1 . London and Paris are two of Europe’s biggest tourist destinations, just a few hours away from each other by road or rail and an hour’s distance by air. What about the train-ferry combination that many recall fondly from their childhoods? Well, though it’s budget-saving, this option is too time-consuming today, so better leave it to your memories. Since the UK is not part the Schengen Area, passengers need to go through passport control prior to boarding.
Air trips
Though flying between London and Paris is by no means recommended, there are still a few people traveling between the two dynamic cities by air. A very low one-way fare is possible through advanced booking, but of course it’s rare, and that doesn’t include the taxi and rail fares traveling to and from the airports.
* One-way fares from Paris can be as low as 49;
* From London, Air France flies with fares as low as £39(46), and British Airways as low as £48 (56).
Rail trips
The only direct train between London and Paris is the Eurostar, which travels 15 -17 times per weekday. Eurostar’s 2015 edition trains can make the journey in two hours at speeds of up to 320 km/h. Besides, they offer good seating space.
* Fares begin at a reasonable £58(68), round trip;
* The earlier you book, the more you save.
Bus trips
The bus is by far the least expensive and longest way to travel between Paris and London. Eurolines and OUIBUS are two major bus lines traveling between the two capitals. The journey takes between seven and nine hours. Both lines advertise free Wi-Fi.
* One-way Eurolines fares begin at 15;
* One-way OUIBUS fares begin at 15 too, but early bird sales can even lower the fare.
1. Which way is probably the cheapest for a round trip?| A．By train-ferry. | B．By air. | C．By rail. | D．By bus. |
| A．Free booking. | B．Taxi pickup. |
| C．Good seating space. | D．Free Wi-Fi. |
| A．There are different competing companies. |
| B．They are cheaper if booked ahead of time. |
| C．They are more expensive from the Paris end. |
| D．There are still additional fees to be included. |
2 . Where did the idea of “white bikes” come from? In the 1960s, a group of cycling fans came up with an idea. They believed that it would be better for everybody if cars weren’t allowed in the city centre and only bicycles were. They were hopeful that this would help to save energy, reduce pollution and provide free public transport. The group painted hundreds of bicycles white and placed them in many areas around Amsterdam for people to use. Anyone was allowed to take them and use them for short journeys. People would leave the bike in the place where they finished their journey, so that someone else could then take it and use it from there. Soon after, however, problems came up and the “white bikes” all disappeared — thieves stole them all in a matter of weeks!
Why did the group come up with the idea of “white bikes”?
| A．To ensure traffic safety. | B．To reduce transport costs. |
| C．To encourage physical activity. | D．To promote green transport. |
Electric vehicles are currently a part of the car market, which
Keeping electric motors charged is cheaper than
Going electric is not only an eco-friendly goal
4 . Back in 1912, a man named Carl Fisher had an ambitious dream of creating a roadway that would cross the United States. He wanted the road to be in good condition and to handle the traffic. Eventually, his efforts led to the Lincoln Highway. It runs through 13 states. Originally, the surface of the highway was small stones, but over time, the project began to add new materials. Since then, people have made progress in creating more durable (耐用的) mixtures of road surfacing.
However, basically, highway technology hasn’t changed a lot since the early 20th century. But that doesn’t mean we’ll be driving on the same type of highways by 2050. Numerous companies are working on creating smart highways using sensors that will help observe and redesign traffic. More importantly, it’s not hard to imagine some parts of cars working along with the sensors in the highways. For example, safety measures in the highways will help prevent crashes by observing the position and speed of the cars. When conditions change suddenly on the road, the system will override a car’s control system, which leads to fewer accidents and traffic jams.
Perhaps we’ll even reach a point where our cars will connect with the highways so that we can renounce driving completely if we choose. Just imagine the day when we just tell our car where we want to go and then let it do all the work for us.
What’s more, research into self-repairing materials may lead to lower repair costs. And scientists are working on photoelectric panels (光电面板) that can support highway traffic. Our future highways will become large generators (发电机), collecting energy from the sun to be changed into electricity. We may be able to create a transportation system that provides its own power.
Solar panels in the road can have other parts as well. Imagine fixing LEDs into the panels, allowing transportation officials to display warning signs or other information on the road. Or they could include a heating element in the panels that allows the highway to increase its temperature, melting ice and snow. In this way, many accidents on icy roads can be prevented. And drivers can keep their car in a stable running condition.
