阅读理解 Believe it or not, optical illusion(错觉)can cut highway crashes(撞毁). Japan is a case in point. It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion. Bent stripes, called chevrons(人字形), painted on the roads make drivers think that they are faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down.
Now the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington D. C. is planning to repeat Japan' s success. Starting next year, the Foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes.
Excessive speed plays a major role in as much as one fifth of all fatal(致命)traffic accidents, according to the Foundation. To help reduce those accidents, the Foundation will carry its tests in areas where speed-related hazards(危险)are the greatest—curves(弯), exit slopes, traffic circles, and bridges.
Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars(水平障碍物)painted across roads can initially(最初)cut the average speed of drivers in half. However, traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.
Chevrons, scientists say, not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are, but also make a lane(车道)appear to be narrower. The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.
单选题 The passage mainly discusses______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】主旨大意题。通读全文可知，高速公路上的人字形线条是为了让司机觉得车速过快，从而达到控制车速的目的。因此，本文讲述的是高速路上控制车速的新责法。故选A。
单选题 On roads painted with chevrons, drivers tend to feel that______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】事实细节题。由第一段最后一句“Bent stripes，called chevrons，painted on the roads make drivers think that they are faster than they really are，and thus drivers slow down．”可知，人字形线使司机产生自己驾驶速度过快的错觉，从而降低车速，所以C项正确。
单选题 The advantage of chevrons over straight, horizontal bars is that the former______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】推理判断题。由最后两段对比可知，人字形线比直线、水平线对控制车速有更长久的影响。故选D。
单选题 The American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety plans to______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】事实细节题。由文章第二段第二句“…the Foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country…”可知，他们将在精心 挑选的几条路上试验日本的模式。故选A。
单选题 What does the author say about straight, horizontal bars painted across roads?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】推理判断题。根据第四段第二句“However，traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars．”可知，随着驾驶员对这些线越来越熟悉，交通很快又会返回全速的状态。由此可推知，这种控制并不能够长期维持。故选C。