www.100xuexi.com ◆社会生活类 Passage 1
圣才电子书 十万种考研考证电子书、题库视频学习平台 第1章 阅 读
For all the moaning about gas prices, Americans have remained surprisingly committed to spacious sedans, big SUVs, and V-8 engines. But an influx of petite, enticing imports—some of the smallest cars on U.S. roads since the tiny Honda Civic debuted in the early 1970s—is about to muscle a few gas guzzlers off the highway.
The timing, obviously, couldn’t be better for drivers—or for manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and even ailing General Motors, which are roiling out the high-mileage vehicles just as gas is cresting $3 a gallon. And these aren’t the utilitarian boring mobiles many people think of when considering an economy car. The Toyota Yaris turns heads in midtown Manhattan, its perky, bubble-shaped chassis distinguishing it from BMWs and Jaguars. The forthcoming Nissan Versa will have a sporty six-speed manual transmission and 15-inch tires comparable to those on larger sedans. The Honda Fit has an advanced electronic throttle and a lightweight aluminum-alloy engine that make for brisk, if thrifty, motoring. “It’s really fun to drive, and there’s a lot of pep to it,” says Scott Miller, 36, of Indianapolis, who traded in his ’05 Chevy Suburban SUV for a Fit last week. “It’s pretty cool looking, too.”
Shifting gears. With or without such new alternatives, rising gas prices finally seem to be driving consumers toward more economical choices—and ringing out
1 / 128
www.100xuexi.com 圣才电子书 十万种考研考证电子书、题库视频学习平台 the era of the SUV. After relatively minor changes in buying habits over recent months, even after the Gulf Coast hurricanes sent gas prices soaring, car sales in April finally showed a definitive shift from big to small. Sales of SUVs and other light trucks dropped 7.7 percent, while sales of passenger cars—which had fallen to less than half of all vehicles sold—rebounded by 0.5 percent. Midsize SUVs like the Ford Explorer and Chevy TrailBlazer tumbled by nearly 13 percent, while smaller SUVs like the Toyota RAV4 came on strong.
As has typically been the case lately, the shift in consumer tastes is benefiting the Japanese automakers at the expense of Detroit. Domestic automakers’ market share slipped to 53.3 percent in April, down 3 percentage points from a year earlier. Toyota’s market share hit 15.2 percent — eclipsing that of Chrysler for the first time ever. Honda and the twin Korean manufacturers, Hyundai and Kia, inched upward, too. The big winners were mostly modest sedans like the Toyota Corolla and the Hyundai Sonata—along with several of the diminutive new entries from overseas.
It’s not just gas prices that make the new small cars appealing. Manufacturers think that car buyers—20-somethings, especially—are tiring of big, garish vehicles. Miller, for instance, wanted to improve his fuel economy and lower his gas bill, but he also wanted a car that would be easier to park in his tight driveway. The Honda—more than 3 feet shorter and a foot narrower than the hulking Suburban—fit the bill. The arrival of appealing gas misers may draw buyers away from gas guzzlers. Ford Motor Co. sales analyst George Pipas predicted last week
2 / 128
www.100xuexi.com 圣才电子书 十万种考研考证电子书、题库视频学习平台 that passenger cars will outsell SUVs and other light trucks for the rest of the decade, reversing the trend of the past 15 years.
1. The word “muscle” (Line 5, Para. 1) probably means _____. A. strengthen with pressure. B. replace with force. C. stop by law. D. take charge.
2. We may infer from the second paragraph that _____. A. gas price has no influence on drivers. B. Toyota Yaris is not welcome in Manhattan.
C. Nissan Versa has already been well selling for its six-speed transmission. D. Honda Fit is more economical than Chevy Suburban SUV. 3. What has happened to the SUV as to the third paragraph? A. It has more advantages when the gas price is rising. B. There is a selling dropping of all sizes of it. C. Its place is replacing by more economical cars. D. Its best-selling time is coming.
