单选题 The cash-for-clunkers program turned out to be a boon for Asian automakers and the small cars they specialize in. While American government officials hailed the monthlong program, which ended this week, as an overall stimulus to the economy, the biggest winner was Toyota, which accounted for 19 percent of all sales and had two of the top three best- selling models.
Detroit's three automakers — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — accounted for 38.6 percent of the vehicles sold. That figure is substantially less than the 45 percent combined market share that the Detroit companies posted in the first seven months of the year, while Japan's largest automakers — Toyota, Honda and Nissan — sold 41 percent of the new vehicles in the program, compared with the 34 percent combined share they had through July of this year. The Toyota Corolla was the top seller, followed by the Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra.
The success of Toyota and the other Asian automakers was driven by the type of cars in their showrooms. Participants in the clunkers program clearly were interested in downsizing to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. About 84 percent of the clunkers traded in were trucks, and 59 percent of the vehicles purchased were cars.
The interest in small cars, however, could be a hopeful sign for the American auto companies as well. Ford is betting that consumer tastes will continue to shift away from big vehicles, and is bringing out new versions of the Focus and Fiesta subcompact. G.M. and Chrysler have indicated that their postbankruptcy dealer showrooms will feature more small cars — and fewer trucks.
Over all, the clunker program will have an impact on lowering fuel consumption, albeit a small one given the number of vehicles involved. The average fuel economy of the vehicles turned in was just under 16 miles per gallon, compared with an average of almost 25 miles per gallon tot vehicles bought in the program.
A preliminary analysis of the program by the Obama administration said that third- quarter economic growth has been 0.4 percent higher because of auto sales in July and August. In addition, G.M., Ford and Honda all announced that they would increase production at some United States plants because of the increased demand generated by cash for clunkers.
Virtually every automaker reported increased showroom traffic because of the program. Just getting prospective buyers back into dealerships brought some measure of relief to an industry stuck in its worst sales slump in 25 years.
Industry analysts said the surge in interest would be followed by a letdown now that the program is over. "Cash for clunkers distorted the market in a way that benefited the industry for four weeks," said Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of the auto-research Web site Edmunds. com. "Now the payback begins." Mr.Anwyl predicted that consumers might face higher prices on some models that were depleted by clunker sales. Also, manufacturers have little incentive to provide their own sales incentives because inventories are low.

单选题 Which of the following statements is true of the sales volumes in the program?

A. Detroit companies' market share in the first seven months was 45% more than that in the program.
B. Detroit's three automakers sold less cars in the program than in the first seven months.
C. Toyota, Honda and Nissan's market share in the program was 7% less than that through July of this year.
D. Honda and Nissan accounted for 22 percent of all sales in the program.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。根据首段尾句，活动中丰田占19%的市场份额，而根据第二段第二句，活动中丰田、本田和日产市场份额总量占41%，计算可知本田和日产占22%，即D正确。根据第二段前两句，底特律三大车商活动中市场份额占到38.6%，而他们今年前七个月总的市场份额是45%，也就是说前七个月他们市场份额比活动中高了6.4%，而非A所说的高了45%。虽然底特律车商今年前七个月总的市场份额45%，高于活动中的38.6%，但由于文章没有提到汽车销售总量，所以无法判定哪个时期汽车销售量更大，排除B。根据第二段第二句话，日本三家最大的汽车制造商——丰田、本田和日产——在此活动期间的新车销量占41%，而三家企业今年前七个月的市场份额为34%，计算可知活动中日本车商的市场份额比前七个月高出7个百分点，而不是C所说的低出7个百分点。

单选题 What can we know about car consumption in America?

A. People have more trust in Japanese automakers.
B. People prefer cars for they are convenient than trucks.
C. People have less money to buy luxury cars.
D. People displace their bigger cars to save on petrol.

单选题 Mr.Anwyl would probably agree in future that

A. consumers will pay more to buy Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic.
B. government will hold more similar programs in other industries.
C. auto industry will recover from its worst sales slump in 25 years.
D. manufacturers will increase production to increase inventories.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 推理判断题。根据题干中人名关键词定位于尾段。尾段最后两句提到，由于活动中有些车型卖得好导致库存锐减，这些车型的价格势必会提高。另外，同样由于存货少，汽车制造商们对自己产品促销的积极性也不高；结合第二段尾句，活动中销量最大的车型是丰田花冠和本田思域，可以推断得知花冠和思域的价格可能会升高，而且厂家也不会再有什么优惠，A为答案。美国政府虽然对此次活动持肯定态度，但是否还会在其他行业举办类似活动还无从得知，排除B。第七段尾句谈到，现在是汽车行业25年来的销售低谷，与潜在买家达成交易多少给了汽车制造商们一些安慰，但不能依此推断汽车行业自此将会走出低谷，排除C。第六段尾句说到通用、福特和本田都宣称会在美国一些工厂加大产量，但并不是所有车商都会增加生产。末段提到Mr.Anwyl认为有些车型因为库存锐减，买车价格会更高，车商促销积极性会降低，可以推断这些厂商可能不会扩大生产增加库存，排除D。

单选题 Which of the following about the program's effect might the author agree?

A. It has succeeded in boosting the nation's economy.
B. It has benefited the American automakers in some ways.
C. It has lowered the fuel consumption in America.
D. It has attracted more overseas consumers into American market.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 推理判断题。根据第四段，消赞者对小型汽车的青睐对美国汽车公司来说也是一个良好的信号，然后举例证明。第六段笫二句提到，旧车换现金活动使汽车需求增加，其中包括美国通用公司和福特公司都宣称将在美国一些工厂加大产量，由此可以推断作者会同意B的说法。文章两次提到认为此次活动促进了经济增长的观点，第一处是首段第二句前半部分，美国政府把这个活动誉为对经济增长的全面刺激；但后半句表示了转折的含义，说最大的赢家是日本车商(作者花了大量篇幅说明如前三段)。第二处是第六段第一句，政府分析报告中说，因为得益于七八月份的汽车销量，今年美国第三季度经济增长了0.4%；但接着在最后一段阐明了此次活动的副作用。A说法绝对，因此排除。第五段首句的意思是活动对降低燃油消费量具有一定的推动作用，但不是说已经降低了燃油消费量，排除C。D未在原文提及。