题目内容

4、Over the past several decades, the promise of the “car of tomorrow” has remained unfulfilled, while the problems it was supposed to solve have only intensified (加剧). The average price of a gallon of gas is higher than at any time since the early 1980s. The Middle East seems more unstable than ever. And even climate experts are starting to admit that the carbon we’re pumping into the atmosphere might have disastrous consequences. To these circumstances, automakers have responded with a fleet of cars that averages 21 miles per gallon, about four miles per gallon worse than the Model T.

Yet hope is coming faster than that hydrogen economy you’ve been hearing about. Several small companies are developing new engine technologies and advanced automotive designs that promise to deliver 100 miles from a single gallon of gas. The proposals run from the simple—reduce weight, improve aerodynamics（空气动力）—to the incredible (one company wants to borrow a few tricks from jet engines).

The race should heat up further when the X Prize Foundation—the group that kick-started the space-tourism industry with its $10-million competition to produce a reusable private spacecraft—announces in the next few months a competition for the first car to break 100 miles per gallon and sell a yet-to-be-decided number of units. The prize money hadn’t been finalized at press time, but X Prize officials are discussing figures in the $25-million range as a proper amount. They hope the prize will urge people to completely reconsider what a car should look like and how it should function. “We need a paradigm shift,” says Mark Goodstein, the executive director for the automotive X Prize. “We need to change the way people think about automobiles.”

1. From the passage we can see that the key to developing the “car of tomorrow” is that ______.

A.      the promise has remain unfulfilled

B.      the Middle East seems more unstable than ever

C.      mileage(英里数) for per gallon of gas should be increased

D.     a prize should be offered for the first car to break 100 miles per gallon

2. Following this passage which of the following topics is most probably to be discussed?

A.      Who will win the prize?

B.      What will the “car of tomorrow” be like?

C.      Different opinions on the “car of tomorrow”

D.     How to use less fuel?

3. By saying “To these circumstances, automakers have responded with a fleet of cars that averages 21 miles per gallon, about four miles per gallon worse than the Model T.” at the end of paragraph one the writer ______.

A.      is happy about the cars people use today

B.      is making a comparison between the present cars and Model T.

C.      means the concern about the atmosphere is unreasonable

D.     means the problem of using too much gas remains unsettled

4. Which of the following serves as an explanation of “We need a paradigm shift” in the last paragraph?

A.      We need to change the way people think about automobiles.

B.      We need people to reconsider how automobiles should function.

C.      We need people to reconsider what a car should look like.

D.     We need to change the cars completely so that they will look different.