| A．By bike. |
| B．By car. |
| C．By bus. |
I’m so glad to read about the changes talking place in your city. It’s really good news that you can travel by subway in Xi’an, though there’s only one line there. Here in London we have twelve lines. By the way, we don’t use the word “subway” here. It’s American English. We call it “the Underground”, instead.
The London Underground is very famous. It’s famous for several reasons. First of all, part of the underground railway today is the oldest in the world, which opened in 1863. Secondly, the London Underground is also the first line to have electric trains, in 1890. Thirdly but not the last, the London Underground is the second largest metro system in the world, after the Shanghai Metro. There are 270 stations in the Underground and it has 402 kilometres of tracks (轨道). What’s more, the city of London itself helps make the transportation system famous! I’ve got a few photos to help you build a clear picture of the Underground in my city. They are together with this mail.
In your email, you also said workers were building more lines. I’m sure your city is developing fast. Maybe you can send me a few photos of your city today. I really want to see the changes taking place there. I’m happy for you to live there in an ancient city with such a new look!
So much for now. I’ll write soon again. Best wishes!
1. Where is the writer from?| A．From Xi’an. | B．From Shanghai. | C．From London. | D．From New York. |
| A．when the first subway was opened in the world |
| B．when the London Underground first used electric trains |
| C．why the London Underground is the oldest subway in the world |
| D．why the London Underground is famous in the world |
| A．almost the same thing | B．two different things |
| C．three different things | D．nothing like each other |
| A．To buy a good book about Xi’an for him. |
| B．To post him some postcards of Xi’an. |
| C．To tell him more about Xi’an subway. |
| D．To send him a few photos of Xi’an. |
3 . Who can be the most dangerous one on the street, the car driver, the cyclist or the pedestrian? Now let’s take a look at some people’s opinions.
William Lang
In my opinion, I believe many cyclists behave dangerously. Many drivers are disrespectful of cyclists. But pedestrians are probably the worst offenders.
People of all ages happily walk along the pavement with eyes and hands glued to the mobile phone, quite unaware of what is going on around them. They may even do the same thing while crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing or elsewhere. The rest of us have to give way to them or just stand still to wait for the unavoidable collision.
The real problem is that some pedestrians seem to be, at least for the moment, in worlds of their own that are, to them, much more important than the welfare of others.
Hemingway
I am afraid nowadays the cyclists seem to think they own the roads.
I was walking across Renmin Road one morning when a cyclist went round me and on being asked what he was doing, he shouted at me.
The government built a cycle lane on the road but it is hardly used.
The police do nothing. What a laugh they are!
The cyclists should all have to be made to use the cycle lanes and wear helmets, fluorescent (发荧光的) jacket and tights at night and in the morning. They should pay some sort of tax and be fined for not wearing them.
Gary
Cyclists jump on and off pavements (which are meant for pedestrians), ride at speed along the pavements, and think they have a special right to go through traffic lights when they are on red.
I was almost knocked down recently by a cyclist riding on the pavement when there was a cycle lane right next to him.
Other road users, including horse riders, manage to obey the rules, so why not cyclists?
It’s about time they had to be registered and insured, so when they do hit a pedestrian or a vehicle, or cause an accident, at least they can be traced and there might be an opportunity to claim.
1. The purpose of the question in paragraph one is to .| A．introduce a topic | B．set an example |
| C．show an attitude | D．draw a conclusion |
| A．some pedestrians are a threat to road safety | B．drivers should be polite to cyclists |
| C．walking while using phones harms one’s eyes | D．road accidents can actually be avoided |
| A．be fined for laughing at policemen | B．be provided with enough roads |
| C．be made to pay less tax for cycling | D．be asked to ride on their own lanes |
| A．1060 English Street. | B．1660 Eighth Street. | C．6014 Eleventh Street. |
5 . Cars could soon be communicating with each other using 5G to make drivers aware of upcoming dangers, scientists claim. The ultra-fast mobile Internet would allow for rapid information transmission and could make drivers aware of black ice, pot holes or other dangers up ahead.
