Question

The U.S. government’s push to decrease the nation’s output of greenhouse gases by increasing the fuel efficiency of the cars Americans drive is arousing again an emotional argument Does driving a small, fuel-efficient car make you more likely to die on the road?

Engineers and statistical analysts can point to data that suggest more-efficient cars don’t necessarily put motorists at greater overall risk. But most of us care less about the “overall” risk than we do about ourselves. Driving a big Chevrolet Tahoe SUV makes many of us believe we are safer than we would be in a smaller car — even if statistical measures across a large population of vehicles and all kinds of car accidents suggest the advantage of safety isn’t quite as wide as SUV owners believe.

The Obama government has put the fuel-efficiency and safety question back on the front burner by calling for new-vehicle fuel economy to rise to an average of 35 miles per gallon （加仑） by 2020 from about 25 mpg today. That goal could move higher if the government decides to adopt California’s requirement to cut vehicle greenhouse-gas giving off, which would result in stricter mileage standards.

Those moves, and the effects of last summer’s gas-price shock, are driving auto makers to offer cars such as the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Daimler AG’s Smart For Two — which get the kind of mileage today that law says should be the average in a decade. Beyond that, auto makers will launch a wide range of new compact （紧凑的） vehicles, and decrease production of large, body-on-frame SUVs.

That’s leading to new concerns about “green safety”, a term for managing the balance between reducing vehicle size for efficiency and adding safety and protection features that tend to make vehicles heavier and less efficient. Undoubtedly, further work has to be done before Americans make the choice.

1.The U.S. government requires to improve the fuel efficiency in order to ________.

A．push Americans to drive smaller cars

B．reduce the output of greenhouse gases

C．drive auto makers to produce fewer SUVs

D．cause Americans to make an argument

2.According to Paragraph 2, engineers and analysts’ idea ________.

A．fails to relieve people of their worry about safety

B．persuades people to purchase smaller cars instead of SUVs

C．is based on research and therefore persuasive enough

D．makes people think of their safety as well as others’

3.About the Obama government’s new moves, the auto makers are ________ and average  Americans are ________.

A．uncertain; positive      B．doubtful; uncertain

C．supportive; positive    D．positive; uncertain

4.The best title for the text should be ________.

A．New Law Reduces Greenhouse Gases Output

B．Can Small Cars Overcome Accident Fears?

C．New Compact Cars Gets Popular in the U.S.

D．Do We Have to Follow the Government?

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要讲了，政府为了减少温室气体的排放，开始推广小型高效的汽车。这引起了普通民众的质疑。尽管专家已经指出小型车更安全，但美国民众并不买账。汽车制造商开始生产小型车，但被普通民众普遍接受还需要十年左右。

1.细节理解题。第一自然段第一句“The U.S. government’s push to decrease the nation’s output of greenhouse gases by increasing the fuel efficiency”美国政府提出通过提高燃油效率来减少温室气体的排放。故选择B。

2.第二自然段第二句“But most of us care less about the “overall” risk than we do about ourselves. ” 但是大多数人很少关心“整体”危险，更多的是关心自己的安全。可知工程师和数据分析师的说明并没有效果，故选择A。

3.推理判断题。第四自然段说汽车制造商开始积极生产紧凑型的汽车；后一自然段最后一句“Undoubtedly, further work has to be done before Americans make the choice.”意思是毫无疑问，进一步的工作必须在美国人做出选择之前被做，可知美国民众还是摇摆不定。故选择D。

4.文介绍了，政府为了减少温室气体的排放，开始推广小型高效的汽车。这引起了普通民众的质疑。尽管专家已经指出小型车更安全，但美国民众并不买账。故选择B。

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