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 had 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 affect American culture. The car made the United States a nation on wheels.
There are some reasons why the car became so popular in the United States. First of all, the country is a huge one and Americans like to move around in it. With a car people can go to any place without spending a lot of money.
Also the American spirit of independence is what really made cars popular. Americans don't like to wait for a bus, a train or even a plane. They don't like to have to follow an exact schedule. A car gives them the freedom to schedule their own time. And this is the freedom that Americans want most to have.
The gas shortage has caused a big problem for Americans. But the answer will not be a bigger system of public transportation. The real solution will have to be a new kind of car, one that does not use so much gas.

单选题 Most Americans feel they are poor when they______

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。根据线索词poor的定位到文章第一段第二句：Without a car most people feel that they are poor(没有车，大部分人会觉得自己很穷。)由此可知答案为D)
[避错] A)“失业”；B)“没有食物”和C)“没钱”这三个选项都表示很穷，然而根据文章第一段第三句话“如果一个人有车，即使他很穷他也不觉得穷”，可知处于上述三种情况时他们不一定觉得自己很穷，故全部排除。

单选题 Henry Ford was the first to

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。根据线索词Henry Ford和first定位到文章第一段第四句：Henry Ford was the man who first started making cars in large numbers(亨利·福特是第一个大批量制造汽车的人。)由此可知答案为D)。
[避错] A)“大批量发明小汽车”；B)“大批量销售小汽车”和C)“大批量拥有小汽车”在文中均没有提及。

单选题 "A nation on wheels" (Line 3, Para. 1) means"______".

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 综合理解题。根据题干引号中的线索词a nation on wheels定位到文章第一段第五、六句：He probably didn't know how much the car was going to affect American cul ture. The car rnade the United States a nation on wheels．(他可能不知道汽车对美国文化的影响会有多大，但汽车使美国成为了车轮上的国家。)由此可知，汽车在美国人的生活中起着重大作用，所以答案为C)。
[避错] A)“世界上生产最好汽车的国家”，文中未提及；B)“这个国家每个人都有汽车”，说法太绝对，虽然美国是车轮上的国家，但不可能每个人都有汽车；D)“这个国家汽车比火车多”，虽符合常理，但在文中也没有提及，故排除。

单选题 ______ belongs to the character of American.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 细节辨认题。根据线索词character定位到文章第三段第一句：…the American spirit of indepertdence is what really made cars popular．由此可知答案为A)。
[避错] B)和C)文章没有提到；D)文章说美国人喜欢自由支配生活，不喜欢等车、等飞机，不愿遵守太绝对的时间表，只是说明美国人崇尚自由的生活，但不能表明美国人没有耐心。

单选题 The real solution to the gas shortage problem is

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 细节推断题。根据线索词real solution定位到文章第四段最后一句：The real so lution will have to be a rlew kind of car，one that does not use so mucn gas．(真正缓解石油短缺的方法是研发一种新型的节省能源的汽车。)由此可知答案为C)。
[避错] 根据第四段第二句“答案不是建立大规模的公交系统”可知，美国人并不想通过用公交系统取代汽车的方法来达到少生产汽车、节约能源的目的，故排除A)和B)；文中指出美国人也不喜欢等火车，发展火车系统也是行不通的，因此排除D)。