you look at the city through the eyes of a child, you will also make it accessible for others. A city that’s good for an eight-year-old is also good for an 88-year-old.”

1.Why is a junior cycle mayor appointed in Amsterdam?

A.To teach children how to ride.

B.To ensure cycling is safer for children.

C.To give suggestions to the city’s mayor on how to run the city.

D.To organize the cycling contests in the city.

2.Which word can best replace the underlined word “superfluous” in paragraph 2?

A.Important B.Unnecessary C.Difficult D.Valuable

3.What’s Boerma’s attitude to the junior cycle mayor?

A.Favorable B.Cautious C.Ambiguous D.Disapproving

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.A

【解析】

本文是记叙文。一个九岁的小女孩当选为阿姆斯特丹的自行车小市长，负责所在工作区域内的自行车相关工作。设立自行车小市长是为了确保儿童骑自行车更安全。

1.

推理判断题。根据第一段There’s traffic coming from everywhere. Four buses from four different directions. For a child on a bike that’s really confusing!可知阿姆斯特丹到处都是车流，四辆公共汽车来自四个不同的方向。对于一个骑自行车的孩子来说，这真的很让人困惑!第四段Lotta became junior cycle mayor in June last year when she won a contest in which school children were asked to come up with plans to make cycling safer and more fun.可知Lotta被任命为自行车小市长是因为她提出了让骑自行车更安全、更有趣的计划。由此推知阿姆斯特丹任命自行车小市长是为了确保儿童骑自行车更安全。故选B。

2.

词义猜测题。根据句中的a city known as the bicycle capital of the world和下句The number of bicycles in Amsterdam is estimated at 810,000 more than the city’s 750,000 inhabitants and 63% of the population cycle daily.可知阿姆斯特丹被称为世界自行车之都，自行车在这里是主要的，人们熟练使用的交通工具，设立自行车小市长没有必要，是多余的。下段But children who cycle in Amsterdam face challenges.与上文形成转折，所以画线词语superfluous应该是“没有必要的，多余的”，与unnecessary同义，故选B。

3.

推理判断题。根据最后一段“They see it works really well,” Boerma, the senior major, says. “I talk to the parents. Lotta talks to the children. And if you look at the city through the eyes of a child, you will also make it accessible for others. A city that’s good for an eight-year-old is also good for an 88-year-old.”可知Boerma认为任命自行车小市长很有效，可以用孩子的眼光看城市，管理城市。由此判断出Boerma对这一举措是赞成的，故选A。