Question

Every day 25 million U.S. children ride school buses. The safety record for these buses is much better than for passenger cars; but nevertheless, about 10 children are killed each year riding on large school buses, and nearly four times that number are killed outside buses in the loading zones. By and large, however, the nation’s school children are transported to and from school safely.

Even though the number of school bus accidents is not large, the safety of children is always of intense public concern. While everyone wants to see children transported safely, people are divided about what needs to be done-particularly whether seat belts should be compulsory.

People in favor of seat belts on school buses-many of them parents and medical organizations-argue that seat belts are necessary not only to reduce fatality and injury, but also to teach children lessons about the importance of using them routinely in any moving vehicle. A side benefit, they point out, is that seat belts help keep children in their seats, away from the bus driver.

People who object to seat belt installation suggest that children are already well protected by the school buses that follow the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) safety requirements set in 1977. They also believe that many children won’t wear seat belts anyway, and that may damage the belts or use them as weapons to hurt other children.

A new research council report on school bus safety suggest that there are alternate safety devices and procedures that may be more effective and less expensive. For example, the study committee suggested that raising seat backs four inches may have the same safety effectiveness as seat belts.

The report sponsored by the Department of transportation at the request of Congress, reviews seat belts extensively while taking a broader look at safety in and around school buses.

1.According to the passage, the “school bus” is _________.

A．the bus offered by the school and different from the public bus

B．the bus that has no difference from the public bus

C．the bus that is driven by the students

D．the bus that is not safe

2.According to the passage, who has the greatest degree of control of the school buses “safety”?

A．A new Research Council.

B．The Department of Transportation.

C．The Medical Organization.

D．National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

3.It may be inferred from this passage that __________.

A．many of the opponents(反对者) of seat belt installation are parents and officials of the Department of Transportation

B．proposals of seat belts on school buses would be seriously considered

C．an alternate safety device (raising seat backs four inches) may be taken into consideration

D．The Department of Transportation may either take the idea of seat belts or other measures when it reviews the whole situation

4.The title below which best expresses the idea of the passage is“_______”.

A．Making School Buses Even Safer for Children

B．Seat Belts Needed on School Buses

C．Alternate Safety Devices and Procedures

D．Safety in and around School Buses

5.What is the writer’ s attitude towards the safety of the school bus is _______.

A．Critical           B．Negative          C．Objective         D．Indifferent

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.A

5.C

【解析】

试题分析：这篇文章讲的是学生乘坐校车的安全问题。关于是否佩戴安全带的问题，许多人赞成并要求采取更安全的措施。

1.推理题;从第一段的句子：Every day 25 million U.S. children ride school buses. The safety record for these buses is much better than for passenger cars;可知校车是学校接送学生的汽车和一般的公共汽车不一样。选A

2.此题是问谁最有权控制学校班车的安全。文章第四段讲道:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration在1977年制定的安全措施很好地保护了校车中孩子们的安全。据此可以推知，该机构有权就校车安全问题制定相关规定，它是最有权威的，所以答案应该是D。

3.文章最后一段讲到，在国会的要求下，交通部发起的这份调查报告要求详尽地考察座位安全带问题，同时要广泛调查校车：内部以及周围的安全环境。但是文章并未说明交通部要采取什么措施，所以D不确切。第三段说，家长是使用安全带的支持者，所以A不对。第五段只指出有一种替代方法，但并未指出它会被考虑执行。所以C不对。因此选择B。

4.这篇文章讲的是学生乘坐校车的安全问题。许多人赞成并要求采取更安全的措施。所以答案应该选A。C较具干扰性，它虽然也涉及到bus safety，但不是作者所要表达的最直接的愿望，而且文章也并未就具体的措施做出定夺。B太片面，因为文章不只讨论了安全带问题。D的说法太泛太空，不具体。选A。

5.作者态度题：作者说明了校车安全问题的事实，例举了家长的观点，专家的观点，交通部的做法，没有提到自己的观点，是很客观的。选C    

考点：考查社会现象类短文