Cars account for half the oil consumed in the U.S., about half the urban pollution and one fourth the greenhouse (温室) gases. The

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问题     Cars account for half the oil consumed in the U.S., about half the urban pollution and one fourth the greenhouse (温室) gases. They take a similar toll (损耗) of resources in other industrial nations and in the cities of the developing world. As vehicle use continues to increase in the coming decade, the U.S. and other countries will have to deal with these issues or else face unacceptable economic, health-related and political costs. It is unlikely that oil prices will remain at their current low level or that other nations will accept a large and growing U.S. contribution to global climatic change.
    Policymakers, and industry have four options: reduce vehicle use, increase the efficiency and reduce the emissions of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, switch to less harmful fuels, or find less polluting driving systems. The last of these—in particular the introduction of vehicles powered by electricity—is ultimately the only sustainable option. The other alternatives are attractive in theory but in practice are either impractical or offer only marginal improvements. For example, reduced vehicle use could solve traffic problems and a host of social and environmental problems, but evidence from around the world suggests that it is very difficult to make people give up their cars to any significant extent. In the U.S., mass-transit ridership and carpooling (合伙用车) have declined since World War II. Even in western Europe, with fuel prices averaging more than $ 1 a liter (about $ 4 a gallon) and with easily accessible mass transit and dense populations, cars still account for 80 percent of all passenger travel.
    Improved energy efficiency is also appealing, but alternative fuel economy has barely made any progress in 10 years. Alternative fuels such as natural gas, burned in internal-combustion engines, could be introduced at relatively low cost, but they would lead to only marginal reductions in pollution and greenhouse emissions (especially because oil companies are already spending billions of dollars every year to develop less polluting types of gasoline). (337 words)
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

选项 A、The decline of public transportation accounts for increased car use in western Europe.
B、Cars are popular in western Europe even though fuel prices are fairly high.
C、The reduction of vehicle use is the only sustainable option in densely populated western Europe.
D、Western European oil companies cannot sustain the cost of developing new-type fuels.

答案B

解析 本题属于细节判断题。各选项涉及的内容可能在短文的任何地方,但正确答案通常仍应与主题一致。A的因果关系与短文内容(第二段倒数第二句)不一致;C与短文内容(第二段第一、二句及最后一句)相矛盾;D也非短文最后一句之本意。
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