Limit the use of private cars, improve public transport and encourage the use of bicycles to control traffic congestion(拥挤) during the 2008 Olympics, experts from foreign countries advised Beijing on Friday.
Professor Nigel Wilson, of the civil and environmental engineering department of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he was "supportive to the limiting of private cars during the Olympic Games", saying that in foreign countries, the method is also adopted during big events, but he was unsure about the approach.
The government planned to keep an average of more than one million cars off the roads to improve traffic flow during the Olympics, said Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Traffic Committee, at the China Planning Network First Urban Transportation Congress.
Sharing Wilson's view, Dr. Yoshitsugu Hayashi, dean of the Graduate School of Environmental Studies of Nagoya University, believed the reduction in car use should be achieved not by banning, but through incentives.
"Drivers who don't use their private cars could be given points," he said, "and the points could be exchanged for goods from online shopping."
Wetzel stressed limiting the use of company cars. "Governmental officials should also be encouraged to use public transportation or ride bicycles," he said, adding that he himself is a bicycle-rider in London.
Matthew Martimo, director of Traffic Engineering with Citilabs, said the bicycle was China's advantage. "Limiting private cars is an idea worth trying but it is just a temporary solution," he said. "The real cause of congestion is high density of people in Beijing and many have cars."
Beijing, with a population of 15 million, is home to more than three million automobiles, and the number is rising by 1,000 a day.
Professor Wilson said the Olympic Games was a great opportunity for Beijing to think about traffic problems and develop transportation, adding that the city had already been making public transport more efficient. Beijing has promised to stretch its 114-kilometer city railway to 200 kilometers before the opening of the Olympic Games.
“We are looking forward to borrowing Beijing's experiences and drawing from its lessons in preparation for the 2012 Olympics,” said Wetzel.
51. The underlined word incentives in paragraph 4 means_______.
A. something that encourages people to try B. online shopping
C. points could be exchanged for goods D. award
52.It can be seen from the passage that ______.
A. the government planned to forbid over 1 million cars to run on the roads during the Olympics.
B. banning private cars is the best way to solve traffic congestion in Beijing
C. Beijing now has 200 kilometers of city railway
D. the use of company cars will not be limited
53. Why did Wetzel stress “ he himself is a bicycle-rider in London”?
A. To limit the use of company cars.
B. To encourage governmental officials to use public transportation or ride bicycles.
C. To show that riding bicycles is good for health.
D. To show that he loves riding bicycles.
54. Which of the following may be the reason for the traffic congestion in Beijing?
A. The 2008 Beijing Olympic games.
B. The number of cars in Beijing is rising by 1,000 a day.
C. The large population in Beijing and the large number of cars.
D. Public transport in Beijing is not efficient.
55. The purpose of the passage is ________.
A. to limit the use of private cars, improve public transport
B. to encourage the use of bicycles to control traffic congestion during the 2008 Olympics
C. to borrow Beijing's experiences and draw from its lessons in preparation for the 2012 Olympics
D. to tell the advice given by foreign experts on traffic congestion during 2008 Beijing Olympics
For hundreds of years printing was difficult andvery slow. As more people learned to read, peoplewanted to find a quicker, better, and less expensiveway to print books. One of these people was Johann
Gutenberg, who was born in Mainz, Germany, around 1400.
Gutenberg was an intelligent man, and he wasgood at working with metal. His idea was to make ametal stamp for each letter of the alphabet(字母表)and use the letters over and over. He could put the
stamps together to make words and arrange(排列)thewords to make pages. With ink on the stamps, hecould press paper on them to make a page. This kindof printing press (印刷机) could make hundreds of copies of a single page quickly. After one page wasfinished, he could rearrange the same letters to makeother words and print other pages.
It took Gutenberg many years to make stampsfor each letter of the alphabet. When he finished thestamps, he didn't have enough money to make theprinting press. He borrowed money from a mannamed Johann Fust. They became business partners.After many years, Gutenberg's printing press was ready. Gutenberg printed his first book, the Bible,around 1455.
Johann Fust was a clever businessman. Heunderstood the value of Gutenberg's invention. Hetook Gutenberg to court (法院) because Gutenbergcouldn't pay back the money. Gutenberg had nomoney, so Fust took his printing press and started hisown business. He printed and sold more Bibles andkept all the money. Gutenberg was sad and diedin1468,a poor man.
Today people still remember Johann Gutenberg.The city of Mainz has a statue(雕像) of him and hisoriginal printing press is kept in a museum. Paragraph 2 mainly tells us ____________.
A.the disadvantages of the old printing press |
B.how Gutenberg's printing press worked |
C.why Gutenberg decided to invent a printing press |
D.how to arrange the words to make pages |
According to the passage, Gutenberg ________.
