单选题 The automobile has many advantages. Above all, it offers people freedom to go wherever and whenever they want to go. The basic purpose of a motor vehicle is to get from point A to point B as cheaply, quickly, and safely as possible. However, to most people, cars are also personal fantasy machines that serve as symbols of power, success, speed, excitement, and adventure.
In addition, much of the world's economy is built on producing motor vehicles and supplying roads, services, and repairs for those vehicles. Half of the world's paychecks are auto related. In the United States, one of every six dollars spent and one of every six non-farm jobs are connected to the automobile or related industries, such as oil, steel, rubber, plastics, automobile services, and highway construction.
In spite of their advantages, motor vehicles have many harmful effects on human lives and on air, water, land, and wildlife resources. The automobile may be the most destructive machine ever invented. Though we tend to deny it, riding in cars is one of the most dangerous things we do in our daily lives.
Since 1885, when Karl Benz built the first automobile, almost 18 million people have been killed by motor vehicles. Every year, cars and trucks worldwide kill an average of 250 000 people -- as many as were killed in the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- and injure or permanently disable 10 million more. Half of the world's people will be involved in an auto accident at some time during their lives.
Since the automobile was introduced, almost three million Americans have been killed on the highways -- about twice the number of Americans killed on the battlefield in all US wars. In addition to the tragic loss of life, these accidents cost American society about $ 60 billion annually in lost income and in insurance, administrative, and legal expenses.
Streets that used to be for people are now for cars. Pedestrians and people riding bicycles in the streets are subjected to noise, pollution, stress, and danger.
Motor vehicles are the largest source of air pollution, producing a haze of smog over the world's cities. In the United States, they produce at least 50% of the country's air pollution.

单选题 Cars represent people's ______.
A. occupation B. wealth C. life style D. fame
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】分析推理题。文章分析了汽车给人们生活带来的好处和坏处两个方面的内容。在第一段最后一句中说，对于大多数人来说，cars are also personal fantasy machines．．．and adventure，权力、成功、速度、兴奋和冒险归纳起来都属于生活方式的一部分，因此选[C] 。其余三项都只是其中的一个方面。
单选题 According to the passage, the average number of people killed annually in traffic accidents around the world is ______.
A. 18 million B. 250 000 C. 10 million D. 60 billion
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】细节题。第四段第二句指出世界上海年平均因汽车和卡车而死亡的人数为250 000人，因此答案为[B] 。[A] 是自汽车发明以来死的总人数；[C] 是每年受伤的人数；[D] 是美国每年的经济损失。
单选题 A serious environmental problem resulting from automobiles is ______.
A. tragic loss of life B. traffic jams
C. air pollution D. mental stress
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】细节题。文章最后一段指出汽车对环境的影响，其中第一句说：Motor vehicles are the largest source of air pollution，因此答案为[C] 。
单选题 It can be inferred from this passage that automobiles ______.
A. are an important part of the world's economy
B. are becoming less dangerous
C. will produce less air pollution in the future
D. are killing more people in recent years than in the past
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】分析推理题。文章第二段指出汽车(工业)对世界经济的影响。由其中的much of the world's economy、half of the world's paychecks两处可以推知汽车工业是世界经济的重要组成部分，因此[A] 是正确的。其余三项都与文意不符。
单选题 The title that suits the passage best is ______.
A. Automobile and Economy
B. Automobile and the Environment
C. The Problems with the Automobile
D. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Automobile
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】文章第一、二两段谈论的是汽车带来的好处(advantages)，后面几段谈论的则是它所带来的不利影响(harmful effects)，因此文章标题应当是概括这两个方面的[D] 项。