2. 外语
  3. Gulliver has a friend who recently gave up his job to study for "The Knowledge" , the notoriously difficult programme that Londo

Gulliver has a friend who recently gave up his job to study for "The Knowledge" , the notoriously difficult programme that Londo

admin2016-09-09  69
问题     Gulliver has a friend who recently gave up his job to study for "The Knowledge" , the notoriously difficult programme that London’s black-taxi drivers must pass through before getting a license. Would-be cabbies must first gain an encyclopedic(百科全书式的)knowledge of the capital’s central district—some 25,000 streets and approximately 20,000 landmarks—and be able to recite the best way of navigating between them. Studying for The Knowledge typically takes from two to four years.
    The sacrifice used to be worth it. Although driving a taxi for a living is undoubtedly hard work, cabbies earn a decent wage, choose their own hours and usually manage to spend a few weeks a year at their holiday villas in Spain. Alas, for Gulliver’s friend, it is no longer a job with prospects. Leaving aside that learning routes by rote in an era of satellite navigation is a waste of everyone’s time, the reason that cabbies put themselves through such a tough selection process is so they can earn the privilege of picking up passengers off the street, which only they are legally allowed to do.
    Uber is making this privilege increasingly irrelevant. The firm uses a smartphone platform to bring passengers and drivers together. It is on its way to cornering the world taxi market—although, like many cabbies, it is taking a circuitous(迂回的)route. Several American cities, including Portland, have ordered the firm to suspend operations, while whole countries, such as Germany, have outlawed it.
    Still, these are mere bumps in the road. The latest report by Certify, which tracks business-expense claims, found that for the first time the majority of "ground transportation receipts" were for rides in Uber cars. In the second quarter of 2015, 55% of such business expenses emanated(起源)from that single company, compared with 43% on all other taxi services. According to Certify, whose respondents are overwhelmingly American, the cities in which businessmen are most likely to use an Uber car are San Francisco(79%), followed by Dallas(60%)and Los Angeles(54%). It is easy to see why. Uber is cheap, reliable and easy to use. You know which driver is coming for you and the driver knows you. There is no need to play a game of hailing leapfrog(交替前进)with competitors along busy streets, in the hope of finding a taxi with a light on.
    On a recent trip to New York, Gulliver’s young daughter was desperate to take a ride in a yellow taxi because she had seen them on posters. So we took a ride as a tourist attraction. When it came to pulling our suitcases back to JFK, though, it was much more convenient to call an Uber car. Gulliver worries for his friend’s choice of new career. How long will it be before he becomes little more than a curiosity for those wanting to experience ye olde England?
What does the author think of the traditional taxi service?
选项 A、It will be replaced by Uber soon.
B、It will become a tourist attraction.
C、It will be a promising career no more.
D、It will become a symbol of the old England.
答案C
解析 观点态度题。定位句提到，格列佛及家人在美国把乘坐出租车当成了一个旅游项目，而在实际的代步工具上还是选择了优步，可见，作者认为出租车的实用性不如优步，表达了对出租车行业的担忧，并在该段最后一句指出，再过多久他也会仅仅成为领略“旧日英伦”风情的人们心目中的稀奇物?可见，作者认为这个行业前景不佳，故答案为C)。A)“它将很快被优步取代”，说法过于绝对，作者虽然认为优步现在的发展很快，但也没有说它可以很快取代传统的出租车行业，故排除；B)“它将成为一个旅游景点”，虽然作者提到格列佛因小孩的要求将乘坐出租车当成了旅游项目，但并没有说整个出租车行业将来会被人们当成旅游景点，推理比较牵强，故排除；D)“它将成为旧日英伦的象征”，这是对文章最后一句的曲解，这里是表达作者的担忧，他怕出租车行业未来将会过时，从日常生活服务中消失，故排除。
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