A.had a hobby of collecting stamps |
B.Learned printing from Johann Fust |
C.printed only one copy of the Bible |
D.spent many years inventing his printing press |
It can be learned from the passage that _________.
A.Gutenberg lost his invention because he couldn't pay back the money |
B.Gutenberg was a successful businessman and made a lot of money |
C.Fust and Gutenberg always trusted each other |
D.Fust thought Gutenberg's invention was useless |
Which of the following is TRUE?
A.Fust lent money to Gutenberg because Gutenberg's printing press was ready. |
B.The Bible is the first book that Gutenberg printed. |
C.Gutenberg died in his eighties, sad and poor. |
D.In order to remember Fust, his statue was built in Mainz, Germany. |
The final event in the Olympics is the marathon. It is also usually the most exciting. As the leader comes into the stadium to run the last few meters ofthe 42-kilo-metre race, the crowd rises to its feet toshout and cheer. The name of the race comes from abattle in Ancient Greece. According to the story, asoldier ran from the scene of the battle,Marathon, toAthens, to bring the news of a Greek victory againstthe Persians. He died just after arriving.
The marathon has been an Olympic event sincethe modern Games started in 1896. At first the distance was 40 kilometres — the distance betweenMarathon and Athens. In 1908, however, at theLondon Olympics, it was changed. The King ofEngland wanted the runners to leave from his castlein Windsor and arrive m a new stadium in central
London. The distance was 26 miles — about 42kilometres. In fact, the 1908 marathon endeddramatically(戏剧性地). When the leader, an Italian,
entered the stadium he turned the wrong way and fellonto the ground. Officials picked him up and helpedhim to the finishing line,just as the second runner, anAmerican, entered the stadium. The Americans
protested (抗议) and in the end the American runnerwas declared(宣布)the winner. Since then, there havebeen many more exciting marathons.
In fact, you don't have to wait for the OlympicGames to run or watch a marathon, as there aremarathons in over sixty countries and hundreds ofcities around the world today. One of the mostfamous marathons is in New York, and is watched bytwo million people around the streets and across thebridges of the city's five boroughs(纽约市的行政区),and past New York's famous landmarks. But perhapsone of the most beautiful and extraordinary(最特别的) marathons ever is the Great Wall Marathon,which most competitors find is the toughest course torun.
The marathon is the final Olympic event becauseit is thought to be the hardest. But experts believe that most people — even people who are notparticularly good at sport — can run a marathon, ifthey train for it. When the leader came into the stadium, the crowd ______.
A.ran to his feet happily |
B.shouted with excitement |
C.carried him to the line |
D.sang and dance |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The name of the race comes from a game in Greece. |
B.The soldier who ran from Marathon to Athens won a gold medal. |
C.The marathon events in the Games have the same length all the time. |
D.From 1908, the marathon events are of the same length. |
Which is the most special of the marathon events in the world?
A.The Marathon in New York. |
B.The Marathon in the Beijing Olympic Games. |
C.The Great Wall Marathon. |
D.The Marathon in London in 2012. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the marathon?
A.Marathon is the most important event. |
B.Marathon is the most popular event. |
C.Marathon is the easiest event. |
D.Marathon is the final Olympic event. |
The first ancient Olympic Games for which westill have written records was held in 776 BC.Coroebus won the only event at the Olympics. Thismade him the very first Olympic champion inhistory. Then they grew and continued to be playedevery four years. In 393 AD, the Roman emperorTheodosius I, a Christian, announced to end theGames because of their pagan (异教的)influences.
About l, 500 years later, a young Frenchmannamed Pierre de Coubertin began their revival (恢复) . In 1892 Coubertin first brought forward his idea to revive the Olympic Games but failed.
Two years later, Coubertin organized a meetingwith 79 delegates(代表) who represented ninecountries. At this meeting he got what he wanted. Allthe delegates at the conference voted for the OlympicGames. They also decided to have Coubertin set up aninternational committee to organize the Games. Thiscommittee became the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) and Demetrious Vikelas fromGreece was selected to be its first president. Athenswas chosen for the revival of the Olympic Games.
The very first modern Olympic Games opened inthe first week of April, 1896. Since the Greekgovernment .had been unable to afford a stadium, arich Greek architect, Georgios Averoff, donated onemillion drachmas (over $100, 000) to repair the Panathenaic Stadium, originally built in 330 BC.
Since the Games were not well publicizedinternationally, contestants(选手) were not nationally chosen but rather came individually and at their own expense. Some contestants were tourists who happened to be in the area during the Games. What would be the best title for the passage?
A.The History of the Olympics |
B.How Coubertin Set Up IOC |
C.The First Modern Olympic Games |
D.Great Changes in the Olympic Games |
At the first modern Olympic Games, ___________.
A.winners were given money as prize |
B.IOC invited contestants to tour Greece |
C.there were no strict rules for being a contestant |
D.many countries chose some athletes. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. In 393 AD, the Games were cancelled because of the religious reason.
B. Coubertin was voted to be the first president of the IOC.
C. The Greek government didn't support building a stadium.
D. The first ancient Olympic Games had several events.
As early as 1894,the newly-formed InternationalOlympic Committee(IOC) considered ice skating as apossibility for the first modern Olympic Games whichwould be held in 1896.
In 1911, a member of the IOC suggested thatwinter sports should be staged as part of the 1912Olympics in Helsinki. Some opposed the idea. At last,the IOC decided to hold Winter Olympic Games in1916. However, World War I broke out in 1914.After 1920, the national governing bodies for wintersports in several countries began talking about thepossibility of separate Winter Olympics.
The town of Chamonix, in the French Alps,planned to hold a winter sports festival in 1924, andat the same time Paris was to host the Olympics. TheMarquis de Polignac, a member of the IOC, suggestedthat the festival be formally recognized as the WinterOlympic Games. The IOC didn't go that far, but didagree that Chamonix could call its festival an "Olympic winter carnival".
The festival drew 258 athletes from 16 countriesto compete in bobsledding(雪橇车比赛), figureskating, hockey, Nordic skiing and speed skating.Charles Jewtraw from the United States won the first
gold medal, in the 500-metre speed skating,but thefestival's hero was Claus Thunberg from Finland. Hewon five medals, three of which were gold, in speedskating.
Weather has often been a major story at theWinter Olympics, and so it was at Chamonix. Thefestival opened with rain and unseasonably warmtemperature that turned snow and ice to mud. Thentemperature dropped as far as 25 below zero and themud became ice.
Despite the weather, more than 10, 000 peopleshowed up. At its yearly meeting in 1925, the IOC recognized the Chamonix festival as the first WinterOlympics and decided that the Winter Games wouldbe held every four years, just like the SummerOlympics. Why was the first Winter Olympic Games notheld in 1916?
A.Because the IOC didn't agree to it. |
B.Because it was still under discussion. |
C.Because some people opposed the idea. |
D.Because World War I broke out in 1914. |
How many years was the first modern Olympic Games earlier than the first Winter Olympic Games?
A.16. |
B.24. |
C.28. |
D.29. |
We can know from the passage that ______
A.the weather destroyed the first Winter Olympics |
B.people from 16 countries watched the first Winter Olympics |
C.Charles Jewtraw won the most medals in the first Winter Olympics |
D.Finland got 3 gold medals in speed skating in the first Winter Olympics. |
What's the passage mainly about?
A.The development of the Winter Olympics. |
B.The importance of weather in the Olympics. |
C.The events of the first Winter Olympic Games. |
D.The heroes of the Winter Olympics. |
"Failure is not an option (选择)"is a very well-known saying. But my father told me that "failure hasa time line".
You have to know that my father is a true genius(天才). He designed the first jet fighter plane, theF-84.
You also have to know that his only son isanything but a genius. I was born in 1941, and I amstill here at 68 years old. I graduated from PointLoma High in San Diego on June 15,1960, and I was"pleased"with being in the top l0% of the lower one-third of my class of about 300 students. Well, at least Igraduated! Some years later in the 1960s, my dadtalked to me about failure.
At the time I was very discouraged at my careerplans after serving two years in the Peace Corps inGabon, West Africa. I said to my dad, "Dad, youknow I've been a failure at everything I've tried inlife and I just don't know what to do now."
My dad looked at me with those "genius eyes"and said to me,"Failure is a relative(相对的) thing.It has a time line! Now just remember that failure is not an option…in this lifetime! "He then explainedto me that failure is part of a successful path, and thatI should always keep in my mind that time, failureand success all work together.
To this very day, I still love, respect, and honourmy dad and my mom. Maybe some day I will "growup"and be as smart as my dad. In the writer's opinion, his father was very ______.
A.serious |
B.great |
C.casy-going |
D.different |
What can we infer from Paragraph 3?
A.The writer used to consider himself to be a genius. |
B.The writer didn't get along well with his classmates. |
C.The writer was not good at his studies at school. |
D.The writer failed to graduate from college. |
According to Paragraph 4, before talking to his dad, the writer ______.
A.was encouraged by his career plans |
B.had hoped for a good life |
C.was very confident |
D.had probably lost heart |
Which of the following would the writer's fatheragree with?
A.Some people will never succeed. |
B.People should not experience failure. |
C.Failure at a certain period of time is acceptable. |
D.Success has nothing to do with failure. |