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  3. Passage One It can be shown in facts end figures that cycling is the cheapest, most convenient, end most environmentally des

Passage One It can be shown in facts end figures that cycling is the cheapest, most convenient, end most environmentally des

admin2010-06-11  43
问题     Passage One
    It can be shown in facts end figures that cycling is the cheapest, most convenient, end most environmentally desirable form of transport in towns, but such cold calculations do not mean much on the frosty winter morning. The real appeal of cycling is that it is so enjoyable. It has none of the difficulties and tensions of other ways of traveling, so you are more cheerful after a ride, even through the rush hour. The first thing a non-cyclist says to you is: "But isn’t it terribly dangerous?" It would be foolish to deny the danger of sharing the road with motor vehicles and it must be admitted that there are an alarming number of accidents involving cyclists. However, although police records indicate that the car driver is often to blame, the answer lies with the cyclist. It is possible to ride in such a way as to reduce risks to a minimum. If you decide to join the thousands in Britain who are now returning to cycling as a cheap, satisfying form of transport your first problem will be trying to decide what bike to buy. Here are three simple roles of buying a bike.
    1) Always buy the best you can afford. Of course there has to be a meeting point between what you would really like and economic reality, but aim as high as you can end you will get the benefit not only when you ride but also if you went to sell. Well-made bikes keep their value very well. And don’t forget to include in your calculations the fact that you’ll begin saving money on fares and petrol the minute you leave the shop.
    2) Get the best frame, the main structure of the bicycle, for your money as you can Cheap brakes, wheels or gears can easily be replaced by more expensive ones, but the frame sets the upper limit on any transformation you should allow for the possibility that your cycling ambitions will grow with practice. When you begin the four miles to work may be the most Yon ever dream of; but after a few months a Sunday ride into the country begins to look more and more desirable-The best thing is to buy a bike just a little bit better than you think you’ll need, and then grow into it otherwise, try to get a model that can be improved.
    3) The fit is vital Handlebars and seat height can be adjusted but you must get the right sized frame. On the whole it is best to get the largest size you can manage. Frame sizes are measured in inches and the usual adult range from 21 inches to 25 inches, though extreme sizes outside those measurements can be found. Some people say if you take four inches from your inside leg measurement you will end up with the right size of bike. The basic principle, though, is that you should be able to stand with legs cither side of the crossbar (the bar goes from the handlebars to the seat) with both feet comfortably that on the ground
     Passage Two
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    Passage Three
    In temperatures of twenty-five degrees below zero Fahrenheit and colder, ice becomes strong enough to stop a bullet or a bomb. During the many wars between the Finns and Russians, blocks of ice were used like sandbags or armor plating to protect troops and gun crews from enemy fire. During World War Ⅱ both the Russians and the German learned that the biggest bomb would make only a shallow dent in ice. Doubling the size of the bomb made little difference in the size of the dent it made.
    When the German laid siege to Leningrad, they cut all the roads and railroads. This left the city almost surrounded by the waters of the sea and river that border it. But soon the sea froze over and the Russians simply used the ice for their highway. Over it they drove trucks full of food and ammunition for the city’s occupants. The German dropped bombs and shells on the ice highway. But the bombs made only shallow holes. They could not break through the ice. They could not cut the highway or stop the trucks.
    The Eskimos learned to travel on ice long ago. Today they still ride in sleds drawn by dogs. When they have to leave the ice of the sea or the lakes and travel overland, they put ice on the runners of their sleds. This is because at very cold temperatures snow is not slippery. It is like sand. The sharp, hard snow crystals rub against the sled runners so that the dogs cannot pull the load. So the Eskimos stops and melts snow to make hot water. Then he covers his sled runners with water, which forms into a layer of hard, slippery ice.
    Ice has also been reed successfully as a building material. The idea came from the Eskimos, who freeze moss into ice blocks to prevent them from melting too easily. During World War Ⅱ the Allies tried mixing wood fiber with water and freezing it. The wood fiber formed an insulating blanket which kept the ice from melting. This reinforced ice was so strong that a plank of it an inch thick would support the weight of six men. A four-inch sheet would stop a rifle bullet. The Allies called this new ice mixture pykrete, after its British inventor, Geoffrey Pyke.
    During the early days of World WarⅡ, German submarines were sinking Allied supply ships faster than we could build them, and England needed supplies desperately. The Allies wanted to build ship that could not be sunk by torpedoes or bombs or dented by the big guns of the German battleships. Such a ship could be built of pykrete. Like an iceberg, it would not roll or toss, even in the worst of storms. The highest waves would have no effect on it. A refrigeration plant would keep the forty-foot-thick ice walls frozen solid. Any damage from bombs could be quickly fixed by spraying the holes with water and letting it freeze.
    To test the idea, the Allies built a small pykrete ship, sixty feet long and thirty feet wide. For months the odd ice ship sailed about in water temperatures of up to sixty degrees without melting. The pykrete ship was a success, but the war ended before any more could be built.
    So far, the possibilities of ice are not fully known Its uses have been explored very little. Except in time of war, few people besides Eskimos live in arctic regions. But perhaps someday the world’s warm lands will become overcrowded. People may have to live nearer to the poles. They will probably find even more surprising uses for that fascinating material, ice.
As regards road safety, the author thinks that cyclists can often avoid accidents by riding with caution
选项 A、Y
B、N
C、NG
答案A
解析 从第一段倒数第三句“It is possible to ride in such away as to reduce risks to a minimum”可以得知。
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