单选题 Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C, or D.
In spring of 2004, when US gas prices hit US $2 a gallon, University of Washington senior Jo Blue kept on driving. After Hurricane Katrina last August, prices topped US $3 a gallon. But Blue kept driving. Now, when prices have leveled at about US $2.25, she still commutes an hour everyday to her job as a swim coach. Blue has to get to work and public transportation is not an option. Buses to the suburb where she works are infrequent, so Blue has no choice but to spend US $30 a week on gas.
High gas prices, which began to soar in 2004, have Americans-whose way of life depends on carscomplaining, but not doing much to change the country's car culture.
Like Blue, most Americans, except those in major cities, drive to work. Many live in sprawling suburbs which are accessible only by car. The average American spends 55 minutes each day behind the wheel, according to the US Department of Transportation. In 2003, the US's 290,000 residents registered 237,000 vehicles.
Many experts say that this car driven lifestyle is unsustainable. "An event like Hurricane Katrina demonstrates how constrained and fragile the energy supply is now," said Barry Silverthorne, producer of "The End of Suburbia", a documentary about American car culture.
In the 1950s, King Hubert, a geologist working for Shell, a major US oil company, predicted that the rate of oil extraction (提取) could not continue to increase forever. Once all the high quality or easiest-to-reach oil was extracted, oil would become progressively scarcer and more expensive until the supply runs out altogether.
Many major oil fields in the Middle East have reached or will soon reach their peaks, says Megan Qinn, director of the Community Solution, an organization that promotes sustainable development.
Though most experts agree the US should become less dependent on cars, few have addressed the issue of "how"
"Deep down in America many of us have a sense that we are about to hit a brick wall of some kind. But people are too distracted by Paris Hiton and iPods to notice," said Silverthorne.
单选题 According to the author, the key reason why Americans need car is that ______.
  • A. they need to drive to work
  • B. they have so many highways
  • C. many live in suburbs accessible only by car
  • D. many want to go traveling by car
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 见文章第三段。美国人选择开车，主要因为许多美国人住在郊区，那里没有公交车或者公交车的班次少，这些人不得不选择自驾车去城里上班。
单选题 According to the statistics in 2003, every US residents owns ______ vehicle (s).
  • A. at least 0.5
  • B. at least 0.8
  • C. at least 1
  • D. at least 1.2
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 由原文第三段可知，在2003年，29万名美国人登记注册所拥有的交通工具就有237000辆。由此可以算出，每个美国人至少拥有0.8辆交通工具。
单选题 King Hubbert says that oil ______.
  • A. will be replaced by other high quality or easy-to-reach energy
  • B. is reaching its peak gradually
  • C. will run out immediately
  • D. will decrease some day
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 原文第五段列举了地质学家King Hubbert的观点。他指出，石油的开采不可能持续增长。有朝一日，当所有高质量、易开发的石油都被开采殆尽，石油将变得越来越少、越来越贵，直到石油储量耗尽的那一天。考生须在这段文字中进行归纳，得出答案。
单选题 The author believes that American car culture is ______.
  • A. a luxury
  • B. necessary
  • C. sustainable
  • D. unsustainahle
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 本文作者对美国的汽车文化进行了深刻的分析。文章前三段阐释了汽车对于美国人的重要性。即使是在“卡特里娜”飓风来袭、油价飞涨之际，美国人都没有放弃开车的生活方式。但是作者认为这个汽车时代不会长久。在接下来的篇幅中，作者引用了大量反对汽车文化的专家的话语。第四段第一句话“Many experts say that this car driven lifestyle is unsustainable”总结了以下的专家语录。
单选题 The last paragraph suggests that ______.
  • A. Americans only care about celebrities and luxury products
  • B. Americans know they are about to hit a wall due to energy crisis
  • C. Americans know they should make a change of some kind
  • D. Americans are conscious but do nothing about energy shortage
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 选项D的意思是：美国人清醒地认识到能源紧缺，但是他们并没有采取措施。符合原文所说Deep down in America many of us have a sense that we are about to hit a brick wall of some kind. But people are too distracted by Pans Hilton and iPods to notice. (在美国人内心有一种要撞上某种墙的感觉，但是他们的注意力被Pans Hilton这样的美女和iPods牌的播放器吸引了。)