Last night, I was alone on the road, but when I
I started wondering why I refused to run the light. I was not afraid of
China,
Recently, the “four new great inventions”
It is increasingly clear that China is leading in many new ways. A growing number of foreign
Technology is constantly advancing.
Steam engines were used to pull the carriages and it must have been
5 . Self-driving vehicles will rely on cameras，sensors and artificial intelligence (Al) to recognize and respond to road and traffic conditions.But sensing is the most effective for objects and movement in the neighborhood of the vehicle.Not everything important in a car’s environment will be caught by the vehicle’s camera.Another vehicle approaching at high speed on a collision(碰撞)track might not be visible until it’s too late.This is why vehicle-to-vehicle communication is undergoing rapid development.Our researches show that cars will need to be able to chat and operate on the road，although the technical challenges are considerable.
Applications for vehicle-to-vehicle communication range from vehicles driving together in a row，to safety messages about nearby emergency vehicles.Vehicles could alert each other to avoid collisions or share notices about passers-by and bicycles.
From as far as several hundred meters away.vehicles could exchange messages with one another or receive information from roadside units (RSUs) about nearby incidents or dangerous road conditions through 4 G network.A high level of Al seems required for such vehicles，not only to self-drive from A to B，but also to react intelligently to messages received.Vehicles will need to plan，reason，strategize and adapt in the light of information received in real time and to carry out cooperative behaviors.For example，a group of autonomous vehicles might avoid a route together because of potential risks，or a vehicle could decide to drop someone of earlier due to messages received，a foreseen crowding ahead.
Further applications of vehicle-to-vehicle communication are still being researched，including how to perform cooperative behavior.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The reasons for the accidents by self-driving vehicles. |
| B．The research about applications for self-driving vehicles. |
| C．The reasons for developing communication between self-driving vehicles. |
| D．The importance of artificial intelligence of self-driving vehicles. |
| A．Blame. | B．Alarm | C．Ignore. | D．Govern. |
| A．They serve as efficient information stations. |
| B．They can improve bad road conditions. |
| C．They take over the passing vehicles. |
| D．They classify the vehicles on the road. |
| A．When Do Vehicles Communicate? |
| B．The Reasons Why a High Level of Al Is Important. |
| C．What Do Applications for Vehicle-to-vehicle Communication Need? |
| D．Vehicle-to-vehicle Communication Is Coming. |
6 . One day, when I was going to check in at an airport, I noticed there was a big problem. The counter person was telling everyone that all the planes were having problems and they would not be able to fly! And it was suggested that a bus would be provided to take us to Seattle. Everyone was worried, as we only had an hour and a half to make the connecting flight, and the bus was not even at the airport yet.
Finally, the bus pulled up, and the driver said, “They just pulled me out of bed after an all-night shift, and they expect me to get you to Seattle in time to catch your fight. Good luck!”
Needless to say, everyone was in a really bad mood. I was loading my baggage into the bus and had hung my banjo (班卓琴) over my back when the bus driver said, “What? Are you going to play that on my bus?” “Well, I really did not plan on it,” I replied.“I was only kidding,”said the driver. But I started thinking about it, and I pulled out the banjo. A worried, angry woman said, “Well, what if I don’t like it?” “Then tell me and I’ll stop,” I replied.
We drove off, and the tension made the atmosphere inside the bus horrendous! Then I started performing the old standard Blue Skies. In a few minutes, I noticed everyone was singing along. I started to sing, too, and before long, the whole bus burst into song.
One song led to another. Everyone laughed and sang, with food passed around the bus, and before long, the airport was in sight.
The bus driver called, “We made it! We never would have done it without the help of our banjo player.” Shouts of approval rang through the bus. People exchanged addresses and invitations to visit, and a few even exchanged hugs.
A few weeks later, my mailbox was filled with letters from my new friends. Their letters reminded me of how, by reaching out with just a song or a bit of friendship, you can turn a very tense situation into a peaceful experience.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 2?| A．The driver was glad to take them to Seattle. |
| B．The driver was too tired to send them to Seattle. |
| C．The driver was late because he just came off the night shift. |
| D．The driver thought they would have difficulty making it to Seattle. |
| A．Boring. | B．Strange. | C．Terrible. | D．Cheerful. |
| A．A great banjo play. |
| B．A wonderful musical bus ride. |
| C．The amazing friendship on a bus. |
| D．An unforgettable experience at the airport. |
Is traffic a big problem where you live? Increased cycling may be the answer. Where are the best places to live and cycle? A new report lists the best bike—friendly cities around the world.
Top of the list is Amsterdam, the bike capital of the world. An incredible 40% of all traffic movements are by bicycle. There’s an extensive network of safe, fast and comfortable cycle routes. Copenhagen, the city of bikes, is a city where 32% of workers cycle to work because it’s fast and easy. Berlin is another European city that’s great for cycling. The city has about 80 kilometres of bike lanes, and 50kilometres of pavement paths. Cycling accounts for 12% of total street traffic.
Barcelona has been praised for its cycle service “Bicing”. It’s a bicycle service that allows users to take bicycles from any of the 100 stations spread around the city. Later, they can leave them at any other bike station inside the urban area of the city. The city has created a “green ring” that surrounds the city area with a bike path. There are 3,250 parking spaces for bikes at street level at present. Barcelona City is also building a new underground car park for bicycles.
