Once a small county in mountains and little-known to the rest of China, Chongli in Hebei Province, where most of the snow sports
A warning system to prevent drivers from falling asleep was introduced at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services,
1. What has been improved according to the speaker?
A.The train station. | B.The bus service. | C.The parking lot. |
A.By bus and on foot. | B.By train and by bus. | C.By train and on foot. |
A.A reporter. | B.A policeman. | C.A photographer. |
1. Why does the woman make the call?
A.To make an invitation. |
B.To ask for information. |
C.To discuss a holiday plan . |
A.$50. | B.$150. | C.$350. |
A warning system to prevent people from falling asleep while driving
6 . The good news is that more people bought electric cars in 2020. The bad news is that SUVs continued to grow in popularity, too. The fall in oil consumption due to the first trend was completely cancelled out by the second, say Laura Cozzi and Apostolos Petropoulos at the International Energy Agency (IEA) in France.
The growing popularity of SUVs is making it even harder to cut carbon dioxide emissions(排放)and meet climate goals. “Policy-makers need to find ways to persuade consumers to choose smaller and more efficient cars,” says Petropoulos.
Oil consumption by conventional cars – not including SUVs – is estimated to have fallen 10 percent in 2020, or by more than 1.8 million barrels(桶)a day, Cozzi and Petropoulos say in a commentary published by the IEA on 15 January. Most of this fall was due to reduced travel and is likely to be temporary.
But a small part of the drop, around 40,000 barrels a day, was as a result of the increased share of electric vehicles (EVs). “We have seen a skyrocketing of global electric car sales in 2020,” says Petropoulos. Unfortunately, the number of SUVs increased as well. While overall car sales fell in 2020, 42 percent of buyers chose SUVs, up around three percentage points from 2019.
Globally, there are now more than 280 million SUVs being driven, up from fewer than 50 million in 2010. On average, SUVs consume 20 percent more energy per kilometre than a medium-sized car.
The increase in SUVs in 2020 led to a rise in oil consumption that cancelled out the effect of electric cars, says Petropoulos. Much the same is true over the past decade. Between 2010 and 2020, global CO2 emissions from conventional cars fell by nearly 350 megatonnes, due to factors such as fuel efficiency improvements as well as the switch to electric cars. Emissions from SUVs rose by more than 500 megatonnes.
“While the growth in EVs is encouraging, the increase in SUVs is heart-breaking,” says Glen Peters at the CICERO climate research centre in Norway.
There are many reasons for the growing popularity of SUVs, says Petropoulos. Rising prosperity(繁荣)in many countries means more people are able to afford them, for instance. Some people see them as a symbol of social position. SUVs are also heavily advertised by car-makers, he says, whose profits are higher on these vehicles.
There are now some electric SUVs available. “Hopefully, in time, you will see electric vehicles entering the SUV market,” says Peters.
Even if it happens, switching to electric SUVs isn’t an ideal solution. Due to their size and bigger batteries, it takes more resources to build electric SUVs, and they consume around 15 percent more electricity. Higher electricity demand makes it harder to green the electricity supply.
1. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?A.The SUVs driven in 2019 reached up to 280 million. |
B.Electric cars appeared a sharp decline in sales in 2020. |
C.Buyers of SUVs in 2020 increased 42 percent than those in 2019. |
D.Global SUVs being driven now are over five times as many as those in 2010. |
A.it could have harmful consequences for the air quality |
B.the oil consumption will increase and the price will fall |
C.people all over the world are getting wealthier than before |
D.the car-makers think it’s unnecessary to advertise any more |
A.The purchases of SUVs should be reduced. |
B.The SUVs should be discontinued immediately. |
C.The awareness of using electric cars needs to be improved. |
D.Increasing electric cars can solve the problem of oil consumption. |
A.Unconcerned. | B.Disapproving. |
C.Supportive. | D.Uncertain. |
7 . On paper, hydrogen(H2)looks like a dream fuel. Coal, oil, and natural gas produce carbon dioxide, which warms the earth when burned, Hydrogen produces pure water. Hydrogen packs more energy into less space than a battery(but certainly less than petrol). Also, empty tanks(燃料箱)can be refilled with hydrogen much faster than refilling empty batteries with electricity.
While in practice, things are trickier. Storing a meaningful amount of hydrogen gas requires pressing it several hundred-fold. Changing it into the liquid form is another option, but it should be cooled to-253C. Both processes require a heavy and strong tank. While a 700 bar tank is acceptable for a city bus or a truck, adapting it for use in small vehicles is very difficult because the pressure during refilling would be too great.
The solution? Powerpaste.
