One of the most important changes cities must make to improve life in them is to separate people from their cars. Even when you have a strong public transport system in moving people between population hubs, the last mile - that section between the railway station and someone’s home, for example - can lead to car use if it’s considered too far or too dangerous to walk.
The idea of a low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) - where cars are banned from quieter ‘rat runs’ (偏僻小路) to keep them on the major routes - has taken off in parts of the UK. LTNs attempt to filter out cars from residential streets using bollards, camera-controlled gates or even planters full of flowers placed across the road, while pedestrians, cyclists and emergency vehicles can still pass.
Analysis for the active transport charity Sustrans found that “driving a mile on a minor urban road is twice as likely to kill or seriously injure a child pedestrian, and three times more likely to kill or seriously injure a child cyclist, compared to driving a mile on an urban A-road,” and that heavy car traffic in residential areas can lead to a rise in social isolation. LTNs reduce this danger, leading to a three-fold reduction in injuries, and have been shown to increase the number of visitors to local businesses.
Also popular are e-scooter hire trials, which are taking place in towns and cities including Middlesbrough, Bristol and Chelmsford. The trials see gaggles of electric scooters available to be picked up from street corners. The scooters are hired using an app and then, once they’re finished with, parked elsewhere inside the trial area, where they’re collected and recharged by the hiring company. A Department of Transport report on e-scooter use found they were “widely perceived to have environmental and convenience benefits,” but suffered from comparisons to children’s toys.
But that’s not all. The world’s first hub for demonstrating electric air taxis and drones opened in Coventry earlier this year. The taxis and drones based at the hub all take off and land vertically like helicopters and are being used to travel short journeys or deliver cargo.
Weaning us off our car addiction is one of the more difficult barriers standing between us and healthier cities. The first step that needs to be taken will be to tackle the dominance of the car.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?| A．People are considered reliant on cars to travel. |
| B．Public transport system still needs improvement. |
| C．Pollution from cars has an impact on people’s life quality. |
| D．Residential areas are usually far away from the railway station. |
| A．It’s a way to encourage social interaction and local business. |
| B．It’s a series of measures to reserve the streets to walking residents. |
| C．It’s a system that employs high technology to keep cars on the main roads. |
| D．It’s a practice proved effective in keeping children safe from traffic accidents. |
P=Paragraph
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
| A．To call on readers to construct a healthier city. |
| B．To promote the latest developments in car alternatives. |
| C．To introduce possible ways to get rid of dependence on cars. |
| D．To inform citizens of technological advances to tackle social problems. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Just as regulation has helped increase fuel efficiency, cut exhaust smokes and introduce anti-slip equipment, so government involvement is needed to get the connected car on the road. It is beginning to happen. Earlier this year, Europe’s standards-setting agencies agreed a common set of agreements for cars and traffic infrastructure (基建) to communicate. Others should follow. Governments should then set firm deadlines for all new cars to be fully connected and capable of matching, and a date for existing cars to be re-improved with a basic locator beacon (定位器) and the ability to receive risky warnings.
If cars are to connect, new infrastructure will have to be built. Roads and parking spaces will need sensors to monitor them; motorways will need specific lanes for matching. But this will not necessarily be expensive. Upgrading traffic signals so they can be controlled remotely by a central traffic management system is a lot cheaper than building new roads.
The sooner these changes are made, and cars are plugged into a smart traffic section, the quicker Singaporean variable pricing — for parking as well as road use — can become the criterion. Motorists will then have the motive, as well as the ability, to avoid the busiest places at the busiest times, and the horrible death that roads take in human lives should start falling.
In the past, more people driving meant more roads, more jams, more death and more smokes. In the future, the connected car could offer mankind the pleasures of the road with rather less of the pain.
1. What do governments truly expect of the connected car?| A．It’ll be standard-friendly. | B．It’ll get fully prepared soon. |
| C．It’ll be under command. | D．It’ll promote infrastructure. |
| A．More sensors are offered by the companies. |
| B．More special roads are needed by motorists. |
| C．The whole project is more economical to operate. |
| D．The whole society is crazier about the new cars. |
| A．Motorists. | B．Singaporeans’ pricing. |
| C．Road death. | D．Traditional traffic sections. |
| A．Positive. | B．Critical. |
| C．Objective. | D．Doubtful. |
【推荐2】In the United States，a company is working on a project that could change the way we think about public transportation.Its planned system would move people around in steel tubes.Those passengers would be traveling at speeds of up to 1,200 kilometers per hour.
