If comfortably outpacing your rivals is the main measure of automotive achievement, Tesla's electric car is a resounding success. The Model S last year outsold its nearest luxury rival, Mercedes's petrol-engined S-class, by 30% in America. And in its top specification the Tesla will also beat the German car in the race from 0-60mph. As a battery-maker Tesla is also moving fast. This week it announced plans to build a "gigafactory" in America to make lithium-ion power-packs, that it hopes will propel its vehicles to the mainstream. Tesla's acceleration has been rapid. Launched a decade ago by Elon Musk, a founder of PayPal and serial tech entrepreneur, last year it sold around 22,000 cars and by the end of 2014 hopes to be making 1,000 a week. In early 2015 Tesla will add the Model X, a medium-sized SUV, to its range. However, Tesla's impressive growth has not yet translated into significant profits. A series of battery fires also briefly dented sales growth last year. Nevertheless, Tesla's shares surged on February 25th, to value the company at over $ 30 billion after Morgan Stanley, a bank, joined its adoring fans. It reckons that the battery factory will not only propel it along the road to mass manufacturing but also make it a leading competitor in low-cost energy storage, the key to making renewable energy more practical. The bank is also confident that Tesla's Silicon Valley location will put it in the driverless front seat of autonomous motoring. A recent meeting with Apple, and the iPad-like control panel of the Model S, have convinced some observers that a takeover and an iCar are around the corner, although Mr Musk insists that his firm is not for sale. Tesla has defied its doubters with the success of the Model S, a smartly styled luxury car. It may not share the outrageous looks of a supercar like the Lamborghini Aventador, but it has the performance without the $ 400,000-plus price tag. The most basic Model S costs $ 64,000 in America. This has won it rave reviews in the motoring press, often sniffy about other electric cars with limited ranges and duff looks. By designing a large car with a big battery pack, Tesla has diminished "range anxiety"—one version can do 310 miles (500km) between charges.
单选题
According to the first paragraph, Tesla is______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解析：细节题。定位到第一段。该段第二行提到luxury一词，但是指的是Mercedes，并不是Tesla，故选项[A]的luxury car brand表述不当，而beats all its rivals更是过度夸大，故选项[A]是错误的。而选项[B]的high-end customers“高端客户”更是无中生有。选项[C]的battery-maker只是Tesla的部分业务，而且has become mainstream“已经成为主流”也与原文不符，故该项错误。只有[D]项的an electric car brand that also produces battery“同时生产电池的电动跑车品牌”能够概括Tesla，分别对应该段第二行的Tesla’s electric car和第四行的As a battery-maker Tesla is also moving fast．故答案为[D]。
单选题
It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】解析：推理题。定位到第二段。首先，选项[A]在该段没有对应内容，该段未提到mainstream一词，该项属于无中生有。选项[B]的2015和new model对应该段的“In early 2015 Tesla will add the Model X，a medium-sized SUV，to its range．”一句，但是该项的make a great fortune“大赚一笔”文中并无体现，故该项错误。选项[C]对应该段最后一句：A series of battery fires also briefly dented sales growth last year．“去年，一系列电池起火事件削弱了其销售增长势头。”由此可见，该项的it may take a while for Tesla to recover from the battery accidents“特斯拉可能需要一段时间才能从电池事故中恢复过来”的推理正确。选项[D]的environmentally-friendly原文并未提到，该项也是错误的。综上，本题答案为[C]。
单选题
According to Paragraph 3, some observers believe that______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：观点题。根据some observers定位到第三段最后一句：A recent meeting with Apple，and the iPad-like control panel of the Model S，have convinced some observers that a takeover and an iCar are around the corner，although Mr Musk insists that his firm is not for sale．其中答案的来源句为a takeover and an iCar are around the corner“特斯拉很快会被接手，iCar很快会出现”其中，around the corner的意思是“即将到来”，四项中与该句表述一致的是选项[B]Apple may take Tesla over in the near future“苹果可能在近期接手特斯拉”，其中take Tesla over=takeover；in the near future=around the corner，故该题答案为[B]。
单选题
Which one of the following is true about Tesla's Model S?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干的Tesla’s Model S以及出题顺序定位到最后一段。选项[A]对应该段第四行：This has won it rave reviews in the motoring press，often sniffy about other electric cars with limited ranges and duff looks．其中的limited ranges and duff looks指的是other electric cars，而不是Tesla，故该项错误。选项[B]对应本段第二句：It may not share the outrageous looks of a supercar like the Lamborghini Aventador…其中的outrageous“令人震惊的”与该项的impressive“令人印象深刻的”意思接近，但是原文说的是not share the outrageous looks of a supercar，故该项错误。选项[C]对应该段第二、三两句：but it has the performance without the $400，000-plus price tag．The most basic Model S costs $64，000 in America．可见Model S不仅拥有价值40万美元的汽车的表现性能，而且售价仅为6．4万美元，性价比很高，该项说的“不值得购买”显然是错误的。选项[D]对应该段第四行：This has won it rave reviews in the mototing press，often sniffy about other electric cars…这使其在汽车报刊上引起轩然大波，该报刊往往对其他电动跑车的有限行程和笨拙外观嗤之以鼻。可见该项It has changed people’s view towards the electric car．“它改变了人们对于电动跑车的看法。”表述正确，即[D]为答案。
单选题
The most appropriate title for this text is______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：主旨题。本文讨论的是电动跑车品牌Tesla，几个选项基本都吻合。我们先理解各项大意。选项[A]“特斯拉：大获成功的电动跑车”；选项[B]“电动跑车：何去何从?”；选项[C]“特斯拉：距离被接手还远吗?”；选项[D]“特斯拉：猛增长，零利润”。一般文章各段首句可以表达各段大意，而把各段首句加起来，可以看出整篇文章大意。第一段提到：Tesla’s electric car is a resounding success．第二段首句指出：Tesla’acceleration has been rappid．第三段首句重点为：Nevertheless，Tesla’s shares surged．最后一段首句又指出：Tesla has defied its doubters with the success of the Model S．这几句不断提到success，acceleration，surge等词，都是积极向上的词，由此可以判断，文章重点讨论特斯拉的成功和发展，故[A]项为答案。