The UK has its cycle friendly cities too. Bristol is the birthplace of “Sustrans” the cycle-route charity which was formed 30 years ago. One of their projects was turning an old rail line between Bristol and Bath into a bike route. Other bike friendly cities in the UK include Cambridge and York. Cambridge is an old city but has still managed to build good cycle infrastructure (基础设施), and cyclists are considered at every stage of any new developments.
Bicycle is a most popular means of transportation in China. Nowadays, riding a bicycle is also a good way to support low-carbon living. Beijing can be one of the best bike-friendly cities in China. There are many riding routes in Beijing for outdoor-lovers to explore. Cyclists can get close enough to experience the history and culture of Beijing, including the Forbidden City, Drum Tower, the Water Cube etc.
1. What are the bike-friendly cities mentioned in the passage?2. What makes Amsterdam the bike capital of the world?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
·Cyclists can leave their bikes anywhere in Barcelona.
4. As far as you know, what has been done to make Beijing a bike-friendly city?
8 . The Intelligent Transport team at Newcastle University have turned an electric car into a mobile laboratory named “Drive LAB” in order to understand the challenges faced by older drivers and to discover where the key stress points are.
Research shows that giving up driving is one of the key reasons for a fall in health and well-being among older people, leading to them becoming more isolated and inactive.
Led by Professor Phil Blythe, the Newcastle team are developing in-vehicle technologies for older drivers which they hope could help them to continue driving into later life.
These include custom-made navigation (导航) tools, night vision systems and intelligent speed adaptations. Phil Blythe explains: “For many older people, particularly those living alone or in the country driving is important for keeping their independence, giving them the freedom to get out and about without having to rely on others.”
“But we all have to accept that as we get older our reactions slow down and this often results in people avoiding any potentially challenging driving conditions and losing confidence in their driving skills. The result is that people stop driving before they really need to.”
Dr Amy Guo, the leading researcher on the older driver study, explains, “The Drive LAB is helping us to understand what the key stress points and difficulties are for older drivers and how we might use technology to solve these problems.”
“For example, most of us would expect older drivers always go slower than everyone else but surprisingly, we found that in 30mph zones they struggled to keep at a constant speed and so were more likely to break the speed limit and be at risk of getting fined. We’re looking at the benefits of systems which control their speed as a way of preventing that.”
“We hope that our work will help with technological solutions to ensure that older drivers stay safer behind the wheel.”
1. What is the purpose of the Drive LAB?| A．To explore new means of transport. | B．To design new types of cars. |
| C．To teach people traffic rules. | D．To find out older driver’s problems. |
| A．It keeps them independent. | B．It helps them save time. |
| C．It builds up their strength. | D．It cures their mental illnesses. |
| A．Ensure their safety with the help of technology. |
| B．Improve their diving skills. |
| C．Provide advice on repairing their cars. |
| D．Organize regular physical checkups. |
| A．A New Model Electric Car | B．Keeping Older Drivers on the Road |
| C．A Solution to Traffic Problems | D．Driving Services for Elders |
A warning system to prevent drivers from falling asleep was introduced at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services,
10 . I was desperately nervous about becoming car-free. But eight months ago our car was hit by a passing vehicle and it was destroyed. No problem, I thought: we’ll buy another. But the insurance payout didn’t even begin to cover the costs of buying a new car—I worked out that, with the loan (贷款) we’d need plus petrol, insurance, parking permits and tax, we would make a payment as much as £600 a month.
And that’s when I had my fancy idea. Why not just give up having a car at all？I live in London. We have a railway station behind our house, a tube station 10 minutes’ walk away, and a bus stop at the end of the street. A new car club had just opened in our area, and one of its shiny little red Peugeots was parked nearby. If any family in Britain could live without a car, I reasoned, then surely we were that family.
But my new car-free idea, sadly, wasn’t shared by my family. My teenage daughters were horrified. What would their friends think about our family being “too poor to afford a car”？(I wasn’t that bothered what they thought, and I suggested the girls should take the same approach.)
My friends, too, were astonished at our plan. What would happen if someone got seriously ill overnight and needed to go to hospital？(an ambulance) How would the children get to and from their many events？(buses and trains) People smiled as though this was another of my mad ideas, before saying they were sure I’d soon realize that a car was a necessity.
Eight months on, I wonder whether we’ll ever own a car again. The idea that you “have to” own a car, especially if you live in a city, is all in the mind. I live—and many other citizens do too—in a place that has never been better served by public transport, and yet car ownership has never been higher. We worry about rising car costs, but we’d be better off asking something much more basic: do I really need a car？Certainly the answer is no, and I’m a lot richer because I dared to ask the question.
1. The author decided to live a car-free life partly because _____.| A．the cost of a new car was too much | B．he was hurt in a terrible car accident |
| C．most families chose to go car-free | D．the traffic jam was unbearable for him |
| A．Supportive. | B．Optimistic. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．Argue against it. | B．Take their advice. |
| C．Leave it alone. | D．Think it over. |
