1 . A small but shining silver lining: The corona-virus has quickened the shift to pedal power in Europe. The German Cycling Association (ADFC) reports that Germans across the country are spending twice as much time biking as they were before the COVID-19. There is growing demand for bikes and shared-bike subscriptions, and now even shortages throughout bicycle supply chain. For bike shops it's an unexpected boom. So much so that it requires cities to improve their biking facilities.
In unimagined numbers, bikes are starting to take the place of cars in our cities. It has increased 930 miles of new bike lanes (车道) in Europe, “muscling aside cars on Europe’s city streets,” according to European Cyclists Federation. Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands are pioneering fast lanes for riders. “Pop-up lanes” are being used for bikes in Berlin and Paris; Rome has painted new bike lanes, in each case taking away lanes from cars.
Women riders are reportedly another big factor in the biking transformation. E-bikes are, too. E-bikes use an onboard battery to boost power when the rider is going up a hill, or just needs a rest. E-bikes have removed “the sweat factor”. Who wants to show up to work or a party sweaty?
The European Cyclists’ Federation states that bikes are also strongly supported by European governments to cut carbon and increase the quality of their cities. European countries provide direct financial stimulation for cyclists.
At the end of April, France announced a 20 million Euro plan to promote cycling after the end of the lockdown. The plan includes 50 Euro vouchers (代金券) for the repair of a bike. Italy worked on a regulation for Covid recovery, by means of which 120 million Euro was set aside to cover 70% and up to 500 Euro of the price of conventional, muscle-powered and electric bikes.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．The impact of the pandemic on people's life. |
| B．The bicycle industry booms in Europe. |
| C．The preference for bicycles globally. |
| D．The shift in choice on public transportation. |
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．Measures have been taken to encourage Europeans to use bikes. |
| B．E-bikes become popular with Europeans because they are lazy. |
| C．More women in Europe choose to go to work by bike than men. |
| D．Financial support is the main reason why Europeans choose bikes. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A business plan. |
| C．A science report. | D．A newspaper. |
2 . Like the move from horse-drawn carriages to vehicles powered by internal-combustion engines, the change from cars powered by fossil fuels to electric vehicles (EVs) will have a profound effect on personal transport. The Epidemic worldwide caused a 20% drop in global light vehicle sales in 2020, to about 70m, but they pick up in 2021. And the proportion of vehicles powered by batteries will grow quickly.
The increasing share price of Tesla, provides a big motivation for newcomers to catch up. Tesla may lead in battery technology and software, but to make those advantages stick, it must prove that “production hell” is behind it. Scaling up manufacturing has caused Tesla its biggest headaches.
Big name carmakers face an equally discouraging challenge: Learning how to write software. Electric cars require integrated software, not just to ensure that batteries and motors work together to provide the best performance, but to connect the car to the outside world.
And what of the Tesla followers, from China’s li, Nio and Xpeng to American firms such as Fisker, Lucid and Nikola? Cash from excitable investors has poured in and it is the same with big name carmakers—as are tech giants, keen to get involved as transport goes digital. Can the followers persuade investors that they have patent technology that will give them a long-term advantage?
Eye-catching Advertisements of vehicles are one thing, but as the industry’s trouble shows, working out how to make cars at scale, when softwares are as important as brakes and bodywork, is quite another. The coming year will make clearer which of Tesla’s competitors, new and old, can stay in race.
1. What is the trend of electric cars industry?| A．Uncertain. | B．Challenging. | C．Promising. | D．Disappointing. |
| A．Learning how to write the software. | B．Expanding its production capacity. |
| C．Connecting the car to the outside world. | D．Competing with many newcomers. |
| A．Their share prices are catching up with those of Tesla. |
| B．They are mostly established companies. |
| C．Their biggest problem is technical one like improving brakes and bodywork. |
| D．They are attracting investment. |
| A．The Battle Within the Electric-Vehicle Industry |
| B．Expanding Production Capacity—the Headache of Electric Cars Industry |
| C．New Companies Are Catching up in Electric-Vehicle Industry |
| D．Electric Cars—Your Future Choice |
| A．Confusing. | B．Fast-growing. | C．Simple. |
1. How will Paul get to the woman’s office?
| A．By subway. | B．By plane. | C．By train. |
| A．Complaining about the bad weather. |
| B．Talking about the conveniences. |
| C．Making a phone call. |
1. Why was the man late again?
| A．He had an accident on his way. |
| B．He got up late. |
| C．He was caught in traffic jams. |
| A．Giving a class. |
| B．Having a meeting. |
| C．Meeting a guest. |
| A．Cycle to work. |
| B．Go to bed early. |
| C．Set an alarm clock. |
1. How far is the nearest supermarket?
| A．About 3 kilometers away. |
| B．About 5 kilometers away. |
| C．About 6 kilometers away. |
| A．By taxi. |
| B．On foot. |
| C．By bus. |
| A．Two hours. | B．Five hours. | C．Ten hours. |
8 . A University College London study looked at car use to conclude that cities have to become car-free to survive. Simply put, if we don't reduce the number of cars in our cities then they will just completely clog up and stop moving.
The study notes the number of cars is actually increasing faster than that of people. In 2019, 80 million cars were built while the population increased by 78 million. And the mass production of those cars was responsible for 4% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (排放) ,which is bigger than aviation (航空) and that's before you even fuel them up.