Several car manufacturers are already integrating 5G into their vehicles, including as a tool to welcome the coming of self-driving vehicles. Experts believe the high-speed connection will also improve the reliability and capability of automated vehicles to the point where they will be safer than the manual cars being driven today. They predict the number of road traffic accidents — which according to the World Health Organization (WHO) account for more than 1. 3 million deaths and up to 50 million people injured worldwide every year — will drop thoroughly as a result. Dr Dimitrios Liarokapis, a member of the research group, said: “With the help of 5G, an early warning system that alerts (给……报警) drivers is possible within the next few years. Cars that are close enough to the danger area will send warning messages to other cars around them using short-range communication technologies, but also to cars further away using 5G, fast and reliably. Then those cars will transmit the same information to cars near them and so on, forming a joined-up, multi-vehicle communication chain that stretches far and wide.”
Automotive giant Ford is already working on connected cars. Earlier this year it revealed its intention to fit 80 percent of its 2020 vehicles with technology that warns drivers about up-coming road accidents, bad weather and traffic jams. The system pools data from other connected road users, emergency services and the authorities and sends it from the cloud directly to the car. Alerts are shown on the car’s dashboard display warning the driver about what lies around the corner.
1. What can we expect of the cars in the future?| A．They will be more personalized. |
| B．They may replace other vehicles. |
| C．They may be bigger. |
| D．They will be safer. |
| A．To send warning messages. |
| B．To collect drivers’ information. |
| C．To send the traffic situation to the police. |
| D．To track other drivers. |
| A．By offering practical safety programs. |
| B．By offering the fast mobile Internet. |
| C．By helping WHO calculate traffic accidents. |
| D．By helping drivers overcome dangers. |
| A．Connected cars are equipped with 5G. |
| B．Ford is the first producer to use 5G. |
| C．Cars of Ford are the most intelligent. |
| D．Warning messages are shown on phones. |
| A．At platform 5. | B．At platform 6. | C．At platform 8 |
1. When does the train arrive in Stratford?
| A．At 6:05. | B．At 6:15. | C．At 8:00. |
| A．To see a play. | B．To enjoy food. | C．To visit a church. |
| A．Slow. | B．Tiring. | C．Cheap. |
1. How many days does the man work in a week?
| A．5 days. | B．6 days. | C．7 days. |
| A．A passenger. | B．The man’s colleague. | C．The man’s daughter. |
| A．At 10:05 a.m. | B．At 10:15 a.m. | C．At 10:50 a.m. |
10 . Like all big cities, Paris has a traffic problem: lots of cars, lots of traffic jams and lots of pollution from exhaust fumes (废气). So the city began a plan to improve the situation.
Under the Velib plan, people can take a bicycle, use it for as long as they want, and then leave it at the same or another bicycle station. The first half-hour on the bike is free, but if you don’t return it after 30 minutes, you have to pay. But it’s only €1 a day or €29 a year! The bicycles are heavy (25kg), and they are all grey and have baskets. There are about 20,000 of them in the city, and around 1,450 bicycle stations. So there are a lot more Velib stations than the 298 subway stations!
Paris is not the first city to have a plan like this. But not everybody thinks it’s a great idea. One Parisian said, “These bicycles are only for short journeys. If people want to travel across the city, they won’t use a bicycle—they’ll still use their cars.”
A city spokesman said, “The bicycle plan won’t solve all our traffic problems, of course. But it might help reduce air pollution. Traffic, together with factory fumes, is a big problem. There aren’t any simple answers to traffic problems and pollution in cities. But unless we do something now, there will be more traffic jams and temperatures will continue to rise, so the problems in our environment will get worse. The bikes might help people to lead a healthier life, too.”
1. What can we learn about the Velib plan?| A．Its bikes have no baskets. |
| B．Its bikes are light and colorful. |
| C．It has more stations than the subway. |
| D．It aims to make traveling easier. |
| A．€1. | B．€29. | C．€30. | D．Free. |
| A．The cost is rather high. |
| B．It’s not suitable for a long journey. |
| C．It’s hard to find a Velib station. |
| D．The distance between two Velib stations is long. |
| A．Worried. | B．Uncaring. | C．Doubtful. | D．Positive. |
