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    Motoring Technology

    1.2 million road deaths worldwide occur each year, plus a further 50 million injuries. To reduce car crash rate, much research now is focused on safety and new fuels ? though some electric vehicle and biofuel research aims at going faster.
Traveling at speed has always been risky. One cutting edge area of research in motoring safety is the use of digital in-car assistants. They can ensure you don’t miss crucial road signs or fall asleep. The use of artificial intelligence software allows these assistants to monitor your driving and makes sure your phone or radio doesn’t distract you at a vital moment. Most crashes result from human and not mechanical faults.

    Some safety developments aim to improve your vision. Radar can spot obstacles  in fog, while other technology “sees through” high-sided vehicles blocking your view.
And improvements to seat belts, pedal controls and tyres are making driving smoother and safer. The color of a car has been found to be linked with safety, as have, less surprisingly, size and shape.

    And alternatives to fossil-fuel based petrol, such as plant oils, are a hot area of research. Fuel cells based on hydrogen burn cleanly, and are the subject of a serious research effort.

    But whatever is in the fuel tank, you don’t want a thief in the driving seat and there have been many innovations, some using satellite tracking and remote communications, to fight against car theft. These communication systems can also come into play if you crash, automatically calling for help.

    Accidents cause many traffic jams, but there are more subtle interplays between vehicles that can cause jams even on a clear but busy road, such jams can be analyzed using statistical tools. Robotic drivers could be programmed to make traffic flow smoothly and will perhaps one day be everyone’s personal chauffeur, but their latest efforts suggest that won’t be soon. (311 words)

1. What are researchers interested in doing as the road accidents worldwide increase to a shocking rate?
A. they are developing faster electric vehicles
B. they are analyzing road deaths occurring worldwide every year.
C. they focus their research on safety and new fuels
D. they are designing fully automatic cars

2. According to the second paragraph, most road accidents happen
A. because drivers fall asleep
B. because drivers make mistakes
C. because of engine failure
D. because of speeding

3. Which of the safety developments is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. radars that can help drivers to see obstacles in fog
B. devices that help drivers to see through big vehicles
C. improvements in seat belts, pedal controls and tyres
D. windscreens that can help drivers to improve their vision

4. What is NOT the purpose of innovations that use satellite tracking and remote communications?
A. to prevent car thieves from getting into your car
B. to call for help when one’s car crashes
C. to call for help when the car gets jammed in the traffic
D. to track the car down when it is being stolen

5  What is true of robotic drivers?
A. it will take some time before robotic drivers can be put to practical use
B. robotic drivers are not allowed to drive on busy roads
C. robotic drivers can never replace human drivers
D. robotic drivers are too expensive to use

 Motoring Technology參考答案

    1． C． 解析： 問題問“當世界范圍內的道路事故發生率增加到了一個令人震驚的數量時, 研究者們對做什么產生了興趣?”被選項C直接與文章主題呼應(第1段第2句是答案相關句), 所以C是答案。

    解題思路2： 問題句中出現了修飾詞語（worldwide， shocking）， 利用這些修飾結構作為答案線索， 這樣在文章中找到答案相關句：

    1.2 million road deaths（死亡） worldwide（世界范圍地） occur（發生） each year（每年）, plus（加上） a further（更多的） 50 million injuries（傷害）. To reduce（減少） car crash（撞車） rate, much research now is focused on（關注...） safety（安全） and new fuels（燃料） ? though some electric vehicle（電動汽車） and biofuel（生物燃料） research aims at（致力于） going（駕駛） faster.

    第1段第1句是答案相關句（worldwide直接出現，該句隱含shocking （rate）），但是該句并沒有說“研究者們在做什么”， 因此關注后面的句子。 接下來的一句說“為了減少車禍發生率， 現在許多研究關注汽車的安全性和新型燃料的使用”，該句內容與C呼應， 因此C是答案。

    2. B．解析：問題問“根據第2段， 大多數車禍發生是因為...” 利用問題句中的修飾詞most作為答案線索， 這樣在文章中找到答案相關句（該段最后一句句子）
Most crashes（與most road accidents呼應） result from（由...而產生） human and not mechanical(機械的) faults(錯誤, 故障).

