英语阅读(12)

高中英语阅读理解专项训练

(12)

A

Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents

’

home in

Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station(

加油站

) about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to

stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register

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收款台）

,I said hello to an older couple who were

also paying for gas.

I

took

off,

but

had

gone

only

a

few

miles

when

black

smoke

poured

from

the

back

of

my

car.

I

stopped

and

wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said

they would take me to my friend

’

s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave

me his business card.

I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from

them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.

Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found

that I

’

d left the lights on all day, and the battery (

电池

) was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership---a

shop selling cars-was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.

“

Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?

”

I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my

car and started it. They would accept no payment; so when I got home; I wrote them a note to say thanks, I received a

letter back from one of the salesmen, No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot,

he said.

“

Thank you

”

--- two powerful words. They

’

re easy to say and mean so much.

1. The author planned to stop at Oklahoma City

.

A. to visit a friend

B. to see his parents

D. to have more gas for his car

C. put up

D. set up

C. to pay or the cash register

A. turned off

2. The words

“took

off

”

underlined in Paragraph 2 mean

“

”

.

B. moved off

3. What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?

A. He had it pulled back to the gas station.

C. The couple offered to help him.

B. The couple sent him a business card.

D. He called his friend for help.

B. the meeting lasted a whole day

D. he drove too long a distance

B. how to deal with car problems

D. the importance of expressing thanks

4. The battery of the author

’

s car was dead because

.

A. something went wrong with the lights

C. he forgot to turn off the lights

A. how to write a thank-you letter

5. By telling his own experiences, the author tries to show

.

C. the kindheartedness of older people

B

The U.S. birthrate began to decline in the middle 1950’s, resulting in a smaller college age population starting in

the middl

e 1970’s.

S

omething else happened in the 1970’s: the price of oil increased tremendously, driving up the price

of almost everything and making Americans aware that their large automobiles used a lot of gasoline. At the same time,

foreign

car

manufacturers

had

begun

to

produce

small

fuel

—

efficient

cars

in

large

quantities

for

the

export

market.

Suddenly,

the

large,

gas- guzzling

American

cars

were

no

longer

attractive

to

American

buyers,

who

began

buying

foreign

cars

by

the

thousands.

The

American

automobile

industry

went

into

a

recession.

Thousands

of

automotive

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workers were laid off, as were thousands of people in industries indirectly connected with the auto industry. People who

are laid off tend to keep what money they have for necessities, like food and housing. They do not have the extra money

needed to send their children to college. Their children cannot pay their own college costs, because during a recession

they cannot find jobs. High unemployment means that more state funds must be used for social service

—

unemployment

benefits and to aid dependent children, for example

—

than during more prosperous times. It also means that the states

have

fewer

funds

than

usual,

because

people

are

paying

fewer

taxes.

Institutions

of

higher

education

depend

on

two

major sources of income to keep them functioning: tuition from students and funds from the states. At the present time,

there

are

fewer

students

than

in

the

past

and

fewer

state

funds

available

for

higher

education.

The

colleges

and

universities are in trouble.

6. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. The rising of oil price drove up the price of everything.

B.

There were many reasons why higher education was in trouble in the 1970’

s.

C.

Birthrate began to decline in the USA in 1950’s.

D. High unemployment caused a lot of social problems.

7.

The phrase “laid off” can best be replaced by which of the following?

A. poor

A. small

B. got rid of

C. removed

B. gas- consuming

D. unemployed

8.

American cars weren’t popular in their do

mestic markets because of _________ .

C. fuel-efficient

D. not attractive

9. The colleges and universities were in trouble because of the following reasons except that ______.

A.

they couldn’t get

enough income to keep them running

B.

young people couldn’t afford the tuition fees

C. keeping them running at the same level would cost much more

D. social services need more state funds because of the recession

10. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT__________ .

A.

young people couldn’t afford their own tuition in the 1970’s

B.

it’s difficult for graduates from colleges to find a job in the 1970’s

C. fewer parents could afford to send their children to college because of the recessi

on in 1970’

s

D.

Birthrate dropped in the 1970’s because of the recession

C

What kind of car will we be driving in 2010? Rather different from the type we know today, with the next 20 years

bringing

greater

change

than

the

past

people

who

will

be

designing

the

models

of

tomorrow

believe

that

environmental problems may well accelerate the pace of the car’s development. Today they are students on the transport

design course at London’s Royal College of Art.

Their vision is of a machine with three wheels instead of four, electrically powered, environmentally clean, and

able to drive itself along “intelligent” roads equipped with built

-in power supplies. Future cars will pick up their fuel

during long journeys from a power source built into the road, or store it in small quantities for travelling in the city.

Instead of today’s seating arrangements—

two in front, two or three behind, all facing forward--- the 2010 car will

have a versatile interior with adults and children in a family circle.

This view of the future car is based on a much more sophisticated road system, with strips built into motorways to

supply power to vehicles passing along them, cars will not need drivers, because computers will provide safe driving

control and route finding. All the driver will have to do is say where to go and the computer will do the rest. It will

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