(单词翻译:单击)
Long bus rides are like television shows． They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials（商业广告）thrown in every three or for minutes． The commercials are unavoidable． They happen whether you want them or not． Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window． “Buy Super Clean Toothpaste．” “Drink Good Wet Root Beer．” “Fill up with Pacific Gas．” Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television se t off, are you spared the unending cry of “You Need It! Buy It Now!”
The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before． Usually some things have changed new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road． The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so． If the driver is particularly reckless（鲁莽的） or daring, the ride can be as thrilling（惊心动魄） as a suspense story, will the driver move into the right ― or the left-hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down． Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride． Food always makes bus rides more interesting． But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat． Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops．
The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning． You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that． The seat of course, has become harder as the hours have passed． By now you have sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the arm rest even with your hands crossed behind your head． The end comes just at no more ways to sit．
41．According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?
A．Buses on the road． B． Films on television．
C． Advertisements on the billboards． D． Gas stations
42．What is the purpose of this passage?
A． To give the writer’s opinion about long bus trips．
B． To persuade you to take a long bus trip．
C． To explain how bus trips and television shows differ．
D． To describe the billboards along the road．
43． The writer of this passage would probably favor ____．
A． bus drivers who aren’t reckless B． drive alone
C． a television set on the bus D． no billboards along the road
44． The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because ____．
A． the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun
B． they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between
C． the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses
D． both traveling and watching TV are not exciting
45．The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are ___．
A． exciting B． comfortable C． tiring D． boring
B
The first bullet train designed and manufactured in China with a speed of 300 kilometers per hour rolled off the production line on Saturday morning． The train was the latest model in the country’s China Railway High-speed （CRH） Series． This marks that China has joined a leading world club after Japan, France and Germany to become the fourth country capable of turning out such high speed trains． Previously, China’s fastest self-developed trains ran at a service speed of up to 250 km per hour．
Those trains, which presented to public on April 18, served the Beijing—Harbin, Beijing—Shanghai and Beijing—Guangdong routes． The new streamlined train was made of aluminum alloy（铝合金）． The train body was the lightest of its kind in the world． Such a design was for the sake of energy economization． The train’s power was 12．7 kilowatts, lower than other high-speed trains, which was normally about 15 kilowatts．
The new train, which features a bar in the dinner car and double-faced LCD TV screens in the first-class cars, was equipped with shock absorbers between carriages． As the train is running at a high speed, the shock absorbers are used to reduce shocking force and rocking of the train body． （A train with eight carriages could seat about 600 passengers． They were expected to run on the 115—km Beijing –Tianjin route starting from August before the Beijing Olympic Games．） It would reduce the journey time from the current 80 minutes to around 39 minutes．
46． From the 1st paragraph we learn that____．
A． the latest model of CRH Series ran at a service speed of up to 250 km per hour
B． China became the fourth country in the world to produce bullet trains of such a high speed
C． the first self-developed bullet train rolled off the production line at a speed of 300 km per hour
D． China has joined a leading world club consisting of Japan, France and Germany
47． The new bullet train____．
A ． has been put into use in China
B． has double-faced LCD TV sets in the first carriage
C． is slower than high-speed trains
D． is made of the lightest material in the world
48． The underlined word “It ” in the last paragraph refers to ____．
A． a train with eight carriages B． the speed of 115 km per hour
C． the Ministry of Railways D． the use of the new train
49． What is mainly talked about in this passage?
A． The bullet trains designed and made in China have been put into operation．
B． The bullet trains serve many of the main routes between big cities in China．
C． The new bullet trains are equipped with some advanced facilities．
D． The new bullet trains are expected to run for the Beijing Olympic Games
