单选题 You slip the key into the ignition and crank the engine to life. But before you put the ear into gear, you tap a key on the keyboard mounted by the steering wheel, and your newest e-mail flashes up on the windscreen.
This seductive satyr is what you get when you cross a ear and a eomputer. Dubbed the "network vehiele", or net-mobile, it may soon come to a driveway near you ( probably the one belonging to your rich neighbor). In a net-mobile, a motorist could tap into a regional road system but also to map out a route around rush-hour traffic snags. Drivers and passengers will be able to send and receive e-mail, track the latest sports scores or stock quotes, surf the Web, and even play video games. Or so, at least, say a number of computer-industry firms such as Microsoft, Sun, IBM and Netseape.
The modern car is already an electronic showcase on wheels. On-board microcomputers improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. They operate anti-lock brake systems, and on some ears even regulate the firmness of the shock absorbers. But much of the technology needed to add extra is available now. A prototype network vehicle, produced by a consortium of Netseape, Sun, IBM and Delco (an automotive electronics firm based in Michigan), was introduced at the recent annual computer industry show in Las Vegas.
It not only offered such desktop-eomputer-like services as e-mail, but allowed a driver to use them without looking away from the road. It was operated by voice commands and projected its data on to the windscreen, using the same sort of head-up display system found in modern fighter jets. Members of the consortium think a real-world network vehicle could be in production in as little as four years.
Car-makers have already begun rolling out some of the features found on these prototype net mobiles. If the driver of a General Motors car equipped with its On-Star system locks his key in the car, for example, an emergency centre can transmit a digital signal to unlock the doors. On-star also calls automatically for help if an accident triggers the airbags. Toyota and General Motors are among a growing list of firms offering such in-ear navigation systems. And in Europe, BMW and Mercedes-Benz recently introduced navigation hardware that can not only plot out a route, but alert a driver to traffic jams.

单选题 The future car can be defined as the machine which______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查事实细节。第一段对未来汽车进行了一番美好描述。二段首句指出这种机器就是汽车和电脑的交合体。satyr原意是“半人半兽的森林之神”，这里比喻为“半汽车半电脑的结合体”。第二句指出这种汽车享有“网络汽车”(network vehicle)的称号，因此C选项为最佳答案。其他项都是未来汽车的部分功能，不具概括性。故正确选项为C。

单选题 "An electronic showcase on wheels" probably means______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查考生根据上下文猜测词义的能力。第三段首句指出，现代汽车已经是一个带轮子的电子陈列橱。该段接着详细叙述了其具体功能。but一同后出现转折，开始谈网络汽车(即未来汽车)，它与现代汽车相比添加了额外的技术，其模型已经出现在拉斯维加斯的电脑工业展示会上了。因此“带轮子的电子陈列橱”就是具备电子功能的现代汽车。故正确选项为C。

单选题 Compared with an ordinary modern car, the network vehicle will have an on-board microcomputer which______.

单选题 The in-car navigation system has all of the following functions EXCEPT______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干关键词navigation system可将本题定位到第五段。该段倒数第二句提到：包括丰田和通用汽车公司在内越来越多的公司提供了这种内置导航系统。上文提到如果装备卫星导航系统(On-Star system)的通用汽车的驾驶者把车钥匙锁在车内了，那么紧急服务中心会发射一种数字信号来开车门。而且发生事故时如果安全气袋被启动，该系统还会自动求救。下文提到，欧洲的宝马和奔驰汽车公司最近引进了一种导航软件，它不仅能够规划路线而且可以提醒驾驶者注意交通堵塞。由此可见，A、B和D三个选项都是文中列举的导航系统的功能。C选项错在不是“报警”而是“发射信号”。故正确选项为C。