单选题
Believe it or not,optical illusion (错觉) can cut highway crashes. 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 driving faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down. Now the American 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 traffic accidents, according to the foundation. To help reduce those accidents, the foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed-related hazards are the greatest--curves, exit slopes, traffic circles, and bridges. Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars painted across roads can initially 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 bar. Chevrons, scientists say, not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane spear 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 ______. A. a new way of highway speed control B. a new pattern for painting highways C. a new approach to training drivers D. a new type of optical illusion
单选题
On roads painted with chevrons drivers tend to feel that ______. A. they should avoid speed-related hazards B. they are driving in the wrong lane C. they should slow down their speed D. they are approaching the speed limit
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 文中提到“Bent stripes, called chevrons(人字形)painted on the roads make drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down”，因此，粉刷人字形是为了让司机减缓开车的速度。
单选题
The advantage of chevrons over straight, horizontal bars is that the former ______. A. can keep drivers awake B. can cut road accidents in half C. will have a longer effect on drivers D. will look more attractive
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 文章最后一句“The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents”，告诉我们人字形的效果更加持久。
单选题
The American Association Foundation for Traffic Safety plans to ______. A. try out the Japanese method in certain areas B. change the road signs across the country C. replace straight, horizontal bars with chevrons D. repeat the Japanese road patterns
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第二段开头讲到“Now the American Association Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington D.C.is planning to repeat Japan's success”，这里的成功指的是文中接下来所述“paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country”，即精心挑选几条路段试验日本的模式。因此本题选A。
单选题
What does the author say about straight, horizontal bars painted across roads? A. They are falling out of use in the United States. B. They tend to be ignored by drivers in a short period of time. C. They are applicable only on broad roads. D. They cannot be applied successfully to traffic circles.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 文章讲到“Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half”，也就是说横的直线只能短时间内有效。因此只能选择B。