1 . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report. It stated that the world is quickly running out of time to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, the level widely agreed to be the conservative, safety-first goal to prevent serious climate harm. To get there, the world would have to cut current emissions (排放物) by 45 percent by 2030. That sounds absurdly unlikely.
But before we give in to despair, we should remember that the technology to address climate change is going along at high speed. The largest source of US carbon emissions is transportation, and a Green New Deal program for motor vehicles would be quite straightforward.
The reason is simple: With some subsidies (补贴), electric cars and buses are cost- competitive with fossil-fuel vehicles. Electric buses have gone into the market at the greatest speed, because they are a logical choice for electrification. At the end of 2018, electric vehicles were displacing about 280,000 barrels of oil demand per day. That’s more than the whole consumption of Greece.
And the electric car market is also reaching maturity, with appealing designs, longer range, and a quickly-expanding rapid charging network in many countries. It’s worth emphasizing that most of the basic systems necessary to recharge electric vehicles already exist. People often tend to assume that we would need to replace every gas station, but virtually all homes and businesses already have an electrical connection which can be easily improved for fast charging. All that is needed to go fully electric is enough battery capacity and fast charging stations to deal with long trips.
Now America would have to repair its electricity production, rails, shipping, and so on to fully decarbonize (脱碳) the transportation sector. It will be considerably more difficult than simply rooting out fossil fuel vehicles from the market.
But greening America’s vehicles would be straightforward, relatively cheap, and a huge step forward on climate. The politics of climate change are so fearful that despair can seem logical, but the first step in achieving a tough goal is the firm belief that it can be done. And this particular step wouldn’t even be that tough.
1. What can we infer from the IPCC’s report?| A．The world is suffering serious climate harm. |
| B．Global warming is growing out of our control. |
| C．We are too conservative to deal with global warming. |
| D．Cutting emissions is the easiest way to stop climate change. |
| A．By running at the greatest speed. |
| B．By changing the way of transportation. |
| C．By making consumers have logical choices. |
| D．By getting financial support from governments. |
| A．They aren’t so efficient in reducing emissions. |
| B．There’s still much room for designing new ones. |
| C．There aren’t enough fast charging stations for them. |
| D．Home electrical connection can be used for charging them. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Critical. | C．Positive. | D．Uncaring. |
Today you could get a ticket if you don’t drive on your side of the road. Worse yet, you could have a head-on collision(正面碰撞). But in 1917, Dr. June McCarroll could not get drivers to understand what seems so obvious today.
June McCarroll was born in New York in 1867. Unlike most young women of her age, she attended medical college in Chicago. After her husband became ill, the couple moved to Southern California in 1904.
In 1917, while driving down a familiar road near Indio, California Dr. McCarroll had a driving accident. In order to avoid a head-on collision with a truck going in the opposite direction, her car was driven off the road and into a ditch (沟). This gave Dr. McCarrolla new idea—paint lines on the road, separating lanes(车道) with a center line.
“My car and I found ourselves face-to-face with a truck on the highway. It did not take me long to choose between a sandy ditch to the right and a ten-ton truck to the left! Then an idea struck me.”
McCarroll wrote to the local government. However, the government didn’t take McCarroll seriously. After receiving no response to her letters, McCarroll took her idea and matters into her own hands. She painted a white line down the center of the street to make two separate lanes of traffic as a way to prevent future collisions.
Dr. McCarroll then asked women’s groups through the state of California to organize letter writing campaigns to state and local politicians and in 1924 California approved of the practice of painting traffic lines on highway roads. The safety practice quickly spread to other states, then other countries. By virtue of the lines, thousands of accidents are prevented and an untold number of lives are saved each year.
1. What is the text mainly about?(no more than 10 words)2. What encouraged the idea of painting lines on the highway
3. How did the local government treat McCarroll’s suggestion at the beginning? (no more than 10 words)
4. What do the underlined words “By virtue of” in Paragraph 6 probably mean? (no more than 5 words)
5. According to the last two paragraphs, what do you think of McCarroll?(no more than 20 words)
3 . We are all aware of the damaging pollution that’s created by driving petrol and diesel(柴油) vehicles. Many of the world’s cities are blocked with traffic, creating fumes containing gases such as nitrogen oxides.The solution for a cleaner, greener future could be electric vehicles. But how optimistic should we be? There was much excitement last year when the UK government announced it will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030. But is that easier said than done?