The futuristic steel tube transportation system is called Hyper1oop.Workers plan to test the system next year in a specially built community called Quay Valley.The town will be powered entirely by energy from the sun.
The Hyperloop transport system is the idea of businessman Elon Musk.Dirk Ahlborn is head of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies.He says his company has taken Mr.Musk’s idea and is developing a system that will be safe，environmentally friendly and fast.
“It’s 100 percent solar powered…we’re not going to get up to 760 miles per hour，but we believe we can actually break the records that are existing right now.”
This means that a four-hour drive from Los Angeles，California to Las Vegas，Nevada，could someday take only 30 minutes by Hyperloop.The system involves a series of capsules that float inside a long tube.These containers would not need to travel along a pathway or track.The system has been designed to operate above or below ground.
“Inside the tube you create a low pressure environment very similar to an airplane that’s at high altitudes.So now the capsule travelling inside the tube doesn’t come up against as much resistance，and therefore can travel really fast with very little energy.”
Dick Ahlborn and his company will use an eight—kilometer track in Quay Valley to find the best way to set up passenger traffic and repair capsules.A larger system will cost an estimated six to $10 billion to build.If Mr.Ahlborn and his company succeed，we may one day see these very fast Hyperloop capsules speeding through tubes around the world.
1. Which of the following is true of Hyperloop?| A．It will travel along a pathway or track. |
| B．It will use more energy than current trains. |
| C．There is a high pressure inside the tube of it. |
| D．A series of experiments on it will be carried on. |
| A．Dirk is worried about the speed of Hyperloop |
| B．Hyperloop has been built in the United States |
| C．Hyperloop will be powered by energy from the sun |
| D．Hyperloop has reached to 760 miles per hour |
| A．Systems. | B．Capsules. | C．Tubes. | D．Airplanes. |
| A．Hyperloop Is Closer To Reality | B．Hyperloop Will Test At Quay Valley |
| C．Elon Musk’s Idea Is Under Discussion | D．Hyperloop Travels Around The World |
【推荐3】If cars had wings, they could fly and that just might happen, beginning in 2012.The company Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, says it plans to deliver its carplane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2012.
“It’s the next ‘wow’ vehicle, ”said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh. “Anybody can buy a Ferrari, but as we say, Ferraris don’t fly.”
The car plane has wings that unfold for flying—a process the company says takes one minute—and fold back up for driving. A runway is still required to take off and land.
The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies, although it is both. The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations, and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations.
The company is aiming to sell the Transition to private pilots as a more convenient and cheaper way to fly. They say it saves you the trouble of trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports: You drive the car to the airport and then you’re good to go. When you land, you fold up the wings and hit the road. There are no expensive parking fees because you don’t have to store it at an airport—you park it in the garage at home.
The carplane is designed to fly primarily under 10,000 feet. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds, including fuel and passengers. Terrafugia says the Transition reduces the potential for an accident by allowing pilots to drive under bad weather instead of flying into marginal(临界)conditions.
The Transition’s price tag: $194,000. But there may be additional charges for options like a radio, transponder or GPS. Another option is a fullplane parachute.
“If you get into a very awful situation, it is the necessary safety option，” Gersh said. So far, the company has more than 70 orders with deposits. “We’re working very closely with them, but there are still some remaining steps，” Brown said.
1. We can learn from the first two paragraphs that________.| A．people might drive a carplane in 2012 |
| B．carplanes will be popular in 2012 |
| C．both Transition and Ferrari can take off and land |
| D．Richard Gersh is the vice president of Massachusetts |
| A．fold and unfold its wings | B．meet flying safety regulations |
| C．land in the airport | D．unfold wings for flying |
| A．The carplane needs a runway to take off and land. |
| B．The carplane may fly as high as normal planes. |
| C．To meet aircraft regulations, the company has been working with FAA. |
| D．People can park the carplane in the garage at their home. |
| A．Cars with Wings Can Fly As Fast As Plane |
| B．Which To Choose: A Ferrari Or A CarPlane? |
| C．A More Convenient and Cheaper Way To Fly |
| D．Cars with Wings May Be Just Around the Corner |
【推荐1】Almost everybody in America will spend a part of his or her life behind a shopping cart(购物手推车). They will, in a lifetime, push the chrome-plated contraptions many miles. But few will know—or even think to ask—who it was that invented them.