4. Which of the following is true according to the fourth paragraph? A. More and more Japanese cars are sold in Detroit recently. B. Domestic cars still hold the bigger market share in America. C. Chrysler’s market share has never been surpassed by Toyota. D. Korean cars are less popular than Japanese cars in America.
3 / 128
www.100xuexi.com 圣才电子书 十万种考研考证电子书、题库视频学习平台 5. From the last paragraph the author tells us that _____. A. economy is the only reason for small car’s popularity. B. the size of a car also does matter to people in their 20s C. Honda is better than Suburban in terms of quality. D. small car already has been popular for 10 years. 【答案与解析】
1.B 语义理解题。由题干定位至第一段。本段首句讲到，尽管对于油价上涨有很多怨言，
但美国人依旧偏好大空间的轿车；但是迷你小汽车的出现muscle a few gas guzzlers off the highway，根据文意可推断出，一些大耗油量的汽车被挤出了高速公路，muscle即“淘汰，替代”，B正确。
2.D 推理判断题。由题干定位至第二段。由本段首句末尾The timing, couldn’t be
better for drivers和which are roiling out the high-mileage vehicles just as gas is cresting $3 a gallon可知油价上涨对车主及汽车生产商都有影响，A不符合文意；由段中The Toyota Yaris turns heads in midtown Manhattan中的turns heads可知Toyota在曼哈顿引人注目，文中没有明确提到它是否受欢迎，B排除；由文中Nissan Versa will have a sporty six-speed manual transmission可知有six. speed transmission的Nissan Versa还未出售，排除C；由倒数第二句可知the Honda Fit拥有先进的电子油门和非常轻的铝合金引擎使得驾驶起来既轻快，同时花费又少，D符合文意，故正确。
3.C 事实细节题。由题干定位至第三段。首句中rising gas prices finally seem to be
driving consumers toward more economical choices—and ringing out the era of the SUV提到，上涨的油价最终可能迫使消费者倾向于更加经济的选择，这意味着
4 / 128
www.100xuexi.com 圣才电子书 十万种考研考证电子书、题库视频学习平台 the SUV时代的结束，故A错，C正确；由最后两句可知SUVs和轻型货车销量下降，但是末句提到smaller SUVs like the Toyota RAV4 came on strong，排除B；由首句中ringing out the era of the SUV 可知the SUV 的时代将结束，故D错。 4.B 事实细节题。由题干定位至第四段。本段首句讲到，消费者品味的改变使得日本汽车
制造商获益；尽管美国本土汽车制造商市场份额受到冲击，但其占有量仍超过了50％，知A错，B正确；由段中Toyota’s market share hit 15.2 percent — eclipsing that of Chrysler for the first time ever.的eclipsing“使黯然失色，超过”可知C错；文中只讲到两国汽车的销量，并未提及汽车的质量，排除D。
5.B 推理判断题。由题干定位至末段。本段前两句It’s not just gas prices和car buyers
are tiring of big, garish vehicles，知A错；还是由第二句可知，汽车的大小尤其20岁上下的汽车购买者产生影响，并举例说明，故B正确；文中未提及质量比较，排除C；由末句predicted一词可知，小型车只是刚刚开始流行，可排除D。 Passage 2
It is hard to escape the fact that in developed societies, despite progress, innovation and prosperity, there is something not quite right. In some cases, it is hard for people to put a finger on it: a feeling of emptiness and not belonging, a lack of defined relationships and solid social structures. In other respects, it is readily quantifiable: rates of drug abuse, violent crime and depression and suicide are rocketing. Why are we so unhappy? It seems that the Enlightenment brought forth unparalleled liberty in economic, social and political life, but we are now undergoing a midlife crisis. The politics of happiness is nothing new. Aristotle once said that happiness is the goal of life. But for me, the person who brings the great
5 / 128
英语高级口译岗位资格证书考试题库【章节题库】-第1章【圣才出品】
