When my brother and I were young, my mom would take us on Transportation Days.
It goes like this: You can’t take any means of transportation more than once. We would start from home, walking two blocks to the rail station. We’d take the train into the city center, then a bus, switching to the tram, then maybe a taxi. We always considered taking a horse carriage in the historic district, but we didn’t like the way the horses were treated, so we never did. At the end of the day, we took the subway to our closest station, where Mom’s friend was waiting to give us a ride home—our first car ride of the day.
The good thing about Transportation Days is not only that Mom taught us how to get around. She was born to be multimodal (多方式的). She understood that depending on cars only was a failure of imagination and, above all, a failure of confidence—the product of a childhood not spent exploring subway tunnels.
Once you learn the route map and step with certainty over the gap between the train and the platform, nothing is frightening anymore. New cities are just light-rail lines to be explored. And your personal car, if you have one, becomes just one more tool in the toolbox—and often an inadequate one, limiting both your mobility and your wallet.
On Transportation Days, we might stop for lunch on Chestnut Street or buy a new book or toy, but the transportation was the point. First, it was exciting enough to watch the world speed by from the train window. As I got older, my mom helped me unlock the mysteries that would otherwise have paralyzed my first attempts to do it myself: How do I know where to get off? How do I know how much it costs? How do I know when I need tickets, and where to get them? What track, what line, which direction, where’s the stop, and will I get wet when we go under the river?
I’m writing this right now on an airplane, a means we didn’t try on our Transportation Days and, we now know, the dirtiest and most polluting of them all. My flight routed me through Philadelphia. My multimodal mom met me for dinner in the airport. She took a train to meet me.
【小题1】Which was forbidden by Mom on Transportation Days?

       They once seemed more at home on the bustling streets of Asia like Delhi, Calcutta and Bangkok but cycle powered rickshaws (人力车) can now be seen taking people across town in many European cities. Many people believe that rickshaws are a good way of experiencing a city, close-up, while also cutting down on traffic jams and pollution.

       In Berlin, one of the first cities to introduce this new mode of transport, more than 200 bike-taxis go along at 15km per hour, past many tourist attractions and city parks.

       "It is completely environmentally friendly; we have new models with an engine to help the driver up the hills but they use renewable energy," said a spokesman for VELOTAXI, the leading rickshaw company which has carried a quarter of a million people this year.

       While the city still has 7,000 motor-taxis, rickshaw company officials say their taxis' green ethics, speed and safety make them more than just a tourist attraction. While now increasingly out of fashion in Delhi, Berlin people have eagerly accepted the new fleet since their launch in 1997.

       "It's better than a taxi, better than a bus, better than the train," said Ulf Lehman, 36, as he leapt out of a rickshaw near the world famous Brandenburg gate. "It feels so free."

       "This is something out of the ordinary you feel you are on holiday in Bangkok instead of Berlin," said another traveller.

       In Amsterdam, driver Peter Jancso said people like to be driven around in his bright yellow rickshaw and pretend to be a queen in a golden carriage. "I like my passengers to feel important," he said as he dropped off another passenger. Another visitor noted how cheap it was compared with a normal taxi.

       Although increasingly popular in Europe, it is the opposite in India, where hand-pulled rickshaws are considered inhuman and a symbol of India's backward past.

       Nearly 500 bike-rickshaws are running in London and are not required to pay the city's road tax but things may change as other taxi drivers complain of unfair treatment.

1．Where are rickshaws becoming more popular?

   A．Delhi, Berlin, Paris.                             B．Amsterdam, Bangkok, Delhi.

   C．Athens, London, Berlin.                       D．Berlin, Amsterdam, London.

2．Why are rickshaws no longer as widely used in India as in the past?

   A．They are a reminder of a bad period in India's history.

   B．They have been banned because they are too cruel.

   C．The streets of India are too crowded for them to move through easily.

   D．Indians now prefer to travel by car because they are richer.

3．What does the underlined sentence "This is something out of the ordinary ... you feel you are on holiday in Bangkok instead of Berlin" (Para. 7) suggest?

   A．The passenger didn't like taking a rickshaw as it reminded him of Bangkok.

   B．The passenger enjoyed being on holiday in Berlin more than in Bangkok.

   C．The passenger was impressed when taking a rickshaw and considered it unusual.

   D．The passenger disapproved of rickshaws because they were not original to Berlin.

4．Which of the following is mentioned in the text?

   A．Rickshaws may need to pay tax for causing traffic jams.

   B．Rickshaws and taxis are treated differently in London.

   C．Rickshaws will eventually take the place of taxis.

   D．Rickshaws will always be a cheap means of transport.

5．What is the author's attitude towards rickshaws?

   A．He gives no personal opinion.

   B．He believes they will be of no use.

   C．He thinks they will reduce pollution.

   D．He thinks they are old-fashioned.

