2. 外语
  3. Americans and Their Cars A)It has been one of the world’s most enduring and passionate love affairs: Americans and their cars. I

Americans and Their Cars A)It has been one of the world’s most enduring and passionate love affairs: Americans and their cars. I

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问题                         Americans and Their Cars
A)It has been one of the world’s most enduring and passionate love affairs: Americans and their cars. It’s no secret that America is a nation of cars. A recent survey of the number of cars on America’s roads counted some 204 million vehicles in the U. S. There is an average of 1.9 motor vehicles for every household in America, and just to illustrate how many cars this is, consider that the average American household has only 1.8 drivers; America has more vehicles than it has drivers to drive them. By the time a middle-class American reaches 35 years of age, he or she has likely owned 3 cars in his or her life.
B)The United States’ lawmakers have done little to undermine the romance between their citizens and their automobiles. Taxes on gasoline have been kept low, while massive highway building projects allow more and more cars to take to the road. Public transportation, on the other hand, has traditionally suffered from neglect. From the 1970s, since Americans have more than doubled their reliance on cars for long-distance rides, train and bus usage has largely stopped developing. Inner city transit systems in most cities were either deteriorating or crime-ridden, as in New York, or dysfunctional(机能不良的),as in Los Angeles.
C)There are, however, signs that U.S. drivers are quietly looking for alternatives to car usage—with growing backing from legislators. Throughout the country a record number of commuters are taking buses and transit to work. In Washington DC, city officials say this summer has been the busiest in the history of the Metro rail system, with trains often carrying more than 600,000 passengers a day. In Cincinnati, transit authorities say there have been up to 50 percent more users this summer on some commuter routes. The Atlanta and Portland transit systems are also recording heavy usage. Nationwide, public transportation systems have recorded a 4.8 percent increase for the first quarter of 2003 over the same period in 2002, according to the American Public Transportation Association(APTA).
D)Transit officials say the main reason is the recent rise in gasoline prices. Feeling the impact of cuts in production by oil-exporting countries, gasoline prices in US shot up from a national average of $1.30 a gallon(nearly 3.8 litres)late last year to high of $1.68 a gallon in June this year. In parts of the country, prices even reached $2 a gallon for the first time.
E)While the price rise angered car drivers, many transportation experts feel it has turned attention to America’s meager(不景气的)public transport. "The public transport system has been better now than in the past decades," says Delon Lowas, an urban planning analyst at the Sierra Club, the environmental group. According to APTA, a person commuting 10 miles to work every day by train instead of by car could save as much as 314 gallons(1,193 liters)of gasoline annually—thus reducing emissions of hydrocarbon gases and other pollutants.
F)The oil price rise might just have been the induction to result in a new revolution in the travel habits of US commuters, say environmentalists. As evidence, they point to the popularity of new light-rail systems in cities such as Portland. Even Los Angeles, whose residents are famous for their infatuation(迷恋)with cars, recently installed 17 miles of subway tracks. Now, US politicians are also warming to public transport. Federal and state governments are toying(玩弄)with some initiatives, such as tax breaks for people who use trains or buses.
G)But public transportation continues to have its ideological critics. "It shouldn ’t be encouraged at the expense of private ownership of vehicles," says Ben Lieberman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute(GEI). He asserts that the government’s priority should be to make owning and driving a car more affordable by reducing environmental restrictions that push up the price of gasoline.
H)The expansion of public transportation systems also draws opposition from those who are worried about the immense costs involved. They cite Los Angeles’ subway expansion, which cost a record $4.7 billion, as an instance of how expensive public transport can be.
I)Citing costs of construction, Tome DeLay, the powerful Republican Whip of the House of Representatives, have moved to block funds for a proposed light-rail system in Houston. Mr. DeLay argues that die city should conduct a referendum(公民投票)before investing taxpayer’s money. The result: the Houston authorities might well have to manage without federal funds—or scrap the light-rail project entirely. Given the strong political pressure against it, some observers think the flirtation(对......的一时兴趣) with public transport will pass, not least because there are signs already that gas prices have started to fall. Mr. Lovaas, however, thinks that there has been "genuine grass-roots change" as people understand the environmental and social need for cutting down on automobile use. But he admitted that political opposition could take a long time to overcome. "The people at the top will be the last to get it."
The underground railway system in Washington DC has been very busy this summer, city officials said.
选项
答案C
解析 题干：根据市政官员的说法，今年夏天华盛顿特区的地铁系统特别繁忙。题干关键词city officials，underground railway system和very busy this summer。文中C段第三句提到，在华盛顿，市政官员说这个夏天是历史上地铁系统最忙的一次。每天乘地铁的人超过60万。与题干意思吻合，故选C。
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