Sylvan N. Goldman invented the shopping cart in 1937. At that time he was in the supermarket business. Every day he would see shoppers lugging(吃力地携带) groceries around in baskets they had to carry.
One day Goldman suddenly had the idea of putting baskets on wheels. The wheeled baskets would make shopping much easier for his customers, and would help to attract more business.
On June 4, 1937, Goldman’s first carts were ready for use in his market. He was terribly excited on the morning of that day as customers began arriving. He couldn’t wait to see them using his invention.
But Goldman was disappointed. Most shoppers gave the carts a long look, but hardly anybody would give them a try.
After a while, Goldman decided to ask customers why they weren’t using his carts. “Don’t you think this arm is strong enough to carry a shopping basket?” one shopper replied.
But Goldman wasn’t beaten yet. He knew his carts would be a great success if only he could persuade people to give them a try. To this end, Goldman hired a group of people to push carts around his market and pretend they were shopping! Seeing this, the real customers gradually began copying the phony(假冒的) customers.
As Goldman had hoped, the carts were soon attracting larger and larger numbers of customers to his market. But not only did more people come—those who came bought more. With larger, easier-to-handle baskets, customers unconsciously bought a greater number of items than before.
Today’s shopping carts are five times larger than Goldman’s original model. Perhaps that’s one reason Americans today spend more than five times as much money on food each year as they did before 1937—before the coming of the shopping cart.
1. Why was Goldman disappointed at first?2. Why did Goldman hire people to push carts around his market?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
The purpose of Goldman’s invention was to make shopping easier and show off his imagination.
4. What do you think of Goldman? Please briefly explain. (about 40 words)
【推荐2】South Korean researchers say they have developed a skin-like material that behaves like the skin of a chameleon(变色龙). It can change colours to look like its surroundings.
The team led by Ko Seung-hwan, a mechanical engineering professor at Seoul National University created the skin with a special liquid that turns colours in different temperatures. These changes are controlled by flexible heaters made of very small wires.
If you are in a desert, and you wear forest-coloured clothing, you can easily be seen. Changing colours and forms actively with the temperature is central to the technology, Ko said. The technology uses something called thermochromic liquid crystal(水晶)and silver nanowire heaters. Thermochromic means heat causes the colours to change. Nanowires are just like normal electrical wires, but they are extremely small.
Ko and the team demonstrated this technology using a chameleon-shaped robot with colour-seeking sensors. The skin tried to copy whatever colours the sensors “saw” around it. In a video, the robot walked on red, blue and green floors. It immediately changed colour to look like its surroundings.
Ko explained when the sensors find colour information, they move that information to a very small processor. Then, the information goes to silver nanowire heaters. When the heaters reach a specified(规定的)temperature, the thermochromic liquid crystal changes its colour.
Though the skin is made of many layers, its total thickness is less than a hundred micrometers. In other words, it is thinner than a human hair. By adding more silver nanowire layers in simple shapes like lines or squares, the skin can create complex designs. “The flexible skin can be developed as a wearable device and used for fashion,” Ko said. It can also be used in military(军事的)clothing and to create designs on the outside of cars and buildings.
1. In which condition does the skin-like material change its colours?| A．In the cold climate. | B．In the hot weather. |
| C．In different temperatures. | D．In different surroundings. |
| A．A chameleon-shaped robot. |
| B．A sensor finding colour information. |
| C．Forest-coloured clothes worn in the desert. |
| D．Thermochromic liquid crystal with silver nanowire heaters. |
| A．How Ko did the research. | B．How the material works. |
| C．How the robot changes its colour. | D．How the robot “saw” the nearby colours. |
| A．It can be made into cars. | B．It can be applied to many fields. |
| C．It is a little thicker than a human hair. | D．It is popular in the fashion world. |
【推荐3】It is a question people have been asking for ages. Is there a way to turn back the aging process?
For centuries, people have been looking for a “fountain of youth.” The idea is that if you find a magical fountain, and drink from its waters, you will not age. Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon searched for waters with magical powers in the early 1500s. But what he found instead is the American state of Florida.
