Americans love cars．They go everywhere in them．8 5％of people in the US go to and from work by car. And most adults have driving licenses．Why does this car culture exist?
How it started
America’s love of cars started after the war(战争)when soldiers returned home from World War II to rebuild their lives．They borrowed money from the government to buy houses and cars which became the symbols of status(地位)．The more money they had，the bigger their cars were．
Making of roads
During the war，President Eisenhower noticed what good roads Germany had．He decided to build new four-lane(四车道)roads in America．He said if something happened suddenly，the two-lane roads wouldn’t be able to carry all the cars that would suddenly leave the cities．Car and oil companies liked his idea and building started．
Car lover
Not just teenagers are crazy about cars．Some Americans love their cars so much that they paint their cars beautifully .These are called Art Cars．Every April there is an activity in Houston，Texas，where they show their cars．
Pollution
Cars have polluted the environment．American President Bush refused a worldwide law that is against pollution．Many countries were angry about it．Bush said he had to think of the American economy(经济)and all the American people that make money from cars．Factories say they want to make cars that pollute less．But others say making cars that pollute less will never be as good as having fewer cars．
【小题1】When did Americans begin to love cars?   

Americans love cars．They go everywhere in them．8 5％of people in the US go to and from work by car. And most adults have driving licenses．Why does this car culture exist?

How it started

America’s love of cars started after the war(战争)when soldiers returned home from World War II to rebuild their lives．They borrowed money from the government to buy houses and cars which became the symbols of status(地位)．The more money they had，the bigger their cars were．

Making of roads

During the war，President Eisenhower noticed what good roads Germany had．He decided to build new four-lane(四车道)roads in America．He said if something happened suddenly，the two-lane roads wouldn’t be able to carry all the cars that would suddenly leave the cities．Car and oil companies liked his idea and building started．

Car lover

Not just teenagers are crazy about cars．Some Americans love their cars so much that they paint their cars beautifully .These are called Art Cars．Every April there is an activity in Houston，Texas，where they show their cars．

Pollution

Cars have polluted the environment．American President Bush refused a worldwide law that is against pollution．Many countries were angry about it．Bush said he had to think of the American economy(经济)and all the American people that make money from cars．Factories say they want to make cars that pollute less．But others say making cars that pollute less will never be as good as having fewer cars．

1.When did Americans begin to love cars?   

A．Before the new two-lane roads were built．

B．After World War II．

C．During World War II．

D．Before World War II．

2.New four-1ane roads were build _______.

A．in Germany                            B．by car and oil companies

C．in America                            D．when something suddenly happened

3.The underlined word “building” here means “the building of _______”． 

A．companies        B．soldiers’ lives     C．houses           D．roads

4.What were other countries’ feelings about Bush’s decision?  

A．They agreed with him．                  B．They showed anger to it．

C．They paid no attention to it.                D．The passage doesn’t tell us.

5.What does the last sentence  mean? 

A．It’s better to have fewer cars．

B．It’s better to make cars that pollute less．

C．It’s easier to make cars that pollute less．

D．It’s easier to make people have fewer cars．

I was in line waiting to pay．In line there were two people before me．A little boy was buying some rather strange clothes．He chatted with anyone who was interested in the clothes and soon we learnt that he was going to a kindergarten（幼儿园） party． He had done a great job of putting together interesting costumes．

I noticed that the little boy was paying mostly with change（零钱）．It seemed that he had robbed his pig bank（猪形储蓄罐）to do this shopping．However, the cashier told him he was short after counting all the money．The boy thought for a moment and said, “Please keep the shirt and I will come back with more money．

It was clear that he had already used all the money he had and he was $ 8．00 short． The lady in front of me said, “Well, I could pay half of that．“I told the boy that I could pay the other half．We dug into our handbags．However, both of us only had ten-dollar bills（纸币）and we needed the cashier to get the change for us．Other shoppers began digging into their pockets to find some change．It was amazing and touching as all these strangers seemed to react（反应） with the same mind．All wanted to be of help．Within minutes the cashier said, “I have too much money．” The cashier didn’t need our ten-dollar bills．Then the lady in front of me, who had been the first to offer help, said, “Wait! I didn’t even get a chance to give anything!”

I smiled at her and said, “You did your share, because it was your idea and you started all this．“ The little boy smiled and thanked us．We wished him the best and he left．I was left with a good feeling．I had seen the love and goodness of others all around me．The woman in front of me smiled and said, “It sure feels good to give, doesn’t it?” I smiled back and said, “Yes !”

1．What is this passage mainly about?

A． Love and goodness．                B． Culture and tradition．

C． Friendship and honesty．             D． Communication and understanding．

2．Why did the writer and the woman both feel glad?

A． Because the boy had saved some money．

B． Because they both didn’t need to give anything．

C． Because the cashier didn’t look down on the boy．

D． Because all the shoppers around were willing to help the boy．

3．What does the underlined word “touching” most probably mean?

A．令人感动的         B．令人难过的           C．令人失望的          D．令人害怕的

4．What’s the correct order of the following events?

a． The cashier got enough money for the boy’s shirt．

b． The cashier counted the boy’s money．

c． The shoppers looked for some change in their pockets．

d． The boy went to the line to pay．

A． b, a, e, d           B． b, e, a, d          C． d, b, e, a           D． d, e, a, b

Mike didn’t live too far away from school．He liked to  1  to school every day．When it rained，like many  2  boys，Mike liked playing in the water．One afternoon，when the boy came 3  ，he was all wet．His mother became very  4  and said，“Don’t play in the water after school．”The next day he was very  5  again，and his mother became  6  angrier．“I’ll tell your father  7  you go to play in the-water again，”she said．The third day the boy was dry when he came  8  from school．“You are a  9  boy today，”his mother said．“You didn’t play in the water．”“No，”Mike answered．“Because there were  10  older boys in the water．I couldn’t play in it．”

    （    ）1．A．have               B．walk             C．fly                  D．come

    （    ）2．A．other              B．others           C．much              D．more

    （    ）3．A．house            B．family           C．home              D．room

    （    ）4．A．angry             B．happy           C．good               D．sad

    （    ）5．A．dry                B．late               C．early               D．wet

    （    ）6．A．very                B．more            C．much              D．many

    （    ）7．A．if                B．before           C．for                 D．so

    （    ）8．A．to                     B．back             C．away              D．out

    （    ）9．A．good              B．well              C．bad                 D．worse

    （    ）10．A．many so       B．so many        C．much too               D．too much