2014届高考英语一轮复习话题阅读素材13
Motorism The scene is a petrol station somewhere in England. A queue of cars stretches back over a kilometer down the road. As vehicles move slowly towards the pumps, the air fills with the sound of the car horns. People are getting frustrated and angry. Suddenly a fight starts. Two respectable-looking men in business suits are hitting each other. One has accused the other of jumping the queue. The British petrol crisis started in Sep. 2000, and car owners began panic buying. Many are genuinely worried about being able to get to work. But many more had no need for petrol. They still waited for hours to put tiny amounts in the fuel tank. Others wasted their fuel driving from place to place trying to buy more. Soon a serious shortage developed. Things are back to normal now.
But the big scare has raised lots of questions about the effect of car culture on society in general. According to sociologists, a motorist is not just a person who uses a car to go from one place to another. He is someone whose attitudes and beliefs are closely linked to the fact that he owns a car. He has a certain way of looking at he world. Call it "motorism". It is a philosophy that can be summed up in two words -- me first. To the committed motorist, the car represents freedom. People without cars have to wait for bus or train. They go where it wants them to go. And they have no choice over who goes with them. The car driver can go exactly where he wants. he can choose the time of journey and travel with anyone he likes, or no one at all. When he passes a line of people at a bus stop, he smiles. He is a different and better human being. He is a car-owner. Gradually, the car becomes part of his family. The thought that it might go short of petrol affects him in the same way as the thought his child might go hungry. He will do anything or go anywhere to satisfy that hunger. Many car owners do not think like this. They depend on a car for physical reasons. But others become psychologically dependent on their cars.
Car culture is an accepted part of many Western societies. But the panic buying of petrol in Sep. showed that it would be a dangerous way to think. It is like having a friend who believes he can fly. Everybody laughs, until he jumps out of the window. There are signs that people are realizing this. Some of those who queued for hours for petrol now say they are a bit ashamed of themselves. Next time they will stop and think. According to the manufacturers, bicycle sales have risen by over 30 percent since the crisis. Some people are at last trying to break the car habit. Bicycles might be slower and less comfortable than cars. But everyone knows who is in charge.
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题9 名词性从句与定语从句
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题20 词义猜测题
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 23 Conflict
2017届高考英语一轮专题突破解题策略课件:11 选修6 完形填空之上气下气难贯通-对段落关系及解题线索把握不准确(新人教版)
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 17 Laughter
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 19 Language
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 11 The Media
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 22 Environmental Protection
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题21 提纲类与应用文
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题1 名词与冠词
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 3 Celebration
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题10 状语从句
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 16 Stories
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 6 Design
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题8 非谓语动词
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 18 Beauty
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 8 Adventure
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题23 图画类与记叙文
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题13 记叙文
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题11 特殊句式
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题18 主旨归纳题
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 13 People
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题7 时态与语态
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题17 细节理解题
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 21 Human Biology
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:专题5 动词与动词短语
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 7 The Sea
2016届高考英语二轮复习考点精炼:题型3 短文改错
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 10 Money
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时训练:Unit 2 Heroes
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |