From the health point of view we are living in a marvelous age. We are immunized from birth against many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once fatal illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and surgery. It is almost certain that one day remedies will be found for the most stubborn remaining diseases. The expectation of life has increased enormously. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the incredible slaughter of men, women and children on the roads. Man versus the motor-car ! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people the world over are killed or horribly killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.
　　It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel, his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man’s very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They swear, they are ill-mannered and aggressive, willful as two-years-olds and utterly selfish. All their hidden frustrations, disappointments and jealousies seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving.
　　The surprising thing is that society smiles so benignly on the motorist and seems to condone his behaviour. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable because of heavy tragic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is desecrated by road networks; and the mass annual slaughter becomes nothing more than a statistic, to be conveniently forgotten.
　　It is high time a world code were created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are notoriously lax and even the strictest are not strict enough. A code which was universally accepted could only have a dramatically beneficial effect on the accident rate. Here are a few examples of some the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through stringent annual tests for safety. Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can impair a person’s driving ability. Present drinking and driving laws (where they exist) should be mad much stricter. Maximum and minimum speed limits should be imposed on all roads. Governments should lay down safety specifications for manufacturers, as has been done in the USA. All advertising stressing power and performance should be banned. These measures may sound inordinately harsh. But surely nothing should be considered as to severe if tit results in reducing the annual toll of human life. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars.
　　1. The main idea of this passage is
　　[A] Traffic accidents are mainly caused by motorists.
　　[B] Thousands of people the world over are killed each year.
　　[C] The laws of some countries about driving are too lax.
　　[D] Only stricter traffic laws can prevent accidents.
　　2. What does the author think of society toward motorists?
　　[A] Society smiles on the motorists.
　　[B] Huge car parks are built in the cities and towns.
　　[C] Victims of accidents are nothing.
　　[D] Society condones their rude driving.
　　3. Why does the author say:’ his car becomes the extension of his personality?’
　　[A] Driving can show his real self.
　　[B] Driving can show the other part of his personality.
　　[C] Driving can bring out his character.
　　[D] His car embodies his temper.
　　4. Which of the followings is NOT mentioned as a way against traffic accidents?
　　[A] Build more highways.
　　[B] Stricter driving tests.
　　[C] Test drivers every three years.
　　[D] raise age limit and lay down safety specifications.
　　5. The attitude of the author is
　　[A] ironical
　　[B] critical
　　[C] appealing
　　[D] militant
　　Vocabulary
　　1. immunise 使免疫，使免除
　　2. expectation of life = life expectancy 平均壽命
　　3. versus = against 對頂，反對
　　4. mutilate 傷害
　　5. wilful 任性的，固執(zhí)的
　　6. benign 寬厚的，仁慈的
　　7. condone 寬容
　　8. desecrate 褻瀆，玷污
　　9. code 法規(guī)，規(guī)定，慣例
　　10. stringent 嚴格的，緊急的，迫切的
　　11. performance 演出，成品，這里car’s behavior such as speed, function etc.可譯成行為，汽車行為、功能等。
　　難句譯注
　　1. Man versus the motor-car ! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing.
　　【參考譯文】人和汽車對抗！這是一場人類永遠是輸家的無休止的戰(zhàn)斗。
　　2. All advertising stressing power and performance should be banned.
　　【參考譯文】應當禁止所有強調(diào)力量和表現(xiàn)行為的廣告。
　　文章論述“交通事故”，采用因果、對比手法。從人的平均壽命增加和交通事故率成正比談起，觸及事故率上升的原因，要求制定更嚴格的法規(guī)予以制止種種造成事故的不良行為。
　　答案詳解
　　1.D 只有更嚴格的交通法規(guī)才能制止交通事故。這在最后一段的結(jié)論中體現(xiàn)的最清楚。前面幾段只是講造成事故的種種原因。其目的就是：“是制定世界交通法規(guī)以減少無謂的生命浪費的時候了。對于開車，有些國家的法規(guī)太松弛，甚至最嚴格的國家也不夠嚴格。世界公認之法律只可能對交通事故率起大大降低的作用（有非常好的效果。）”這里列出幾件要干的事：“駕駛測試應當標準化，比現(xiàn)在的要嚴格；所有死機每三年考核一次；年輕人駕車的允許年齡應提高到21歲；全部機動車每年都應經(jīng)過嚴格的安全測試（測定其安全性）……這些步驟可能聽起來異常嚴厲，可是，如果其結(jié)果事減少每年死傷人數(shù)的話，就不存在什么太嚴格的事了。”
　　A. 主要是機動車死機造成的交通事故。
　　B. 全世界每年有幾千人喪生。
　　C. 有些國家的交通法規(guī)太松弛。這三道答案都是文中談到某一點，不能作為中心目的。
　　2.D 社會寬容這種野蠻開車行徑。答案就在第三段：“令人驚訝的是社會對司機寬厚地笑笑，似乎寬容他們的行為。一切都為他們的方便而干。人們允許城市由于交通擁擠而幾乎不能居住了，大型停車場把城鎮(zhèn)“弄得”丑陋不堪，公路網(wǎng)玷污了鄉(xiāng)村，每年大量的殺傷僅僅成為統(tǒng)計數(shù)字，被很容易地忘記。”
　　A. 社會對司機笑容可掬。
　　B. 大型停車場建在市和鎮(zhèn)上。
　　C. 交通死難者等于零。這三項都只是第三段的一個個具體事實。社會正是通過這一件件事來寬容司機野蠻開車，而造成事故。
　　3. A “他的車就是他個性的外延”這句話就體現(xiàn)了“開車表現(xiàn)他真正的自我，真實的個性”。第二段講的很清楚：“這么說完全正確：當一個人坐在方向盤后，他的車就成為他個性的外延。毫無疑問，汽車常常表現(xiàn)了人之最壞的品質(zhì)。平常很安詳愉快的人一坐在方向盤后可能就變得難以認識。他們咒罵、行為差勁、好斗、固執(zhí)、任性得就像兩歲的孩子。他們所有隱藏的失落、失望和忌妒感，似乎都在開車中暴露出來”。
　　B. 表現(xiàn)他個性的另一面。
　　C. 表現(xiàn)了他的性格。
　　D. 他的車體現(xiàn)了他的脾氣秉性。只是表現(xiàn)自我中的某個事實。
　　4.A 只有建更多高速公路。沒有提。
　　B. 更難的測試。
　　C. 每三年對司機進行一次考察。
　　D. 提高年齡段和制定安全條例。都提到。見第一題譯注。
　　5.B 批評的態(tài)度。文章第一、二、三段指出了造成交通事故的原因，呼吁各國制定嚴格的交通法規(guī)，批評現(xiàn)有的交通法規(guī)松弛不嚴格，最后指出世界是人類的，不是摩托車的等等，都說明作者對上述種種都具批評的態(tài)度。
　　A. 諷刺的。
　　C. 哀求的、呼吁的。
　　D. 富有戰(zhàn)斗性的。