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  40
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?
According to the passage, "The sacrifice"(Line 1, Para. 2)refers to______.
选项 A、the expense to spend luxurious holidays in Spain
B、the waste of time to remember London streets
C、the efforts to grasp the transportation knowledge
D、the hardship of living as a London taxi driver
答案C
解析 语义理解题。定位句指出，这种牺牲在过去是值得的，再结合首段最后一句可知，司机们要掌握大量的伦敦交通信息，通常需要花费两到四年的时间，可见，题干中的The sacrifice是指“司机们掌握交通知识所付出的努力”，故答案为C)。A)“在西班牙奢华度假的花费”，第二段第二句提到，过去司机们可以在西班牙别墅里度假，但这是作为牺牲的回报，因此该项可排除；B)“记住伦敦街道所浪费的时间”，第二段第四句指出，在卫星定位的年代背诵行车路线是在浪费每个人的时间，这是作者对司机所付出牺牲的评价，也不是The sacrifice本身，故排除；D)“在伦敦开出租车谋生的艰辛”，第二段第二句指出，虽然身为出租车司机谋生很艰苦，但还是可以享受到假期等，可见，这不是The sacrifice的内容，故排除。
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