The road to global traffic being totally electric is still a long way off. Currently, battery life is an issue ——a fully charged battery won’t take you as far as a full tank of petrol. There are also limited numbers of charging points to plug an electric vehicle into. Of course, technology is always improving. Some of the biggest tech companies, like Google and Tesla, are spending huge amounts of money developing electric cars. And most of the big car manufacturers are now making them too. Colin Herron, a consultant on low-carbon vehicle technology, told the BBC, “The big leap forward will come with solid-state batteries, which will appear first in mobile phones and laptops before they progress to cars. “These will charge more quickly and give cars a bigger range. Cost is another issue that may discourage people switching to electric power. But some countries offer incentive, such as cutting prices by reducing import taxes, and not charging for road tax and parking. Some also provide exclusive lanes for electric cars to be driven on, overtaking traditional cars which might be stuck in jams.
These kinds of measures have made Norway the country with the most electric cars per capita(人均) at more than thirty electric cars per 1000 inhabitants. But Colin Herron warns that “electric motoring” doesn’t mean a zero-carbon future. “It’s emission-free motoring, but the car has to be built, the battery has to be built, and the electricity does come from somewhere.” Maybe it’s time to think about making fewer journeys or using public transport.
1. What can we infer from the question at the end of Paragraph 1?| A．It is not easy to obtain a greener future by means of electric vehicles. |
| B．Electric vehicles may not solve the traffic problems. |
| C．We should not be too optimistic about the future. |
| D．It’s not a good idea to replace petrol vehicles with electric ones. |
| A．permission | B．encouragement | C．admission | D．insistence |
| A．Electric motoring will create a zero-carbon future. |
| B．Putting solid-state batteries in electric cars first will be a “great leap forward”. |
| C．There are four obstacles on the road to global traffic being totally electric. |
| D．Electric cars might not get stuck in traffic jams in the future. |
| A．Electric Power or Petrol: A Tough Decision to Make |
| B．Electric Vehicles: A Road to a Greener Future |
| C．Total Electric Traffic: A Long Way to Go |
| D．Petrol and Diesel Vehicles: A Main Source of Gases |
4 . The PAL-V Liberty is a revolutionary vehicle that can travel on both land and air. It is the world’s first commercial flying car, and it is now available for pre-order. The PAL-V Liberty is developed by a Dutch company called PAL-V International B. V., which stands for Personal Air and Land Vehicle. The company has been working on the project since 2001, and has successfully tested the prototype in 2012.
The PAL-V Liberty is a two-seater hybrid car and gyroplane, which means it has a three-wheeled chassis and a foldable rotor on top. It can switch between driving mode and flying mode in about 10 minutes, with the help of a semi-automatic system. It has a top speed of 160 km/h on the road and 180 km/h in the air, and can fly up to 500 km on a single tank of fuel. It uses regular gasoline, and can be refueled at any gas station.
The PAL-V Liberty is expected to be delivered to customers in 2023, alter obtaining the necessary certifications from aviation authorities. The company claims that the vehicle meets the existing regulations of both cars and aircrafts, and that it is safe and easy to operate. However, the PAL-V Liberty is not a cheap vehicle, nor is it accessible to everyone. It costs599,000 euros (about 4.7 million yuan) for the Pioneer Edition, which includes flight training courses, power heating and personalization options. There is also a cheaper Sport Edition, which costs 299,000 euros (about 2.3 million yuan), but it has less features and requires the buy er to pay an additional 10,000 euros(about 78,000 yuan) for flight training.
To drive the PAL-V Liberty, one needs both a driving license and a pilot license. The vehicle also requires a runway or airstrip to take off and land, as it cannot do so vertically like a helicopter. The company says it has received 70 orders for the vehicle so far, mostly from customers in Europe and North America. The PAL-V Liberty is a groundbreaking innovation that could change the future of transportation, but it also faces many challenges and limitations.
1. What’s the limitation of the Pioneer Edition of the PAL-V Liberty?| A．Lack of customized selection. | B．Failure to land and take off vertically |
| C．Extra money to be paid for flight training. | D．Disagreement with the existing traffic rules. |
| A．The PAL-V Liberty has been used in our daily life. |
| B．If you have a pilot license, you can drive the PAL-V Liberty. |
| C．It can switch between driving and flying mode in a short time |
| D．The Sport Edition is more attractive features than the Pioneer Edition. |
| A．favorable | B．skeptical | C．objective | D．indifference |
| A．The Dutch Innovation | B．The Future of Transportation |
| C．The Hybrid Car and the Gyroplane | D．The World’s First Commercial Flying Car |
5 . 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. |
6 . Before you go on your next two-wheeled adventure, make sure you’re familiar with the ins and outs of bicycle safety. This holds true whether you’re riding a traditional bike or an e-bike — one powered by an electric motor in addition to your pedaling.
