首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Americans and Their Cars A)It has been one of the world’s most enduring and passionate love affairs: Americans and their cars. I
Americans and Their Cars A)It has been one of the world’s most enduring and passionate love affairs: Americans and their cars. I
admin
2015-01-31
99
问题
Americans and Their Cars
A)It has been one of the world’s most enduring and passionate love affairs: Americans and their cars. It’s no secret that America is a nation of cars. A recent survey of the number of cars on America’s roads counted some 204 million vehicles in the U. S. There is an average of 1.9 motor vehicles for every household in America, and just to illustrate how many cars this is, consider that the average American household has only 1.8 drivers; America has more vehicles than it has drivers to drive them. By the time a middle-class American reaches 35 years of age, he or she has likely owned 3 cars in his or her life.
B)The United States’ lawmakers have done little to undermine the romance between their citizens and their automobiles. Taxes on gasoline have been kept low, while massive highway building projects allow more and more cars to take to the road. Public transportation, on the other hand, has traditionally suffered from neglect. From the 1970s, since Americans have more than doubled their reliance on cars for long-distance rides, train and bus usage has largely stopped developing. Inner city transit systems in most cities were either deteriorating or crime-ridden, as in New York, or dysfunctional(机能不良的),as in Los Angeles.
C)There are, however, signs that U.S. drivers are quietly looking for alternatives to car usage—with growing backing from legislators. Throughout the country a record number of commuters are taking buses and transit to work. In Washington DC, city officials say this summer has been the busiest in the history of the Metro rail system, with trains often carrying more than 600,000 passengers a day. In Cincinnati, transit authorities say there have been up to 50 percent more users this summer on some commuter routes. The Atlanta and Portland transit systems are also recording heavy usage. Nationwide, public transportation systems have recorded a 4.8 percent increase for the first quarter of 2003 over the same period in 2002, according to the American Public Transportation Association(APTA).
D)Transit officials say the main reason is the recent rise in gasoline prices. Feeling the impact of cuts in production by oil-exporting countries, gasoline prices in US shot up from a national average of $1.30 a gallon(nearly 3.8 litres)late last year to high of $1.68 a gallon in June this year. In parts of the country, prices even reached $2 a gallon for the first time.
E)While the price rise angered car drivers, many transportation experts feel it has turned attention to America’s meager(不景气的)public transport. "The public transport system has been better now than in the past decades," says Delon Lowas, an urban planning analyst at the Sierra Club, the environmental group. According to APTA, a person commuting 10 miles to work every day by train instead of by car could save as much as 314 gallons(1,193 liters)of gasoline annually—thus reducing emissions of hydrocarbon gases and other pollutants.
F)The oil price rise might just have been the induction to result in a new revolution in the travel habits of US commuters, say environmentalists. As evidence, they point to the popularity of new light-rail systems in cities such as Portland. Even Los Angeles, whose residents are famous for their infatuation(迷恋)with cars, recently installed 17 miles of subway tracks. Now, US politicians are also warming to public transport. Federal and state governments are toying(玩弄)with some initiatives, such as tax breaks for people who use trains or buses.
G)But public transportation continues to have its ideological critics. "It shouldn ’t be encouraged at the expense of private ownership of vehicles," says Ben Lieberman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute(GEI). He asserts that the government’s priority should be to make owning and driving a car more affordable by reducing environmental restrictions that push up the price of gasoline.
H)The expansion of public transportation systems also draws opposition from those who are worried about the immense costs involved. They cite Los Angeles’ subway expansion, which cost a record $4.7 billion, as an instance of how expensive public transport can be.
I)Citing costs of construction, Tome DeLay, the powerful Republican Whip of the House of Representatives, have moved to block funds for a proposed light-rail system in Houston. Mr. DeLay argues that die city should conduct a referendum(公民投票)before investing taxpayer’s money. The result: the Houston authorities might well have to manage without federal funds—or scrap the light-rail project entirely. Given the strong political pressure against it, some observers think the flirtation(对......的一时兴趣) with public transport will pass, not least because there are signs already that gas prices have started to fall. Mr. Lovaas, however, thinks that there has been "genuine grass-roots change" as people understand the environmental and social need for cutting down on automobile use. But he admitted that political opposition could take a long time to overcome. "The people at the top will be the last to get it."
Someone who concerns immense costs opposes the expansion of public transit.
选项
答案
H
解析
题干:关注大额花费的人们反对公共运输的扩张。题干关键词immense costs,oppose和expansion of public transit。文中H段第一句提到,公共交通系统的扩张也引起来了那些担心巨额花费的人们的反对。与题干意思吻合,故选H。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/Gtq7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
A、Fewerpeoplewilldevotetoheathcare.B、Theagingpopulationisbecominglarger.C、Theshortageofnurseswillbemoreserio
Infuturetradethekeydevelopmenttowatchistherelationshipbetweentheindustrializedandthedevelopingnations.TheThir
ThePeakTimeforEverythingCouldyoupackmoreintoeachdayifyoudideverythingattheoptimaltime?Agrowingbodyof
A、Reporterandfashiondesigner.B、Teacherandstudent.C、Shopassistantandcustomer.D、Husbandandwife.A推理判断题。对话双方讨论了服装如何体现人
Alotofpeopleinstinctivelybelieve—withoutreallyknowing—thatpoorreadersarenotespeciallysmart.Anewstudybyres
HavingKidsMakesYouHappy?A)WhenIwasgrowingup,ourformerneighbors,whomwe’llcalltheSloans,weretheonlycoupleon
A、Peopletendtobeasleeponthetrains.B、Peopleusuallyreadnewspapersthere.C、Theyalwaysleaveandarriveontime.D、Ther
EmilyDickinsonisoneofthegreatestAmericanpoets.Shewasbornina【B1】______NewEnglandvillageinMassachusettsonDecemb
ItisimpossibletomeasuretheimportanceofEdisonbyaddinguphisspecificinventions.Actually,hisname【B1】______morethan
随机试题
试述超临界流体的特征。
关于铲运机的使用技术要求的说法中,正确的是()。
设计合同示范文本规定,发包人应向设计人提供的设计依据文件和资料包括()。
下列描述中,属于SWOT分析中的机会的有()。
自我介绍
甲用1000万购买了一件艺术品并卖出,获利为买进价格的10%,随后甲用艺术品卖出价格的90%买入一件珠宝,并以珠宝买进价格的九折卖出,若上述交易中的其他费用忽略不计.则甲最终()。
沙伊关于智力发展的研究中,中年时代所对应任务是()
分析的最终结果是产生( )。
Smallandmedium-sizedbusinesseshavehadahardtimeoverthelastfewyears.IntheUK,thousandsofbusinesseshavegoneban
TheWriter’sLifeAsurveyofBritain’syouthfoundthatmanyaspire(渴望)tobecomewriters.Theyclearlydon’tknowhowharditi
最新回复
(
0
)