A German team of researchers, led by Marcus Vogt, have come up with an interesting "powerpaste", which can store hydrogen energy at atmospheric pressure, ready for release when needed. It is so named because it comes in tubes and looks like toothpaste(牙膏), not in its traditional form of gas.
The main ingredient(原料)of the paste is magnesium hydride, a substance that reacts with water to form hydrogen. The escaped hydrogen can then be directed into a fuel cell, where it reacts with oxygen from the air to produce electric power.
Refueling is very simple, as instead of going to a filling station, drivers and riders can simply replace an empty tube with a new one and refill the water tank.
Given that powerpaste only begins to break down at temperatures of around 250℃ it remains safe even when a vehicle stands in the baking sun for hours.
However, we will have to be patient. Just because researchers have succeeded in developing a new fueling way does not mean that we can expect to see such vehicles on the road anytime soon. It will indeed be several years before this concept is turned into reality.
1. As a fuel, what is the advantage of hydrogen over oil?A.Refilling empty tanks will be more convenient. |
B.It is less likely to worsen global warming |
C.More energy can be packed in the same space. |
D.It will produce pure water for people to drink. |
A.The practical difficulties to use hydrogen as fuel in small vehicles. |
B.The detailed processes of adapting a strong tank in small vehicles. |
C.The differences in fueling between large vehicles and small ones. |
D.The tricks of building strong tanks in small vehicles. |
A.inexpensive | B.powerful | C.convenient | D.environment-friendly |
A.Powerpaste-driven vehicles sometimes move very slowly on the road. |
B.Practical use of powerpaste-driven vehicles will not come very soon. |
C.Powerpaste-driven vehicles can only work after being in the sun for hours |
D.It will be years before the researchers work out the concept of powerpaste. |
8 . We are fortunate to live in a city that encourages bicycling as a means of transportation.Our local government has promoted bicycling by improving bike lanes and increasing the number of them. The growing number of cyclists, however, brings this question to mind: should bicyclists be required to share the responsibilities of the road? Automobile drivers have to take competency tests, follow established regulations, and accept punishment for breaking rules. The city requests drivers to register and license their vehicles to ensure accountability (责任). Bicyclists who use public roadways should be held accountable, too.
Let's look at what sharing the road means. For one thing, it should involve cost sharing.Auto registration and license fees are used, in part, for building and maintaining roadways. It seems only reasonable to ask bicyclists to contribute to transportation funding as well.
More importantly,sharing the road includes accountability. When drivers ignore the rules of the road, the police and other motorists have the opportunity to identify them by their license plate number and report their offenses (违法行为)。 This isn't true for bicyclists. I've seen bicyclists moving quickly between lanes.Because they show no identification, they feel protected by anonymity(匿名)。What good would it do to report to the police “I saw a guy on a red bike blow through the stoplight"? The simple act of making bicyclists identifiable would encourage safer, more responsible riding.
Of course,I've heard arguments against asking cyclists to register and license their bikes. Some people might say, “Little kids ride bikes. Would you require a six-year-old rider to take a test and pay a fee?" Obviously, the city could determine an age when cycling would be considered a "means of transportation on public roads." Other people argue that bicycle fees are unfair because bikes don't damage the roadways as cars do. Bicycle registration fees could be comparatively modest, and the method for displaying a license number could be simple.
Many U.S. cities and towns now implement bike registration and licensing. A statute(法规)from one. California town states that the laws regulating bicycles have a dual purpose, antitheft and safety. I'm eager to see more bicyclists on the road, and I'm hoping for riders who take their responsibilities seriously.
1. To advocate responsible cycling, the author suggestsA.increasing the number of bike lanes |
B.giving competency tests to all cyclists |
C.identifying cyclists through registration |
D.reporting cycling offenses more frequently |
A.To explain how bicycle registration and licensing work. |
B.To provide solutions to reduce irresponsible cycling of kids. |
C.To respond to people's doubts about holding cyclists accountable. |
D.To argue against requiring cyclists to register and license their bicycles. |
① Using examples
② Quoting professionals
③ Comparing and contrasting
④ Appealing to readers' emotions
A.①② |
B.②④ |
C.③④ |
D.①③ |
A.Should we encourage more cycling in the city? |
B.Should cyclists register and license their bikes? |
C.What does "sharing the road" mean to cyclists? |
D.How can road safety be guaranteed for cyclists? |
Ten years ago, people bought electric vehicles (EVs) to reduce their carbon footprint.
In most big cities, it is easier to hire a taxi at a moment’s notice when the weather is good. But when it’s raining, people have a much harder time