Many of the safety recommendations are the same for both types of bikes. Wear a helmet.
Be sure your e-bike is ready to ride. That starts with checking that the tires are inflated and the brakes are working properly. If the bicycle hasn’t been used for a while, take it for a tune-up before you take it for a ride.
Know the rules of the road. “When you’re riding in the street, even in a protected bike lane, read the signals, pay attention to the lane markings, and check the signage to see where e-bikes are allowed,” Lovell says.
| A．Do not ride on the left. |
| B．Be aware of your speed. |
| C．And if you’re an e-bike rider, take notice of the following tips. |
| D．Remember to replace batteries on a regular basis. |
| E．Ride with the flow of traffic rather than against it. |
| F．For an e-bike, also make sure your battery is charged. |
| G．Thirty-six states have adopted a classification system for e-bikes. |
7 . The best way to get around London is the Underground, or what locals call “the Tube”. However, you also have other forms of transportation to choose from.
Buses
The charm of traveling by bus is that you can see the sights. Fares start at 1. 75 pounds for a single ride with an Oyster card (牡蛎卡). Buses don’t take cash, so it’s best to have a top-up Oyster card to pay for your trip. Many bus routes cover the entire city and run 24 hours a day.
Rail
London Overground consists of six main routes traveling among many parts of the city. Rail fares vary by the time of day and the number of zones crossed. Like the Underground, using an Oyster Card rather than a Travel card (or paper ticket)is considerably cheaper.
Taxis
Keep in mind that a lit-up taxi sign means it’s available. Taxis are metered, and you have to pay according to the time of day and the distance. There’s always a minimum fee of 3. 20 pounds. You can pay with cash, and all taxis accept credit cards.
Cars
Think twice before hiring a car. Londoners drive on the left. In addition, traffic and parking are awful, and the cost of petrol (or gas)is high. Using hand-held cellphones while driving is illegal. The speed limit on highways is 70 miles per hour.
1. Which of the following can only be paid by card?| A．Buses. | B．Rail. | C．Taxis. | D．Cars. |
| A．The routes. | B．The ways of charging. |
| C．The minimum fee. | D．The pattern of payment. |
| A．Driving on the left. | B．Finding a parking lot. |
| C．The speed limit on highways. | D．The use of cellphone while driving. |
8 . Hong Kong has recently witnessed the return of live concerts and large-scale events, attracting visitors from around the world. Are you also planning a trip? It’s time to dig out your Octopus card for convenient payment of transport fares and much more.
No Octopus card, no problem! The options for transport payment in Hong Kong have become more diverse and convenient in recent years. People can now pay for public transport using WeChat Pay, Alipay, bank cards or credit cards. And the Octopus card, which has a wide variety of uses, can now be put into the electronic mobile wallet and can be used even if your phone is out of battery.
Are you figuring out the best way to get to the city center from the airport? The Airport Express takes only 24 minutes to travel from the airport to downtown. If you want to get off the plane and go straight to Central district, the fast and comfortable Airport Express is the best choice.
The Airport Express platform is connected with the airport’s arrival hall and has multiple entrances. It takes as little as a minute for passengers to enter the platform from the arrival hall. The trains provide large luggage storage areas, as well as high-speed Wi-Fi and charging facility. More importantly, the Airport Express connects you with other MTR lines. Whether for business travel or sightseeing, the Airport Express can save you a lot of time.
In addition to the MTR and buses, Hong Kong’s public transportation system also includes the historic Star Ferry, Hong Kong Tramways and the Peak Tram. They have been around for many years, but their functionality and overall experience are as good as that of the new transport modes. In fact, they enhance the experience of tourists and are also popular with locals going to work, shopping or out on a date. To improve passengers’ experience, the Peak Tram has recently undergone a major renovation.
It’s been a while and now it’s time to say “Hello Hong Kong” again!
1. What can be learned about transport payment in Hong Kong?| A．Octopus card is a must to travelers. |
| B．Transport payment has greatly improved. |
| C．Travelers can not choose to pay online or not. |
| D．Travelers can still pay when their phones are power off. |
| A．Complex and time-consuming. | B．Confusing and costly. |
| C．User-friendly and highly-effective. | D．Complicated and outdated. |
| A．Octopus card can do nothing more than paying transport fares. |
| B．The Airport Express enables passengers to enter the platform quickly. |
| C．The Peak Tram is too old to compete with new transport modes. |
| D．Old transport modes have lost their edges despite their renovation. |
| A．To introduce Hong Kong’s public transport. |
| B．To illustrate the popularity of Hong Kong. |
| C．To advertise for Hong Kong’s public transport. |
| D．To recommend Hong Kong as a great tourist attraction. |
9 . A fourth color might be added to traffic lights to better realize the potential of self-driving vehicles, as stated in a recent paper by researchers at North Carolina State University in the US.
