The motor car has been among the biggest influences on life in the 20th century, a powerful factor in the progress of civilization. It can, unfortunately, be a source of danger but for every life it takes it saves a dozen, speeding the desperately ill to hospital, carrying food to the famine stricken. It has disturbed many of the tranquil preserves of the leisured, but opened new playgrounds to millions. Because of it the ability to ride a horse is a rare skill, railways are no longer a decisive factor in shaping our communities, and many people have forgotten the value of using their own two feet. But it has given the world a new mobility.
Perhaps the basic appeal of motoring is its promise of independence. It offers freedom from the time-tables of public transportation, from the need to travel by the same route in the same vehicle to the same place as countless others. It is the opportunity to meander, to leave disappointing places for more hopeful ones; to flee from bad weather and to get the children to school on time. To exploit these advantages the motorist has to accept responsibilities. At the wheel a driver has a duty to be patient, skilful, and sober. All too easily he can shatter the health of other road users and, indeed, the happiness of all of us who have a right to enjoy privacy and the countrysides beauty and tranquility. And there is the financial responsibility. For many families a car represents the second largest financial investment of their lives; in pursuit of the freedom a car can bring, millions of people stake something approaching a years net income to buy a bright metal box that may depreciate at the rate of the rent they pay and cost as much to run as it does to heat and light a home.
A car is, nevertheless, a miracle if it is used to thefull. It is an unremarked wonder that this complex machine, containing about 5000 parts, some of which work to tolerances of l/1000th of an inch or less, comes into the hands of completely untrained owners, depends on them for care and upkeep, and yet goes on working efficiently year after year. In a laboratory or workshop such a valuable device could be controlled by a skilled operator, and it is a tribute to the motor industrys designers and engineers that so little mechanical trouble is experienced by the owners of Britains nine million cars.
21. Because of the existence of cars_______.
A. fewer railways are built B. fewer people can use their feet
C. more people go abroad D. fewer people can ride horses
22. The writer says that, at the wheel, the driver_______.
A. acts responsibly
B. has obligations to exploit his advantages
C. has obligations to help other road users
D. has obligations to be patient, skillful, and sober
23. Many families_______.
A. are financially responsible concerning cars
B. are financially irresponsible concerning cars
C. buy a car only after they have bought a house
D. spend more on a car than on almost anything else
24. Millions of people_______.
A. pay more for their cars than for their houses
B. spend money on their cars instead of on the rent
C. spend almost as much as what they can make in a year to buy a car
D. could pay their rent on what they would save without a car
25. A car is well worth the price you pay if you_______.
A. drive it as much as possible B. drive it as slowly as possible
C. drive it as fast as possible D. drive it as little as possible
答案; 21. D 22. D 23. B 24. C 25. A