They once seemed more at home on the bustling streets of Asia like Delhi, Calcutta and Bangkok but cycle powered rickshaws （人力车） can now be seen taking people across town in many European cities. Many people believe that rickshaws are a good way of experiencing a city, close-up, while also cutting down on traffic jams and pollution. In Berlin, one of the first cities to introduce this new model of transport, more than 200 bike-taxis go along at 15km per hour, past many tourist attractions and city parks.

       “It is completely environmentally friendly; we have new models with an engine to help the driver up the hills but they use renewable energy.” said a spokesman for VELOTAXI, the leading rickshaw company which has carried a quarter of a million people this year.

       While the city still has 7,000 motor-taxis, rickshaw company officials say their taxis’ green ethics, speed and safety make them more than just a tourist attraction. While now increasingly out of fashion in Delhi, Berlin people have eagerly accepted the new fleet since their launch in 1997.

“It’s better than a taxi, better than a bus, better than the train,” said ULF Lehman, 36, as he leapt out of a rickshaw near the world famous Brandenburg gate. “ It feels so free.”

       “ This is something out of the ordinary you feel you are on holiday in Bangkok instead of Berlin,” said another traveler.

       In Amsterdam, driver Peter Jancso said people like to be driven around in his bright yellow rickshaw and pretend to be a queen in a golden carriage. "I like my passengers to feel important," he said as he dropped off another passenger. Another visitor noted how cheap it was compared with a normal taxi.

       Although increasingly popular in Europe, it is the opposite in India, where hand-pulled rickshaws are considered inhuman and a symbol of India's backward past.

       Nearly 500 bike-rickshaws are running in London and are not required to pay the city's road tax but things may change as other taxi drivers complain of unfair treatment.

1．Where are rickshaws becoming more popular?

    A．Delhi, Berlin, Paris.                          B．Amsterdam, Bangkok, Delhi.

    C．Athens, London, Berlin.                    D．Berlin, Amsterdam, London.

2．Why are rickshaws no longer as widely used in India as in the past?

    A．They are a reminder of a bad period in India's history.

    B．They have been banned because they are too cruel.

    C．The streets of India are too crowded for them to move through easily.

    D．Indians now prefer to travel by car because they are richer.

3．What does the underlined sentence "This is something out of the ordinary you feel you are on holiday in Bangkok instead of Berlin" suggest?

A．The passenger didn't like taking a rickshaw as it reminded him of Bangkok.

    B．The passenger enjoyed being on holiday in Berlin more than in Bangkok.

    C．The passenger was impressed when taking a rickshaw and considered it unusual.

    D．The passenger disapproved of rickshaws because they were not original to Berlin.

4．What is the author's attitude towards rickshaws?

    A．He gives no personal opinion.

    B．He believes they will be of no use.

    C．He thinks they will reduce pollution.

       D．He thinks they are old-fashioned.

They once seemed more at home on the busy streets of Asia like Delhi, Calcutta and Bangkok but cycle powered rickshaws (人力车) can now be seen taking people across town in many European cities. Many people believe that rickshaws are a good way of experiencing a city close-up, while also cutting down on traffic jams and pollution. In Berlin, one of the first cities to introduce this new model of transport, more than 200 bike-taxis go along at 15km per hour, past many tourist attractions and city parks.
“It is completely environmentally friendly; we have new models with an engine to help the driver up the hills but they use renewable energy.” said a spokesman for VELOTAXI, the leading rickshaw company which has carried a quarter of a million people this year.
While the city still has 7,000 motor-taxis, rickshaw company officials say their taxis’ green ideas, speed and safety make them more than just a tourist attraction. While now increasingly out of fashion in Delhi, Berlin people have eagerly accepted the new fleet since their launch in 1997.
“It’s better than a taxi, better than a bus, better than the train,” said ULF Lehman, 36, as he leapt out of a rickshaw near the world famous Brandenburg gate. “ It feels so free.”
“This is something out of the ordinary, you feel you are on holiday in Bangkok instead of Berlin,” said another traveler.
In Amsterdam, driver Peter Jancso said people like to be driven around in his bright yellow rickshaw and pretend to be a queen in a golden carriage. "I like my passengers to feel important," he said as he dropped off another passenger. Another visitor noted how cheap it was compared with a normal taxi.
Although increasingly popular in Europe, it is the opposite in India, where hand-pulled rickshaws are considered inhuman and a symbol of India's backward past.
Nearly 500 bike-rickshaws are running in London and are not required to pay the city's road tax but things may change as other taxi drivers complain of unfair treatment.
【小题1】 Where are rickshaws becoming more popular?

A．The passenger didn't like taking a rickshaw as it reminded him of Bangkok.

B．The passenger enjoyed being on holiday in Berlin more than in Bangkok.

C．The passenger was impressed when taking a rickshaw and considered it unusual.

D．The passenger disapproved of rickshaws because they were not original to Berlin.