6 . There are two distinctive types of electric buses making their way along Nanjing Xi Lu, one of Shanghai’s busiest roads. The first is a fleet of blue trolleybuses that serve bus route number 20, a line set up by a British-run transport company in 1928. They use poles to receive electricity from wires overhead and have kept the route running in this way for nearly a century. But while the historic electric buses are a reminder of Europe’s past technological innovation, the new buses traveling alongside them are symbols of China’s contemporary net-zero ambition. These modern electric buses powered by lithium batteries (锂电池) , were introduced in Shanghai in 2014. They offer a smoother ride, especially during starts and stops. Widely used across China, these buses are key to the country’s EV transition and are influencing the global shift towards green transportation.
The most recent data available shows that China in 2018 was still the second largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the global transport sector, responsible for 11%, and behind only the United States, which accounted for 21%. After around two decades of government support, China now boasts the world’s largest market for e-buses, making up more than 95% of global stock. At the end of 2022, China’s Ministry of Transport announced that more than three-quarters (77% or 542, 600) of all urban buses in the country were new energy vehicles. The speed of this transition was remarkable.
So far, however, the Chinese cities with the most successful e-bus introduction — such as Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai — all have moderate weather and are relatively flat. To take its e-bus campaign to the next level, China faces challenges. For one thing, it is difficult to bring fleets to cities such as Hong Kong, which — like London — have double-deckers. These two-storeyed vehicles are “very hard” to electrify, because they are heavier, use more energy, and so need bigger batteries, reducing the number of passengers they can carry. Cold weather is a problem, too, as it can make a battery’s charging time longer and its range shorter. The reason China has not achieved 100% electrification for its buses is its northern regions, which have cold winters, says Xue Lulu, a transportation expert at the World Resources Institute China.
1. How does the author describe the two types of electric buses in the first paragraph?
| A．By contrasting their historical significance and technological advancements. |
| B．By highlighting their roles in protecting the environment and lasting use. |
| C．By focusing merely on their technical details and performance. |
| D．By explaining their operational challenges and requirements. |
2. What do the numbers in paragraph 2 mainly show?
| A．The global impact of carbon dioxide emissions. |
| B．The progress of China in reducing CO2 emissions. |
| C．The different emission levels of China and the USA. |
| D．The need for more government support in e-bus market. |
3. What factor contributes to the slow adoption of electric buses in China’s northern regions?
| A．Poor winter weather conditions. | B．Lack of transportation experts. |
| C．Short charging time of the battery. | D．Heavier and bigger bus bodies. |
4. Which column is the text most probably taken from?
| A．Worklife. | B．Culture. | C．Travel. | D．Earth. |
