1 . Trapped in a sea of cars on an endless highway, have you ever daydreamed about your car taking off and flying over the road? Imagine if you could just turn a switch and free yourself from the traffic jams!

Actually, just a decade and a half after the Wright Brothers took off in their airplane in 1903, other people began chasing the dream of a flying car. The pioneers never managed to develop a reliable flying car, and some even died testing their inventions. However, they proved that a car could be built to fly, and inspired a new group of roadable aircraft enthusiasts. With advances in lightweight material, computer modeling and computer-controlled aircraft, things are changing.

After a century of unfulfilled promises, flying cars are just around the corner. Moller’s latest design, the Skycar M400, is designed to take off and land vertically (垂直地) in small spaces. It can reach speeds of 400 mph, and has a range of 900 miles. The fuel mileage will be similar to that of a medium-sized car, getting 20 miles to the gallon. The initial cost of a Skycar will be about $1 million, but once it begins to be mass produced that price could come down to as low as $60,000.

The four-seat Skycar is powered by eight engines on the side of the vehicle. If one fails, the other engines can sustain flight. To make the Skycar safe and available to the general public, it is completely controlled by computers using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. In case of an accident, the vehicle will release a parachute and airbags to reduce the impact of the crash.

The mass availability of flying cars could be very exciting or very scary, depending on how you look at it. If proper safeguards are put in place, they could be the answer to our ever-worsening traffic jams. Flying cars allow us to live hundreds of miles farther from work but make it to the office within a few minutes.

1. Why did the pioneers failed to make a reliable flying car in the past?

A．The government wasn’t in favour of the invention.	B．They didn’t have modern technology.
C．There was no financial aid coming to them.	D．Difficulties drove them to give up their dreams.

2. Which aspect of the Skycar M400 does the fourth paragraph focus on?

A．Its power.

B．Its safety.

C．Its size.

D．Its usage.

3. According to the author, what role is the flying car most likely to play?

A．To reduce traffic accidents.	B．To get people amused.
C．To avoid traffic jams.	D．To promote driving skills.

4. Which of the following can be used as the title of the passage?

A．The Future of Cars	B．Flying to Work in Your Car
C．The Way to Avoid Traffic Jams	D．Moller’s Great Invention

4 . A worldwide shift from fossil fuel-powered cars to electric vehicles could significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that humans emit to the atmosphere. But current strategies for vehicle electrification (电气化) can also shift some pollution to communities already suffering under higher economic, health and environmental burdens, researchers warn.

California, which leads the United States by a mile when it comes to EV adoption, offers a window into this evolving problem. The state is aggressively seeking to reduce its carbon footprint and has made substantial increases in wind and solar power generation as well as in the promotion of electric vehicle purchases. One tool the state has used is the California Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, or CVRP, which kicked off in 2010 and offers consumers money back for the purchase of new EVs.

Now, an analysis of the CVRP’s impact on the state’s air quality from 2010 to 2021 reveals both good and bad news, researchers report May 3 in PLOS Climate.

The good news is that the CVRP is responsible for making a dent in the state’s overall CO2 emissions, reducing them by about 280,000 metric tons per year on average. The bad news is that the most disadvantaged communities in the state didn’t see the same overall improvement in air quality. Those communities in fact saw an increase in one type of air pollution, tiny particulates known as PM2.5. That increase may be indirectly related to putting more EVs on the road. Although electric vehicles themselves don’t produce PM2.5 from their tailpipes, increased electricity generation, if it’s not fossil fuel-free, can. Renewable resources, including rooftop solar cells, supplied about half of California’s electricity in 2022. But natural gas-fired power plants still provide a large part of the state’s power.

“Electric vehicles are often incorrectly referred to as ‘zero-emission vehicles’, but they’re only as clean as the underlying electric grid (电网) from which the energy is sourced,” Mejía-Duwan says. The most disadvantaged 25 percent of the state’s communities also contain 50 percent of the power plants, the team found.

1. What do we know from paragraph 2?

A．California takes the lead in environmental protection.

B．Wind and solar power generation has dominated California.

C．California’s carbon footprint has been reduced as planned.

D．The launch of CVRP is intended to promote electric vehicle purchases.

2. What does the underlined “dent” mean in paragraph 4?

A．adjustment.

B．shift.

C．reduction.

D．increase

3. What is the direct cause of an increase in PM 2.5?

A．Putting more EVs on the road.	B．Increased electricity generation.
C．Warming climate.	D．Increased rooftop solar cells.

4. What will Mejía-Duwan probably agree with?

A．Zero emission for EVs can’t be ensured nowadays.