1. What may be the key design for future smart highway systems?| A．The use of sensors to collect traffic information. |
| B．The functional combination of roads and cars. |
| C．The timely settlement of car crashes. |
| D．The strict control of cars’ speed. |
| A．Pick up. | B．Speed up. | C．Give up. | D．Keep up. |
| A．Durable and practical. | B．Flexible and moneymaking. |
| C．Convenient and time-saving. | D．Economical and environmentally friendly. |
| A．Improving cars’ efficiency. | B．Making traffic conditions safer. |
| C．Showing traffic signs more clearly. | D．Keeping drivers in good physical condition. |
5 . Imagine taking a flying taxi to the airport, or crossing crowded city streets at rush hour, getting where you want to go far faster than you could in a car. Believe it or not, you might be able to do these things in an electric air taxi sooner than you think.
An air taxi is a small aircraft—something like a mix between a helicopter(直升飞机) and a drone(无人机)—that, can carry people from place to place. Air taxis don’t need a long runway like planes do. They can go straight up and down, like a helicopter.
A company called Joby has been making and testing flying taxis since 2017. By 2025, Joby hopes to start carrying passengers for money. They’ve teamed up with Delta Air Lines to create a program to fly people from their homes to the airport. Joby also expects their air taxis to provide a ride-sharing service. Just like you might order a car to pick you up, you could use an app to order an air taxi. Joby’s air taxis will be flown by a pilot, and can carry four other passengers. They can fly as fast as 200 KPH and go around 100 miles before the electric batteries need to be recharged.
Joby claims their taxis are both quieter and cheaper than helicopters. The company expects to charge about $3 a mile at first. But over time, they hope to bring the price down to less than $1 per mile.
Exciting as the idea of flying taxis is, some people have concerns about them. The taxis may be quieter than helicopters, but they’ll still add noise and traffic to our skies and endanger public safety when passengers are flying through the air.
Still, it seems likely that air taxis will be part of the future of travel. The U.S. government says, “We could see air taxis in the skies by 2024 or 2025.”
1. What are the main features of the air taxi?| A．Traditional and expensive. | B．Convenient and economical. |
| C．Advanced but space-taking. | D．Safe but energy-consuming. |
| A．To give a guess. | B．To present an argument. |
| C．To make a comparison. | D．To introduce a phenomenon. |
| A．Its market risks. | B．Its promising future. |
| C．Its wide recognition. | D．Its possible weaknesses. |
| A．Flying Taxis Are Starting to Take Off |
| B．Joby Has Already Mass-produced Air Taxis |
| C．A Solution Is Used to Solve Traffic Problems |
| D．America Has Improved Ride-sharing Services |
6 . Riding the bus to school could be keeping some kids out of class. Most school buses run on fuel. Those buses send out pollution, including tiny particles and gases. Bus riders get exposed to high levels of this pollution. When breathed in, it can lead to breathing problems, such as asthma (哮喘), which may keep kids home from school. But replacing the worst-polluting buses should cut down on student absences, a new study shows.
The study focused on schools that were asked to take part in a U. S. government program. The program offered schools cash back for money spent on cleaner school buses. The 2, 816 school districts in the new study all asked for the money. But not all got it. Only 383 were picked to receive funding. Winning districts could buy new buses and desert old ones.
The program started in 2012. From 2012 to 2017, the winning districts very likely had less bus pollution. And a year after getting new buses, student attendance had improved in those districts. For an average district of 10, 000 students, about six more students attended school each day in the winning districts. Districts that replaced the oldest buses had an average of 45 more students in school each day.
Those numbers may sound small, but they can add up, says Meredith Pedde, an environmental epidemiologist (流行病学家). Almost 3 million U. S. kids ride school buses more than 20 years old, her team figures. Replacing all of those old buses could mean 1.3 million fewer student absences each year, the data suggest. And school attendance matters for student achievement.
Now the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a new program for school buses. It’s offering $5 billion through 2026 to replace old fuel buses with cleaner ones. Almost all U. S. school districts can apply for the new rebates. But schools in low-income areas and in rural areas will get priority. Kids in these areas tend to face the most health risks from old buses, EPA notes. And anything that cuts air pollution, Pedde says, should improve student health.
