In Europe, small cars have always been more popular than large cars. In the United States, large cars and midsize cars are more popular than smaller cars. As a result, European automakers used to make different kinds of small cars while American automakers used to build bigger, heavier cars. However, these days, automakers in both America and Europe produce cars of different sizes. This is because most automakers sell their cars all over the world.

The price of gasoline (汽油) is one reason for differences in car choices. Since gasoline is more expensive in Europe, many Europeans want smaller, lighter cars that will travel a long way on a gallon (加仑) of gasoline.

Other reasons also enter into the big or little car decision. Many European cities have narrow, winding (弯曲的) streets. In these cities a small car is easier to control than a large one.

For a long time, few Americans bought small cars. Instead they chose large cars, because these roomy cars were more comfortable for large families and long trips. Some people also liked the powerful engines (发动机) that large cars had. Since gasoline was cheap, drivers did not mind that the large cars used a lot of gasoline.

But in the 1970s, there were gasoline shortages in the United States. The price of gasoline went up. Though large cars were still more popular than smaller cars, sales of small cars increased. Some people also bought small cars because these cars caused less air pollution than larger cars.

Today, Americans’ car choices are still changing. Though Americans are still buying many small cars, the fastest growing sales are for certain kinds of large cars. These types of cars are called minivans and sport utility vehicles (SUV). They are very popular today. But of course, that could change tomorrow.

1.Which of the following does the article lead you to believe?

A. Sport utility vehicles are small cars.

B. Minivans are becoming less popular.

C. European car companies sell many cars in America.

D. Cars with powerful engines caused less air pollution.

2.What does the word “roomy” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. having much space B. having little space

C. having a large room D. having a small room

3.What can we infer (推断) from the article?

A. Small cars are better than large cars.

B. The price of gasoline is always rising.

C. Large cars will always be popular in the United States.

D. People like to have different kinds of cars to choose from.

Captain(船长)Nemo invited me and my friends to go hunting with him in the forests of Crespo Island. I asked him why he was so interested in Crespo Island. “I thought you preferred

the sea to being on land.”

“I do,” replied the captain. “But these forests are under the sea.” 

After going through a door, we were about ten meters under the water. The light from the sun reached us. Everything looked very colourful. We were going deeper and deeper. At 100 meters deep, we could see quite well, and Captain Nemo stopped and pointed to some dark shapes. This was the forest. The “trees” in the forest were giant seaweed, and all their “branches” were vertical(垂直的).We could not stop looking at them. Fish swam around the branches like birds in a forest.

Suddenly, I saw a large sea spider about a meter tall. It was going to attack me. Captain Nemo’s man killed it with his gun, but it reminded me that the sea could be as dangerous as it was beautiful. When we reached 150 meters, it was dark. The sun’s light could not reach this depth(深度). We turned our lights. We could see about 20 meters around us. Finally, we found Crespo Island—where a steep rock wall rose in front of us.

We could go no further, so we walked back toward the Nautilus. Suddenly, Captain Nemo stopped and shot an animal with his gun, it was a beautiful and rare sea otter. At last, we could see the Nautilus. Several large sharks swam over us. Luckily they didn’t see us. We re-entered the Nautilus safely. I was tired but amazed by what I had seen.

1.What do “dark shapes” in Paragraph 3 refer to(指的是)?

A. Trees B. Seaweed C. Rocks D. Fish

2.When they reached meters, they couldn’t see quite well?

A. 10 B. 20 C. 100 D. 150

3.According to the passage, which is the correct order?

①Captain Nemo’s man killed a sea spider.

②The men returned to the Nautilus.

③The men went to the forest.

④Captain Nemo invited us to go hunting.

⑤Captain Nemo shot an otter.

A. ④①③⑤③ B. ③④②⑤① C. ④③①⑤② D. ③④①⑤②

4.What is the best title of the story?

A. A Visit to a Sea Forest B. Death Under the Sea.

C. Captain Nemo and the Nautilus D. Attacked by Giant Spider

A pretty well-dressed young lady stopped a taxi in a big square and said to the driver. “Do you see that young man at the other side of the square?” “Yes,” said the taxi-driver. The young man was standing outside a restaurant and looking impatiently at his watch every few seconds. “Take me over there,” said the young lady.

here were a lot of cars and buses and trucks in the square. So the taxi-driver asked, “Are you afraid to cross the street,” “Oh, no,” said the young lady, “but I said that I would meet that young man for lunch at one o’clock, and it is now a quarter to two. If I arrive in a taxi, it will at least be seen as if I have tried not to be late.”

1.The young women stopped the taxi and got in because she _______.

A. was too tired to walk B. wanted to be seen in a hurry

C. was afraid of being late D. saw the street was too busy

2.The young man standing at the other side of the square _______.

A. had probably been waiting for a long time B. found something was wrong with his watch

C. was probably a waiter of the restaurant D. had just come out of the restaurant

3.The young woman had promised to have lunch with the young man, but _______.

A. she didn’t keep her word B. she didn’t take a taxi

C. she hated to do that D. she was late for some reason

4.The young woman was _______ late for the meeting of her friend .

A. two quarters B. about a quarter

C. about 45 minutes D. less than half an hour

5.The taxi driver became puzzled (迷惑) at first because _______.

A. It was too short from one side to the other side of the square

B. he thought she would not give him money

C. he couldn’t get much money

D. he didn’t see the young man

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网