Autonomous vehicles can do more than just drive-they are able to sense their surroundings and upload information. A shared network gives orders to stop at a crossing based on traffic conditions.
The added white lights would be used to signal to human drivers that autonomous vehicles are managing the upcoming traffic flow intelligently. Drivers don’t have to check the traditional lights if the white one is on. “The white lights will tell human drivers to simply follow the car in front of them,” one of the study authors Ali Hajbabaie told the university’s website.
Simulated (模拟的) models showed that autonomous vehicles were able to improve traffic flow on their own. Introducing the white light also has a positive effect on reducing fuel consumption. The higher the percentage of autonomous vehicles at a crossing, the faster the traffic moves, reducing about 40 to 99 percent of the total delay time.
What kind of infrastructure (基础设施) is needed as self-driving technology thrives? In an interview with China Surveying and Mapping magazine, Liu Jingnan at the Chinese Academy of Engineering shared his answers.
To begin with, the vehicle’s network that collects data about the environment and shares the data with other vehicles needs to be intelligent. High-precision maps are needed for autonomous vehicles to plan routes in detail. They can provide both updated information on traditional maps and real-time changes, such as accidents.
For example, when driving around a curve, the navigation (导航) system in the vehicle needs to calculate the safe speed based on the map’s information. And if the area is foggy, the network has to alarm the other cars to slow down.
Other elements on the road need to be upgraded too. For example, road markings should be precise and readable for machines. Sensors should be built on sidewalks and roads to allow vehicles to predict potentially dangerous situations.
1. What is the purpose of adding a white light to traffic lights?| A．To signal to self-driving cars when to stop. |
| B．To help driverless cars assess traffic conditions. |
| C．To tell human drivers to go after the cars in front. |
| D．To signal to human drivers to pass the cars ahead. |
| A．Increased road safety. | B．Reduced fuel efficiency. |
| C．Less time stuck in traffic. | D．Unpredictable traffic patterns. |
| A．To calculate a safe speed for vehicles. | B．To provide real-time weather updates. |
| C．To plan routes for autonomous vehicles. | D．To offer real-time data on road conditions. |
| A．The advantages of autonomous vehicles. |
| B．The role of the navigation system in self-driving cars. |
| C．The application of the infrastructure in self-driving cars. |
| D．The efficiency of self-driving cars handling emergencies. |
10 . Four of the Top 10 Fastest Bullet Trains in the World 2023
FUXING HAO CR400AF/BF-CHINA, 249 MPH
The world’s fastest long-distance standard train is the Fuxing Hao CR400. It runs between Shanghai and Beijing in just five hours, with a capacity of over 550 passengers. Known as “Dolphin Blue” and “Golden Phoenix” are the two versions AF and BF, slightly different from each other. Fuxing Hao debuted(首秀)in 2016 and lowered its sibling Harmony 380 by 13 mph to second place.
EUROSTAR E320-THE UNITED KINGDOM, 200 MPH
In 2015, Siemens launched the Eurostar E320, whose interiors were designed by famous Pininfarina Italian stylists. The train will easily accommodate 900 people, 20 more than Eurostar E300. Eurostar is remarkably environmentally sustainable, with 90 percent fewer emissions per passenger than London’s flight to Paris.
TALGO 350-SPAIN, 217 MPH
Built by Patentes Talgo, the Spanish Talgo 350 runs between Madrid and Barcelona. In Spanish, the train has a nickname, ‘Pato,’ meaning duck. This is because of the raised nose cone(圆锥形)similar to a duckbill. There are multiple classes for seats: Club(with 14-26 seats), First(with 26 seats)and Coach(with 36 seats). Each seat comes with lamps for reading and laptop and mobile phone charging power points.
AGV ITALO-ITALY, 223 MPH
It has the distinction of being the fastest train in Europe at 223 mph. Nicknamed “Ferrari of the tracks,’ the plum red trains are operated by Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori, a company led by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the former president of Ferrari. The compartments in it are 9 feet tall, making it easier to navigate with baggage, and there are luxurious leather seats also in the general compartments.
1. Which of the following is the fastest train?| A．Fuxing Hao CR400. | B．Eurostar E320. |
| C．Talgo 350. | D．Agv Italo. |
| A．750. | B．880. |
| C．900. | D．920. |
| A．Their own nickname. | B．Strange shapes. |
| C．Political backgrounds. | D．Large seats. |