1. What is the primary reason why riding the bus to school might lead to student absences?| A．Serious fuel shortage for school buses. |
| B．Lack of available seats on school buses. |
| C．High risk of disease spreading in a bus. |
| D．High levels of pollution from school buses. |
| A．It increases health risks for students. |
| B．It is a costly and ineffective measure. |
| C．It helps to improve student attendances. |
| D．It has no significant effect on absences. |
| A．Financial aids. |
| B．School posts. |
| C．Health benefits. |
| D．Public resources. |
| A．To describe the potential risk of school buses. |
| B．To talk about the use of cleaner school buses. |
| C．To discuss the importance of decreasing absence. |
| D．To call on the government to improve school buses. |
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a well-known train route in the world. Thousands of travelers pack their suitcases every year into a train cabin (车厢)
The Trans-Siberian
8 . A driverless train took its first trip around Hamburg, Germany in 2021 and may greatly improve transportation in the city. Acknowledged as the world’s first, the train created by Siemens Mobility and Deutsche Bahn (DB) officially went into service in December.
This is part of a large modernization project for the city’s S-Bahn urban rail. There were no changes to the tracks, as the autonomous(自动的) trains run on the same network as the current trains that have drivers operating them.
“The railroad has arrived in the digital future and Digital Rail Germany may become a reality. With automated rail operations, we can offer our passengers a significantly expanded and improved service,” said Dr. Richard Lutz, CEO of DB. “The new trains can transport up to 30 percent more passengers and operate on time, and they will be more energy-efficient. They are also encouraged for environmental protection reasons.”
The trains receive signals via radios. There will be drivers present when there are passengers on board but they will only supervise(监督) the run and the passengers. There are now plans to digitize Hamburg’s S-Bahn system entirely by the end of the decade and the government has already decided to put money into new trains and infrastructure (基础设施) improvements.
Autonomous transportation technology is being used in taxis by Waymo, which started as the Google self-driving project in 2009. Other companies that are working on driverless cars include Tesla,GM, Nissan, and Zoox. These cars have to find their ways on roads with the help of GPS technology but driving on a track is much simpler and safer. “The new technology has already been officially approved and, since it features open interfaces (接口), it can immediately be used by operators worldwide for all types of trains,” said Dr. Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens. Maybe it’s time for the new autonomous revolution.
1. What’s special about the new trains created by Siemens Mobility and DB?| A．They make long-distance trips much safer. |
| B．They use new driverless track systems. |
| C．They share tracks with traditional ones. |
| D．They still require human drivers’ operation. |
| A．The new trains greatly change the German lifestyle. |
| B．The digital railroad is spoken highly of by passengers. |
| C．The new trains benefit both people and the environment. |
| D．The digital railroad has promoted the development of tourism. |
| A．Worried. | B．Favorable. | C．Doubtful. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．The digital technology has a big potential market. |
| B．Germany’s design of trains needs to be further improved. |
| C．American companies see an increasing demand for self-driving taxis. |
| D．Operators have responsibility for ensuring fully autonomous driving. |
1. Why does the woman talk to the man?
| A．To ask for information. |
| B．To hand out leaflets. |
| C．To book some tickets. |
| A．At King Street. | B．At Central Station. | C．At Regional Station. |
| A．Every hour. | B．Every half an hour. | C．Every two hours. |
| A．The Special ticket. |
| B．The Supersave ticket. |
| C．The standard open ticket. |
10 . Suppose you find a bright yellow bike on a street corner in the city. You hop on (跨上) it and
You
The
Portland’s
| A．drive away | B．ride away | C．ride back | D．run away |
| A．No one | B．Someone | C．Anyone | D．Everyone |
| A．whether | B．so | C．because | D．though |
| A．have to | B．don’t have to | C．can’t | D．can |
| A．expensive | B．crowded | C．free | D．common |
| A．protect | B．control | C．make | D．bring |
| A．out of | B．into | C．up | D．near |
| A．ended | B．started | C．changed | D．refused |
| A．public | B．private | C．clean | D．dirty |
| A．but | B．as | C．until | D．or |
| A．next | B．last | C．best | D．first |
| A．break | B．make | C．discuss | D．follow |
| A．buy | B．repair | C．produce | D．steal |
| A．citizen | B．street | C．idea | D．school |
| A．looked up | B．made up | C．put up | D．set up |
