In spring of 2004, when US gas prices hit US $2 a gallon, University of Washington senior Jo Blue kept on driving. After Hurricane Katrina last August, prices topped US $3 a gallon. But Blue kept driving. Now, when prices have leveled -at about US$ 2.25, she still commutes an hour everyday to her job as a swim coach. Blue has to get to work and public transportation is not an option. Buses to the suburb where she works are infrequent, so Blue has no choice but to spend US $30 a week on gas.

　　High gas prices, which began to soar in 2004, have Americans-whose way of life depends on cars-complaining, but not doing much to change the country’s car culture.

　　Like Blue, most Americans, except those in major cities, drive to work. Many live in sprawling suburbs which are accessible only by car. The average American spends 55 minutes each day behind the wheel, according to the US Department of Transportation. In 2003, the US’s 290, 000 residents registered 237, 000 vehicles.

　　Many experts say that this car driven lifestyle is unsustainable. “An event like Hurricane Katrina demonstrates how constrained and fragile the energy supply is now,” said Barry Silverthorne, producer of “The End of Suburbia”, a documentary about American car culture.

　　In the 1950s, King Hubert, a geologist working for Shell, a major US oil company, predicted that the rate of oil extraction(提取)could not continue to increase forever. Once all the high quality or easiest-to-reach oil was extracted, oil would become progressively scarcer and more expensive until the supply runs out altogether.

　　Many major oil fields in the Middle East have reached or will soon reach their peaks, says Megan Qinn, director of the Community Solution, an organization that promotes sustainable development.

　　Though most experts agree the US should become less dependent on cars, few have addressed the issue of “how”.

　　“Deep down in America many of us have a sense that we are about to hit a brick wall of some kind. But people are too distracted by Paris Hiton and iPods to notice,” said Silverthorne.

　　1. According to the author, the key reason why Americans need car is that ______.

　　A. they need to drive to work

　　B. they have so many highways

　　C. many live in suburbs accessible only by car

　　D. many want to go traveling by car

　　2. According to the statistics in 2003, every US residents owns ______ vehicle(s).

　　A. at least 0.5 B. at least 0.8 C. at least 1 D. at least 1.2

　　3. King Hubbert says that oil ______.

　　A. will be replaced by other high quality or easy-to-reach energy

　　B. is reaching its peak gradually

　　C. will run out immediately

　　D. will decrease some day

　　4. The author believes that American car culture is ______.

　　A. a luxury B. necessary C. sustainable D. unsustainable

　　5. The last paragraph suggests that ______.

　　A. Americans only care about celebrities and luxury products

　　B. Americans know they are about to hit a wall due to energy crisis

　　C. Americans know they should make a change of some kind

　　D. Americans are conscious but do nothing about energy shortage

　　答案及解析：

　　文章大意：本文探討了美國的汽車文化，指出這種開汽車的生活方式不是可持續的，因 為世界原油產量不可能永遠持續增長。考慮到能源問題，美國人應該開始思考如何減少對汽車的依賴。

　　1. C。見文章第三段。美國人選擇開車，主要因為許多美國人住在郊區，那里沒有公交車或者公交車的班次少，這些人不得不選擇自駕車去城里上班。

　　2. B。由原文第三段可知，在2003年，29萬名美國人登記注冊所擁有的交通工具就有23萬7千輛。由此可以算出，每個美國人至少擁有0.8輛交通工具。

　　3. D。原文第五段列舉了地質學家King Hubbert的觀點。他指出，石油的開采不可能持續增長。有朝一日，當所有高質量、易開發的石油都被開采殆盡，石油將變得越來越少、越來越貴，直到石油儲量耗盡的那。考生須在這段文字中進行歸納，得出答案。

　　4. D。本文作者對美國的汽車文化進行了深刻的分析。文章前三段闡釋了汽車對于美國人的重要性。即使是在“卡特麗娜”咫風來襲、油價飛漲之際，美國人都沒有放棄開車的生活方式。但是作者認為這個汽車時代不會長久。在接下來的篇幅中，作者引用了大量反對汽車文化的專家的話語。第四段句話“Many experts say that this car driven lifestyle is unsustainable”總起了以下的專家語錄。

　　5. D。選項D的意思是：美國人清醒認識到能源緊缺，但是他們并沒有采取措施。符合原文所說Deep down in America many of us have a sense that we are about to hit a brick wall of some kind. But people are too distracted by Paris Hiton and iPods to notice.(在美國人內心有一種要撞上某種墻的感覺，但是他們的注意力被Paris Hilton這樣的美女和iPods牌的播放器吸引了。)

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