Researchers in New York did not find an actual fountain of youth, but they may have found a way to turn back the aging process. It appears the answer may be hidden right between your eyes, in an area called the hypothalamus.
The hypothalamus is part of your brain. It controls important activities within the body. Cai Dongsheng, a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, found that hypothalamus stem cells influence how fast aging takes place in the body as well. He also reported that when the hypothalamus starts aging, so does the body.
“So when hypothalamus function is in decline, particularly the loss of hypothalamus stem cells, and this protection against the aging development is lost, it eventually leads to aging.”
Using this information, the researchers began trying to activate (激活) or energize the hypothalamus in laboratory mice. They did this by injecting (注射) the animals with stem cells. Later, the researchers examined tissues and tested for changes in behavior. They looked for changes in the strength of the animals’ muscles. They also studied the social behavior and cognitive (认知) ability of the mice.
The researchers say the results show that the treatment slowed aging in the animals. Cai says injecting middle-aged mice with stem cells from younger mice helped the older animals live longer.
These findings could lead to new ways to help doctors identify and treat any number of health issues concerning aging problems. If the mice can live longer, does that mean people could have longer lives? This is the question Cai and his team are thinking about.
1. What did Juan Ponce de Leon find?| A．The American state of Florida. |
| B．Magical powers. |
| C．A Fountain of youth. |
| D．A way to stop the aging process. |
| A．It is located in the eyes. |
| B．It starts aging due to the increase of its stem cells. |
| C．It plays a key role in controlling the aging process. |
| D．It functions well when the body starts aging. |
| A．They strengthened the muscles of the mice. |
| B．They examined tissues and tested the behaviour of mice. |
| C．They injected the stem cells into the younger mice. |
| D．They changed the social behavior and cognitive ability of the mice. |
| A．Inject stem cells of mice into humans. |
| B．Research on the cognitive psychology. |
| C．Help the mice live longer. |
| D．See if anti-aging effects also work in human beings. |
【推荐1】The United Nations Environment Program is calling for urgent action to reduce growing risks from chemicals. Better management of chemicals could save millions of lives and billions of dollars. As estimated, 143,000 chemicals are now produced. Yet the report says only a small number of these chemicals have been studied for their effects on human health and the environment. It says death and disability rates are high from the unsafe use of chemical products.
Sylvie Lemmet, director of the UNEP, says poor management of chemicals has a high economic cost. For example, she says the cost is higher than the amount of overseas development aid, or ODA, for health care in sub-Saharan Africa.
She says, “If you look at the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide (杀虫剂) in sub-Saharan Africa, only the injury and the loss of working time is estimated to be 6.3 billion US dollars in 2009. This is higher than the total ODA that is going to the health part in the same area.”
The UNEP estimates that chemical sales worldwide will increase by around three percent a year until 2050. Chemical production is moving quickly from developed to developing countries. By 2020, chemical production is expected to increase by 40 percent in Africa and the Middle East and 33 percent in Latin America. One of its biggest concerns is pollution of rivers and lakes by pesticide and fertilizer. Other major concerns are heavy metal pollution from the production of cement (水泥) and textiles (纺织品), and dioxin pollution from mining.
The UN report urges the chemical industry and governments to work together to develop safety policies. It says preventing harm costs less than fixing it.
1. The purpose of Paragraph 3 is mainly to indicate that ______.| A．chemicals have a high production cost |
| B．Africa needs more development aid |
| C．the use of pesticide causes a great loss |
| D．the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide is incorrect |
| A．Pesticide. | B．Fertilizer. |
| C．Heavy metals. | D．Minerals. |
| A．The mass production of cement and textiles. |
| B．Lack of research funds on chemicals. |
| C．Poor management of chemicals. |
| D．Contradictions between chemical producers and governments. |
| A．The truth in Sylvie Lemmet’s comments |
| B．A UN warning about chemical dangers |
| C．The unpredictable future of chemical industry |
| D．Preventing is much better than fixing |
【推荐2】The coronavirus pandemic has created an environment for research on social connection. One of the most common areas of inquiry over the past couple of years was how our sudden mass shift to digital communication — away from face-to-face — affected overall social connectedness. Researchers studied nearly 3,000 adults during the pandemic’s early months and found that email, social media, online gaming, and texting were not fungible for in-person interactions. Voice and video calls, were somewhat better.
