阅读试题

Last night I was driving from Harrisburg to Lewisburg, a distance of about eighty miles. It was late. Several times I got stuck behind a slow-moving tuck on a narrow road with a solid white line on my left, and I became increasingly impatient.

At one point along an open road, I came to a crossing with a traffic light. I was alone on the road by now, but as I drove near the light, it turned red and I made a stop. I looked left, right and behind me. Nothing. Not a car, no suggestion of car lamps, but there I sat, waiting for the light to change, the only human being for at least a mile in any direction.

I started wondering why I refused to run the light. I was not afraid of being caught, because there was clearly no policeman around, and there certainly would have been no danger in going through it.

Much later that night, the question of why I'd stopped for that light came back to me. I think I stopped because it's part of a contract(契约) we all have with each other. It's not only the law, but it's an agreement we have, and we trust each other to honor it: we don't go through red lights.

Trust is our first inclination(倾向). Doubting others does not seem to be natural to us. The whole construction of our society depends on mutual(相互) trust, not distrust. We do what we say we'll do; we show up when we say we'll show up; and we pay when we say we'll pay. We trust each other in these matters, and we're angry or disappointed with the person or organization that breaks the trust we have in them.

I was so proud of myself for stopping for the red light that night.

63. Why did the author get impatient while driving?
A. He was lonely on the road.
B. He was slowed down by a truck.
C. He got tired of driving too long.
D. He came across too many traffic lights.

64. What was the author's immediate action when the traffic light turned red?
A. Stopping still.
B. Driving through it.
C. Looking around for other cars.
D. Checking out for traffic police.

65. The event made the author strongly believe that___________
A. traffic rules may be unnecessary
B. doubting others is human nature
C. patience is important to drivers
D. a society needs mutual trust

66. Why was the author proud of himself?
A. He kept his promise.
B. He held back his anger.
C. He followed his inclination.
D. He made a right decision.

参考译文

昨晚，我驾车从哈里斯堡前往路易斯堡，其间长达80英里。天太晚了。我的车行驶在一条狭窄的公路上，左边是实心白线（不可超车）。好几次，都被堵在一辆缓缓前行的卡车后，这让我变得越来越没有耐心。

在一个开阔公路的某处，我来到一个有红绿灯的十字路口。此时，路上只有我一个人，但是当我驶近红绿灯时，它变成了红色，而我必须得停下。我看了看我的左边、右边还有后面，没有发现任何东西。没有车，没有车灯的迹象，而我也是方圆至少一英里内唯一的一个人，但是我依然坐在那，等着红灯变绿。我在想为什么我拒绝闯红灯。很明显，附近没有警察，所以我不害怕被抓，而且闯过去也确实没有任何危险。

那晚以后很长时间，我又回想起为什么我会在红灯前停下来这个问题。我认为我停下来是因为这是我们所有人彼此达成的契约的一部分。它不仅仅是法律，也是我们达成的协议，我们也相信彼此会信守承诺：我们不会闯红灯。

信任是我们的第一倾向。怀疑他人似乎不是我们与生俱来的。我们社会的整个结构建设都取决于相互信任，而不是不信任。

我们说我们要做的事我们就会做；我们承诺会出现的时候我们就会出现；需要我们付出的时候我们就会付出。在这些事情上，我们相互信任，而我们对那些破坏彼此信任的个人和组织感到很生气也很失望。

我为自己那晚在红灯前停了车而感到自豪。

答案解析

63. B 考查细节理解。根据第一段后半部分的内容可知，作者因前方有一辆缓慢行驶的卡车而变得不耐烦。
64. A 考查细节理解。根据第二段中的"...it turned red and I made a stop"可知，作者的瞬时反应是立刻停车。
65. D 考查细节理解。根据倒数第二段第三句的内容可知，这件事让作者深信社会需要相互信任。
66. D 考查推理判断。由第二、三段作者在无人的十字路口的左顾右盼及后来的所思所想，再结合最后一段可知，作者在无人的十字路口遵守了交通规则，没有闯红灯，这个决定是正确的，因此，作者为此深感自豪。