B．‘Zero emission’ isn’t good enough to describe EVs.

C．EVs, with no zero emission, shouldn’t be advocated.

D．EVs have a promising future as zero emission vehicles.

9 . After eight years of construction, the Padma Multipurpose Bridge in Bangladesh opened to the public on June 26, reducing travel time from parts of the southwest of the country to the capital Dhaka from seven to eight hours to as little as just 10 minutes.

The 21.5-meter-wide, 6.15-kilometer-long bridge built over the Padma River, the main branch of the Ganges, has two levels with the upper tier having a four-lane highway and the lower tier a single-track railway, according to Wuhan-based China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group, or MBEC, one of China’s biggest bridge makers. Before that, travelers and goods were transported via boat or ship because of the vast width and fast-flowing nature of the river, and the tendency of the area to flood.

In 2014, the Bangladeshi government awarded MBEC a $1.54-billion contract to build the core structure of the bridge, making it the country’s largest infrastructure(基础建设) project as well as the largest foreign bridge project undertaken by Chinese companies in terms of total cost.

“The construction was much harder than expected as the complex geological conditions brought multiple challenges to us,” said Shen Tao, deputy general manager of the project. “The bridge is located above a river with banks on loose soil, and downpours in the rainy season often caused flooding, bringing us numerous difficulties we had never experienced before.” “During the construction, we had to adjust the design plan to adapt to environmental changes whenever necessary,” he added.

“However, through continuous learning and adaptation, construction teams have greatly improved their abilities including technology, communication and adaptability.” said Wen Wusong, chairman of MBEC. “They demonstrated the strength of China’s road bridge construction to the whole world and the bridge is a model of international cooperation.”

Over the past eight years, the project has created over 50,000 jobs for local residents, according to MBEC.

1. What do we know about the bridge?

A．It is over the Ganges.

B．It is across the Padma River.

C．The upper tier has a single-track railway.

D．The lower tier has a four-lane highway.

2. What did Shen Tao mainly express in paragraph 4?

A．Costs of building the bridge.

B．Features of the newly-built bridge.

C．Benefits the bridge can bring about.

D．Difficulties in constructing the bridge.

3. Which can replace the underlined word “demonstrated” in paragraph 5?

A．Measured

B．Adapted.

C．Showed.

D．Preserved.

4. What can be the best title for the news report?

A．China-made bridge opens in Bangladesh

B．Eight years of China’s constructing a bridge in Bangladesh

C．Constructing a bridge creates over 50,000 jobs in Bangladesh

D．Bangladeshi government awards MBEC $1.54-billion contract

10 . I will never forget those two years when I struggled and finally passed my driving test.

I grew up in a tiny village in the countryside, where, if leaving, you had to rely on the_________that came once a day and went as far as the neighboring_________. Therefore, for the villagers, learning to_________represented freedom.

As you might have_________, I didn’t pass my test the first time, nor second, nor third._________, it took me six_________and two years. I was so_________when I finally passed that I didn’t even drive myself home.

But, when I went out for my first solo (独自的) drive, I_________the freedom and aloneness. Even now, as an adult, I still feel intense excitement about_________on a road trip by myself. Partly it’s the__________of an adventure, but it’s also because I am__________of those two years when I tried and failed to pass my test.

I remembered how I wanted it and the dozens of times I learned how to reverse (倒车) around a corner. I__________back to the extra waitressing shifting (轮班). I worked to__________more lessons and another test. In those two years, I learned if I want something__________enough, I’d keep going until I got it. Now every time I start my car, I feel as if I’m__________the key in the ignition (发火装置) of my own determination.

1.

A．train

B．subway

C．truck

D．bus

2.

A．town

B．region

C．village

D．block

3.

A．drive

B．speak

C．walk

D．ride

4.

A．known

B．guessed

C．predicted

D．seen

5.

A．However

B．Therefore

C．Additionally

D．Actually

6.

A．attempts

B．experiments

C．trips

D．lessons

7.

A．shocked

B．relaxed

C．doubtful

D．fearful

8.

A．experienced

B．held

C．gained

D．enjoyed

9.

A．setting off

B．turning up

C．pulling over

D．breaking away

10.

A．exploration

B．fun

C．challenge

D．benefit

11.

A．informed

B．reminded

C．convinced

D．rid

12.

A．call

B．fight

C．think

D．step

13.

A．offer

B．afford

C．finish

D．review

14.

A．confidently

B．hopefully

C．badly

D．helplessly

15.

A．pushing

B．finding

C．repairing

D．turning