Social connectedness is a key to happiness. Lower it, and you will be worse off — and so will your loved ones, especially your kids. One 2014 survey revealed that 62 percent of U.S. children thought their parents were too distracted to listen to them. The No. 1 reason was parents’ phone use.
It is clear that scrolling or surfing will reduce social connection: You do them instead of interacting. Virtual communications such as texting are by design interactive and should theoretically be less harmful. However, text messages can’t convey emotion very well, because we can’t hear or see our conversational partners. These technologies are to in-person interactions what a black-and-white, pixelated (像素化的) version of the Mona Lisa is to the real thing; identifiable, but incapable of producing the same emotional effects.
With communications on line, we tend to hop from person to person and thus swap depth for breadth. However, research has shown that deeper conversations bring more well-being than short communications. Meanwhile, in a recent study, teens who texted more often than their peers tended to experience more depression, more anxiety and poorer relationships with their fathers.
It might seem strange that we would voluntarily adopt technologies that hurt our happiness. One of the explanations is convenience. Vegetating (无所事事) in front of a screen is simply easier than talking with a person, and virtual communications such as texting are faster and easier than a visit or a phone call. Think of these technologies as grab-and-go food at a convenience store: It’s not great, but it sure is easy — and after you eat enough microwave foods, you forget what the real thing tastes like.
In all, for most of us — especially people who grew up with it — the internet is an unquestioned part of the ecosystem of life. Quitting the virtual communications from our life is clearly not the answer. Since we’re not going back to life before this kind of technology, we can and should use it mindfully in service of love.
1. What does the underlined word “fungible” most probably mean?| A．Responsible. | B．Changeable. | C．Reliable. | D．Replaceable. |
| A．disapproving | B．doubtful | C．supportive | D．cautious |
| A．Virtual Communication Does Little Harm to People |
| B．Technology Can Make Your Relationships Shallower |
| C．Quitting Virtual Communication Is Just around the Corner |
| D．Technology Creates a Good Environment for Deeper Conversations |
【推荐3】Freeloaders, they just sit around while their hard-working colleagues get things done. But might freeloaders actually be necessary for society to function efficiently? The answer could be yes — at least when it comes to fire ants and their efforts to dig nests underground.
Daniel Goldman is a physicist at Georgia Tech. Because fire ants are highly social organisms, Daniel and his colleagues wanted to know how ants knew what to do without a central leader issuing orders.
To find out, Daniel’s team labeled individual fire ants with paint and then watched them dig their narrow tunnels— barely wide enough for two workers. Turns out, just 30 percent of the ants did 70 percent of the labor. “I was surprised that we ended up with so few workers actually doing the work at any one time. “
A quarter of the ants never even entered the tunnel. Others crawled inside, but left without digging a single grain of dirt. These behaviors ensured the crowded tunnels did not get blocked with insect traffic, which bring the construction process to a halt.
And when the scientists removed the five hardest-working ants from the colony, others immediately jumped in to compensate —with no reduction in the group’s productivity. Seems that it doesn’t matter which ants are working or freeloading at a given time, as long as there is some division of labor to keep the tunnels flowing smoothly.
The study could have implications for robotics. Imagine groups of robots sent to search stones for disaster survivors. Or nanobots coursing through our bodies to diagnose illness and deliver targeted medical treatment. Such robot clouds will need to avoid getting jammed up in tight spaces. It might be necessary to program them so some just sit back and watch their colleagues do the work.
1. Why did Daniel want to do a study on fire ants?| A．He thought the fire ants special. |
| B．He was a physicist studying different ants. |
| C．He had a research team with many experts. |
| D．He wanted to know the way ants work without a leader. |
| A．They all take part in the work. |
| B．They have a clear division of labor. |
| C．They have enough time to work. |
| D．They work efficiently with each other. |
| A．Robots could replace doctors. |
| B．There are many kinds of robots. |
| C．Freeloaders are necessary for robots. |
| D．Our life is closely related to robots. |
| A．Fire Ants’ Good Team Spirit |
| B．The Role of Freeloaders at Work |
| C．An Important Discovery in Robotics |
| D．Daniel’s Survey in Team Leader |
