Question

    The population of the capital Luxembourg City doubles every working day thanks to the flood of workers, and in the morning and evening rush hours, there often comes traffic block. It’s a familiar difficult problem but here they’ve come up with a novel solution.

From next year public transport will be free for everyone. The number of people taking the public transport is far from what is expected and so this idea has been brought up, which of course results in some argument.

This is what’s being built, a new tram system that will link trains in park-and-ride programs designed to make free public transport smooth and attractive. This is a big attempt by the Luxembourg government into whether people can be made to change the way they behave, because free public transport is great for existing commuters. But the question is whether drivers can be persuaded to change their cars and traffic jams for commuting on public transport.

The designer firmly believes the system is so good and effective. Everyone will want to use it. Everyone can use it, young or old, rich or poor, and everyone can say to themselves it’s better to leave the car at home. But others consider it questionable.

Taxi drivers don’t seem worried about trams stealing their trade. Businessmen who come here are never going to take public transport. They’ll take a taxi because they have meetings to get to.

So Luxembourg’s plan is really a test, and it’s one that plenty of bigger nations will be watching. As we know, the way we move around shapes our cities, our lives, our work and our environment. Luxembourg is a very small country but this could be a very big idea.

1.Why does Luxembourg City plan to make public transport free?

A.To reduce traffic jams. B.To attract more businessmen.

C.To encourage people to avoid rush hours. D.To help its citizens travel more comfortably.

2.What can we infer about the result of the plan?

A.Taxi drivers’ business will be badly affected.

B.More people will choose to drive to and from work.

C.People’s daily behavior will be completely changed.

D.Taking public transport can save money for commuters.

3.How does the designer feel about the system?

A.Hopeless. B.Concerned. C.Confident. D.Regretful.

4.What’s the author’s purpose of writing the text?

A.To list the traffic problems Luxembourg faces.

B.To show how Luxembourg controls its population.

C.To give people advice on how to get around Luxembourg.

D.To introduce Luxembourg’s new public transport measure.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。主要说明了为了减少交通堵塞，卢森堡计划免费提供公共交通。文章从政府、设计者、出租车司机三方面介绍了他们各自对这一做法的看法。

1.

推理判断题。根据第一段The population of the capital Luxembourg City doubles every working day thanks to the flood of workers, and in the morning and evening rush hours, there often comes traffic block. It’s a familiar difficult problem but here they’ve come up with a novel solution.可知由于工人的大量涌入，首都卢森堡的人口在每个工作日都会翻一番。在早高峰和晚高峰时段，经常会出现交通堵塞。这是一个熟悉的难题，但在这里他们想出了一个新奇的解决方案。由此可推知，卢森堡计划免费提供公共交通是为了减少交通堵塞。故选A。

2.

推理判断题。根据第三段中This is a big attempt by the Luxembourg government into whether people can be made to change the way they behave, because free public transport is great for existing commuters.可知这是卢森堡政府对人们是否可以改变他们的行为方式的一次重大尝试，因为免费的公共交通对现有的往返上班者来说是很好的。由此可推知，这个计划的结果是，乘坐公共交通工具可以为往返上班者省钱。故选D。

3.

推理判断题。根据第四段中The designer firmly believes the system is so good and effective.可知设计者坚信这个系统是如此的优良和有效。由此可推知，设计者对这个系统有信心。故选C。

4.

推理判断题。根据第一段The population of the capital Luxembourg City doubles every working day thanks to the flood of workers, and in the morning and evening rush hours, there often comes traffic block. It’s a familiar difficult problem but here they’ve come up with a novel solution.可知由于工人的大量涌入，首都卢森堡的人口在每个工作日都会翻一番。在早高峰和晚高峰时段，经常会出现交通堵塞。这是一个熟悉的难题，但在这里他们想出了一个新奇的解决方案。结合文章主要说明了为了减少交通堵塞，卢森堡计划免费提供公共交通。文章从政府、设计者、出租车司机三方面介绍了他们各自对这一做法的看法。由此可推知，作者写这篇文章的目的是介绍卢森堡新的公共交通措施。故选D。