    該句說“大多數的撞車事故造成的原因是由于人為的錯誤而不是由機械故障”， 因此B是答案。

    3. D． 解析： 問題問“下列哪項安全技術在段落中沒有被提到？”問題句中沒有詞語或結構可作為答案線索， 因此關注被選項， 被選項中均涉及到細節信息， 因此分別利用被選項中的細節信息詞作為答案線索（A： radar， B： devices to see through big vechles； C： seat belt， pedal controls， tyres； D： windscreens）， 在文章中查找與被選項分別形成呼應的句子， 這樣在文章中找到答案相關句：

    提示： 當問題句及被選項中出現了反映細節信息的詞語或結構時， 往往可以利用這些細節信息詞語/結構作為答案相關句， 在文章中找到對應的答案相關句。

    Some safety developments aim to improve your vision. Radar(雷達) can spot(發現, 認出) obstacles(障礙物) in fog(霧)（與A一致）, while other technology “sees through(透視, 看穿)” high-sided(有邊的) vehicles blocking(阻礙) your view(視線, 觀點, 景色, 觀察)（與B一致）.

    And improvements（改善） to seat belts（安全帶）, pedal（腳踏板） controls（控制裝置） and tyres （輪胎）are making driving smoother（平穩的） and safer（安全的）（與C一致）. The color of a car has been found to be linked with safety, as have, less surprisingly, size and shape.

    選項A， B和C在文章中都有呼應的信息， 只有D沒有呼應的信息（D中的windscreens）， 因此D是答案。

    4. C． 解析： 問題問“下列那項不是使用人造衛星跟蹤和遠程通訊這些革新技術的目的？”問題句中出現了細節信息結構（satellite tracking和 remote communications）作為答案線索， 這樣在文章中找到答案相關句：

    But whatever（無論什么） is in the fuel tank（油箱）, you don’t want a thief（小偷） in the driving seat（駕駛座位） and there have been many innovations, some using satellite tracking and remote communications, to fight against（同...作斗爭） car theft. These communication systems（系統） can also come into play (起作用)if you crash(撞車), automatically(自動地) calling for（要求） help.

    答案相關句說“一些革新技術使用衛星和遠程通訊來防御汽車盜賊（與A和D呼應）， 如果你撞了車，這些通訊系統也能起作用： 它能自動尋求幫助（與B呼應）”， 因此C是答案。

    5  A． 解析: 問題問“下列哪個說法與文章中關于機器人駕駛員的說法一致?” 結合文章主題(安全駕車技術)排除C 和D(與文章主題偏離較遠), 借助常識排除B(機器人駕車應該更精確, 所以更能處理如在繁忙路段駕車這樣的復雜問題), 因此推測A可能是答案.
解題思路2: 利用問題句中的細節信息結構(robotic drivers)作為答案線索, 在文章中找到答案相關句:

    Accidents cause many traffic jams, but there are more subtle interplays between vehicles that can cause jams even on a clear but busy road, such jams can be analyzed using statistical tools. Robotic (機器人的)drivers could be programmed(編程) to make traffic( 車流) flow(流動) smoothly and will perhaps(可能) one day be everyone’s personal chauffeur(司機), but（但是） their latest(最新) efforts (成就, 努力)suggest(暗示) that won’t be soon(立刻, 不久).

    答案相關句說“可以對機器人駕駛員編程， 從而使車流順暢， 將來可能有一天機器人將成為人們的專門司機， 但是最新的成就顯示這不會很快實現”。該句內容與A一致。
 
    考點： 考察代詞（that）的指代內容。  (環球網校獨家資料,如需轉載請注明出處)