单选题 Cars are an important part of life in the United States. Without a car, most people feel that they are poor. And even if a person is poor, he doesn’t feel really poor when he has a car. Henry Ford was the man who first started making cars in large numbers. He probably didn’t know how much the car was going to change American culture. The car made the United States a nation on wheels. And it helped make the United States what it is today. There are three main reasons why the car became so popular in the United States. First of all, the country is a big one and Americans like to move around it. The car makes the travel the most comfortable and cheapest. With a car people can go to any place without spending a lot of money. The second reason why cars are popular is the fact that the United States never really developed a practical and cheap public travel system. Long-distance trains have never been as common in the United States as they are in other parts of the world. Now there is a good system of air service provided by planes. But it is too expensive to be used often. The third reason is the most important one, though. The American spirit of independence is what really made cars popular. Americans don’t like waiting for a bus, or a train or even a plane. They don’t like to have to follow an exact timetable. A car gives them the freedom to plan their own time. And this is the freedom that Americans want most to have. Less oil has caused a big problem for Americans. But the answer will not be a bigger system of public transportation. The real answer will have to be a new kind of car, one that does not use so much oil.

单选题 Which of the following statements is TRUE?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】事实细节题。根据第一段最后两句“Without a car，most people fell that they arc poor. And even if a person is poor，he doesn’t feel really poor when he has a car.”可知，如果没有一辆小汽车，大多数人会觉得自己贫穷，而一个人即使很穷，但如果有了小汽车，他也不会觉得自己真的穷，即一个美国人除非有一辆小汽车，否则会觉得自己贫穷。故选D。

单选题 We can learn from this passage that Americans________.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】推理判断题。根据第三段第二、三“…the country is a big one and Americans like to move around it. The car makes the travel the most comfortable and cheapest.”可知，美国的国土面积大，美国人喜爱四处旅行，而开车旅行既舒适又便宜。由此可推知，美国人经常开车旅行，所以选项B正确。根据第三段最后一句“With a car people can go to any place without spending a lot of money.”可知，人们开车旅行并不需要花费很多钱，所以选项A不正确；根据第四段最后两句“Now there is a good system of air service provided by planes. But it is too expensive to be used often.”可知，飞机提供了良好的航空服务但它太过昂贵，不能经常乘坐，但文中没有说美国人从不坐飞机旅行，所以选项C不正确；根据第五段第三旬“Americans don’t like waiting for a bus，or a train or even a plane.”可知，美国人不喜欢等公共汽车、火车甚至飞机，由此可推知，美国人不经常使用公共交通，所以选项D不正确。故选B。

单选题 Which of the following is not told in the passage?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】事实细节题。根据第三段最后一句“With a car people can go to any place without spending a lot of money.”可知，开车旅行并不昂贵，所以选项B正确；根据第五段第二句“The American spirit of independence is what rally made cars popular.”可知，美国人的独立精神使得小汽车广受欢迎，所以选项C正确；根据第三段第二句“…the country is a big one and Americans like to move around it.”可知，美国人喜爱四处旅行，所以选项D正确。根据第五段第三句“Americans don’t like waiting for a bus，or a train or even a plane.”可知，美国人不喜欢等公共汽车、火车甚至飞机等公共交通工具，但并未提及这些公共交通工具不舒适。故选A。

单选题 In the writer’s opinion, cars are popular in the United States mainly because________.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】推理判断题。根据第五段第二句“The American spirit of independence is what really made cars popular.”和第五段倒数第二句“A car gives them the freedom to plan their own time.”可知，美国人的独立精神是使得小汽车广受欢迎的真正原因，小汽车能够让美国人自由安排自己的时间，而自由安排自己的时间是独立精神的一种表现。由此可推知，小汽车在美国受欢迎的最主要原因是可以让美国人自由安排自己的时间。故选A。

单选题 "A nation on wheels" in the second paragraph means that________.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】词语理解题。根据第二段最后三句“He probably didn’t know how much the car was going to change American culture. The car made the United States a nation on wheels. And it helped make the United States what it is today.”可知，Henry Ford或许没有预料到小汽车将给美国文化带来多大变化，小汽车使得美国成为它现在的样子，让美国成为“车轮上的国家”。由此可推知，a nation on wheels在此处意为“车轮上的国家”，表示小汽车在美国人生活中占据了重要的位置。故选C。