外研版SB4 MODULE 2 同步阅读材料

A
The amount of time that people spend on travel is 1.1 hours per person per day in all societies. The average distance traveled is 7,400 miles (12,000 km) per year. In total, the world population travels more than 16.6 trillion miles (23 trillion km) per year, 53% of which is by car, 26% by bus, 9% by rail, 9% by high­speed transport such as airplanes, and 3% by bicycle, boat and other means.
It is estimated (估计) that, due to developments in high­speed public transport, travel time will drop to only 12 minutes per person per day by 2050. Of the global traffic volume, 35%  will be by car, 20% by bus, 41% by high­speed transport, and 4% by rail.
At present, traffic congestion (拥塞) has a huge negative (消极的) economic and environmental impact(影响) across the world. Road congestion in the UK costs the UK economy 15 billion a year. It costs the US $ 100 billion a year. In Seattle, Washington for instance, a driver spends an average (平均) of 59 hours stuck in traffic each year. In the greater Seattle area there are more cars than people; each household makes an average of 10 motorcar trips a day. According to Sierra Club, “American cars and trucks account for 20 percent of the world's petroleum consumption(石油消耗)．”
The US has the most highways, but European roads are busier. In Europe, cars travel more than 600 miles (1,000 km) per road per year, compared to an average of 500 km per road in the US. The world's worst traffic jam usually occurs during the summer on the road from Paris to Toulouse, France.
So take a hike. You can use Google's public transport trip planner. Or, in the least, find a job closer to home.

语篇解读：现在全球过半的人选择自己驾车出行，这给交通造成了很大的压力。

1．According to the figures given in Paragraph 1, what is the main means of transport at present?
A．The car.　　　　　　                  B．The bus.
C．The train.                                   D．The airplane.
解析：选A。细节理解题。根据第一段的“In total, the world population travels more than 16.6 trillion miles (23 trillion km) per year, 53% of which is by car”可知小汽车是目前主要的出行工具。
2．Compared to today, we know in 2050，________.
A．more people will choose to travel by train
B．more people will have a car of their own
C．a lot more people will choose the bus to go out
D．a lot more people will choose high­speed transport
解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第二段的41%by high­speed transport可知到2050年，41%的人会选择高速交通工具，这比目前的9%高了很多，故选D项。
3．What does Paragraph 3 suggest?
A．Traffic congestion is a major problem for some countries.
B．Traffic congestion will be more serious in the following years.
C．Traffic congestion is a problem for global economic development.
D．America has more cars than any other country around the world.
解析：选C。推理判断题。根据第三段的“At present, traffic congestion (拥塞) has a huge negative (消极的) economic and environmental impact (影响) across the world. Road congestion in ...”可知交通阻塞严重影响了全球经济的发展，故选C项。
4．From the  passage, we learn that in the greater Seattle area, ________.
A．people are not encouraged to go out by bus
B．few people travel by train
C．every person owns a car
D．the traffic is very bad
解析：选D。推理判断题。根据第三段的“In Seattle, Washington for instance, a driver spends an average (平均) of 59 hours stuck in traffic each year. In the greater Seattle area there are more cars than people.”可推断西雅图的交通状况很差。
5．What does the writer suggest we do in the last paragraph?
A．Go to work by bike.
B．Reduce our travel plans.
C．Find a job near our homes.
D．Avoid public transport trips.
解析：选C。细节理解题。根据末段的“Or, in the least, find a job closer to home.”可知作者建议我们找一个离家近一点的工作，故选C项。
B
When my first war­time Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I would make it home for the holiday. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have the three­day holiday posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers. It was Christmas Eve when I arrived home, and a little snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood. There were lights, colors, and ornaments (饰品) shining against the green of a pine.
“Where did it come from？” I asked.
“I asked the Gates boy to cut it，” my mother said. “I wouldn't have had one just for myself, but when in great need ... such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon.”
The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the Tree Top Crystal(水晶)Star was in its place. A few green branches reached out a little awkwardly(难看) at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with the pleasant smell of Christmas.
“It's not like the one you used to find，” my mother went on. “Yours were always in good shape. I suppose the Gates boy didn't know where to look for a better one. But I couldn't be fussy(挑剔的)．”
“Don't worry，”  I told her. “It's perfect.”
       It wasn't, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time: All Christmas trees are perfect.
6．What did his mother's Christmas tree look like?    

 解析：选C。推理判断题。根据第四段的描述：圣诞树高达房顶，树顶正中一颗水晶星，有几枝伸到一侧，很难看，还有树干的中间有一段光秃秃的。因此C项正确。
7．From the passage we can infer that ________.
A．all the soldiers had the three­day holiday
B．the writer could not go home for Christmas
C．the writer spent his first Christmas during the war
D．not all the soldiers went home for Christmas during the war
解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第一段的“Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have the three­day holiday posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers.”可知，并不是所有的士兵都能回家过圣诞节。
8．From the passage, we can conclude that ________.
A．his mother didn't like Christmas trees
B．the writer didn't like the tree cut by someone else
C．the writer used to cut very beautiful Christmas trees
D．his mother didn't want to have a Christmas tree during wartime
解析：选C。推理判断题。根据倒数第三段的“Yours were always in good shape.” 可知作者砍的圣诞树很美。
9．The best title for this passage would be ________.
A．The Perfect Christmas Tree
B．How to Choose a Christmas Tree
C．How Soldiers Spent Their Christmas
D．A Christmas with an Ugly Christmas Tree
解析：选A。标题归纳题。根据全文：作者匆忙赶回家过圣诞节，看到母亲让别家男孩砍的圣诞树，尽管不很美，但是却让家里充满了圣诞节的气息，尤其是倒数第二段的“Don't worry，” I told her. “It's perfect.” 可归纳出选A项。
10．What does the writer mean by saying “All Christmas trees are perfect”？
A．Nothing is as perfect as Christmas.
B．Once at home, everything is so nice.