The study authors construct a mathematical model, and residents choose driving their car or taking public transport on the basis of the time it takes to do the trip. “All individuals decide their commuting (通勤) mode trying to reduce their costs, but the result is the overall worst-case situation, where the average commuting time is longer and all people decide to use their car.” write the authors of the study.
Besides, policymakers tend to construct even more car infrastructure (基础设施) and invest even more in private cars, which then encourages more private vehicle use and results in even more traffic jams.
Possible solutions have to be actively encouraged, with more travel options, plus local shops and services.
Also, increasing the costs could be achieved by reducing the space devoted to cars, with more public transport lanes, wider sidewalks, and pedestrian roads, for example.
Dr. Humberto, one author of the study said: “If our goal is to have more liveable and developed cities then we must take part of this land and give it to other modes of transportation: walking, cycling and public transport.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined words “clog up”?| A．Turn down. | B．Break down. |
| C．Make troubles. | D．Get stuck. |
| A．The number of cars is larger than population. |
| B．Car production creates more CO2 than aviation. |
| C．CO2 emission is largely affected by car production. |
| D．Global CO2 emission is more serious than expected. |
| A．It is hard for people to keep a balance. |
| B．It takes more time to drive cars to work. |
| C．More cars can be used to save time. |
| D．Driving cars can keep the cost down. |
| A．Building parking lots. | B．Saving land for cars. |
| C．Producing less cars. | D．Riding a bus to work. |
9 . When you walk on a sandy beach, it takes more energy than walking down a sidewalk—because the weight of your body pushes into the sand. It turns out that the same thing is true for vehicles driving on roads.
“The weight of the vehicles creates a very shallow indentation in the pavement—and it makes it such that it's continuously driving up a very shallow hill,” said Jeremy Gregory, a scientist at M. I. T...He modeled with his teammates how much energy could be saved-and greenhouse gases avoided—by simply hardening the nation's roads and highways.
And they found that hardening 10 percent of the nation's roads every year could prevent emissions equal to 440 megatons of carbon dioxide over the next 5 decades—that amount is equal to how much CO, you'd spare the planet by keeping a billion barrels of oil in the ground or by growing 7 billion trees for a decade. It reduces 0.5% of projected transportation emissions over that time period.
As for how to harden roads, Gregory says you could combine small amounts of certain fiber with high technology into paving materials. Or you could pave with specially-made concrete, which is harder than ordinary construction materials.
This system could also be a way to shave carbon emissions without some of the usual barriers. “Usually, when it comes to reducing emissions in the transportation department, you're talking about changing policies related to vehicles and also driver behavior, which involves millions and millions of people—as opposed to changing the way we design and preserve our pavements. That's just on the order of thousands of people who are working in transportation agencies.” And when it comes to improving our streets and highways-those agencies are where you might say the rubber meets the road.
1. How does the author develop Paragraph 3?| A．By giving examples. | B．By making classification. |
| C．By listing figures | D．By analyzing causes. |
| A．Mixing fiber with special concrete. | B．Changing regular paving materials. |
| C．Creating hi-tech computer models. | D．Using ordinary building materials. |
| A．It reduces construction costs. | B．It profits transportation agencies. |
| C．It regulates driver behavior. | D．It avoids involving too many people. |
| A．Walking Down Beaches or Sidewalks? | B．Hardening Roads Helps Save Energy. |
| C．How to Cut Down Carbon Emissions | D．A System of Hardening Roads. |
10 . If you want to do your kids a favor, consider having them walk to school. Walking to school provides many benefits – improving academic performance, reducing anxiety, boosting spirits, better sleep, a sense of independence, having an opportunity to familiarize oneself with a neighborhood, to notice small details, to feel a sense of wonder at the surroundings. The list goes on.
Parental fears still exist, however. Parents are terrified of cars, of injury, of harsh weather, of encounters with strangers and wild animals. These fears prevent parents from letting their kids do something that's actually enormously beneficial to them, despite the fact that removing an opportunity to be active contributes to an increase in childhood obesity, which can have a greater negative impact on a child's life than the risk of being injured due to being active.
How do we go from being a society that does not encourage its children to walk independently to being one that does? Parents must face their own discomfort with letting go. Brussoni, an expert who researches children's outdoor and risky play, said "We want to move parents from focusing solely on protecting their child to building trust in their child’s abilities and strategies to support their child’s skills in navigating the streetscape."
Schools can play a role by encouraging children to walk to school. Brussoni offers additional suggestions: "They should promote a culture that walking to school is the norm, help educate parents on why this is important, and consider closing the streets around the school to cars before and after school."
Parents might do well to put themselves in their children's shoes. As adults, we know how good a morning walk feels to start off a day or to end one. Walking energizes us and cheers us up, and it can do the same for children. As we go through this pandemic that has shaken up all of our lives, it's a good time to practice new routines and establish new habits. Walking to school is a great place to start.
1. What can we infer about kids’ usual way of going to school?| A．They walk to school alone. | B．They are driven to school. |
| C．They ride bikes to school. | D．They are led to school by teachers. |
| A．Focus on their child’s safety. | B．Protect their child against injury. |
| C．Believe their child’s abilities. | D．Strike traffic rules into their child’s heart. |
| A．Schools. | B．Societies. | C．Governments. | D．Children. |
| A．To illustrate the roles of parents and schools. |
| B．To advise parents to have kids walk to school. |
| C．To promote a way of establishing a new routine. |
| D．To encourage kids to form a good habit. |
