Believe it or not, optical illusion (错觉) can cut highway crashes.
Japan is a case in point. It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using
a simple optical illusion. But stripes, called chevrons (人字形), painted on the roads make drivers think
that they are driving faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down.
Now the American Automobile Association Foundation (基金会) for Traffic Safety in Washington
D.C. is planning to repeat Japan"s success. Starting next year, the foundation will paint chevrons and
other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce
highway crashes.
Excessive (too great) speed plays a major role in as much as one fifth of all fatal traffic accidents,
according to the foundation. To help reduce those accidents, the foundation will conduct its tests in areas
where speed-related hazards are the greatest curves, exit slopes, traffic circles, and bridges.
Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average
speed of drivers in half. However, traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used
to seeing the painted bars.
Chevrons, scientists say, not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane appear to be narrower. The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed
and the number of traffic accidents.
| ( )1. A. play ( )2. A. take up ( )3. A. how much ( )4. A. lose ( )5. A. world ( )6. A. succeed ( )7. A. worth ( )8. A. humor ( )9. A. even if ( )10. A. friends ( )11. A. rush ( )12. A. to ( )13. A. keep ( )14. A. way ( )15. A. quantity ( )16. A. everything ( )17. A. unfinished ( )18. A. which ( )19. A. wake up ( )20. A. rather than | B. fun B. pick up B. how many B. make B. family B. come B. worthless B. happiness B. as if B. kids B. catch B. in B. let B. method B. quality B. something B. finished B. who B. grow up B. other than | C. pain C. make up C. how soon C. take C. position C. tend C. worthwhile C. wonder C. though C. boys C. push C. into C. make C. means C. equality C. anything C. unfinishing C. what C. come up C. less than | D. gain D. put up D. how long D. walk D. place D. fail D. worthy D. sadness D. although D. girls D. pull D. beyond D. warn D. lesson D. quarter D. nothing D. finishing D. that D. get up D. more than |
| 阅读理解。 | |||
| Jeffery Deaver looks more like a brainy villain (反派人物) in a James Bond movie than a "00" agent in Her Majesty"s secret service.Best known for his thrillers starring criminalist (刑事专家) Lincoln Rhyme, Jeffery Deaver has a new mission: Bring Bond into the 21st century in a new 007 novel. The yet-to-be-named book is cryptically (隐秘地) referred to as "Project X" by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd., which owns the rights to Fleming"s work.Most of the details surrounding Project X, to be published in May, are being kept under wraps, but under gentle coaxing (用好话劝诱) Deaver begins to spill his guts."The novel," he says, "is set in the present day, in 2011.Bond is a young agent for the British secret service.He"s 29 or 30 years old, and he"s an Afghan war vet." That in itself is big news. After all, if Bond were aging in real time - he first appeared on the screen in 1953 - the now doddering (老态龙钟的) 007 would be nearly 90. But first up: a new stand-alone Deaver novel, Edge (Simon & Schuster, $26.99), to be published Tuesday.It"s about a federal agent who risks his life to protect a Washington police detective from a man hired to extract information from him using any means at his disposal (任由个人支配的). Sipping coffee while seated on a leather chair in a sitting room decorated with portraits of his dogs and show ribbons, the mild-mannered author who writes about murderers and serial killers talks about his career and the solid fan base that has allowed him to pursue writing full time since 1990."I may not sell as many books as John Grisham (although he has sold a cool 20 million), but I have a very loyal fan base," says Deaver, 60, who wrote some of his novels while working as a Wall Street lawyer.Deaver"s initiation into the Bond family - more than 100 million 007 novels have sold worldwide - could significantly raise his profile (知名度). Other novelists have written Bond novels since Ian Fleming"s death in 1964 - including Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and, most recently, Sebastian Faulks - but they all took place in the original era.Deaver is taking a new approach."There"s no more Cold War to fight," says Deaver, so his new Bond, of the Fleming estate, will fight "post-9/11 evil." "I want to stay true to the original James Bond, who many people don"t know much about," he says, referring to the secret agent Fleming portrayed in 14 novels, and not the movie Bond."People know Daniel Craig, they know Pierce Brosnan , they know Roger Moore and Sean Connery , all of whom brought a great deal to the stories of 007.But the original Bond was a very dark, edgy (另类的) character." | |||
| 1.Which of the following is NOT true about Jeffery Deaver ? | |||
| A. Jeffery Deaver is a "00" agent in Her Majesty"s secret service in a James Bond movie. B. Jeffery Deaver was working as a lawyer while he wrote some novels about murderers and serial killers. C. It is the loyal fan base that has allowed Jeffery Deaver to keep on writing since 1990. D. Jeffery Deaver is best known for his thrillers rather than for 007 novels. | |||
| 2. Which statement best explains the meaning of "spill his guts" in Paragraph 2? | |||
| A. Tell others what he knows about the yet-to-be-named 007 novel. B. Tell others everything he knows about Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.. C. Have the courage to talk about the 007 agent James Bond. D. Have the determination to talk about "Project X". | |||
| 3.Who was the author of 007 novels? | |||
| A. Jeffery Deaver B. Ian Fleming C. John Grisham D. Kingsley Amis | |||
| 4.What do you know about the new 007 novel from the passage? | |||
| A.The book to be published in May is named "Project X" by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.. B.The book is about a federal agent risking his life to protect a Washington police detective. C.The book features a young James Bond, an Afghan war vet working for the British secret service. D.The book features a young James Bond who fights Cold War. | |||
| 阅读理解。 | |||
| EBay will launch an online group gift-buying service today designed to make it easier for several people to chip in, buy and pay for gifts using their social-network and e-mail contacts. EBay North America Vice President Christopher Payne says it is going to be a major step forward in social commerce, which is the still-small practice of selling products through social networks.Online retail experts aren"t as certain, but eBay says the new tool makes it easier for friends and relatives to chip in (凑钱) for gifts because it eliminates the headache of collecting contributions.It can also be used for family members to pitch in to buy, say, an expensive child seat for a mother. Anything on eBay that"s available immediately, rather than up for bid, can be purchased this way starting today at groupgifts.eBay.com .If members of an extended family wanted to buy a gift for one member, one person would choose a gift - or have one recommended by eBay - and invite family members to chip in using Facebook or e-mail.Those who wanted to join in would choose an amount to contribute (or agree to pay a requested amount) and pay using either PayPal or a credit card.They could also add a personal note. If enough people don"t chip in, the organizer can ask people to contribute more or choose a less expensive gift. "I see myself using this most in cases when I typically might not buy someone what they want because of price," says Nitzan Shaer of Boston, who was part of an online test of the site. EBay, with its 200 million products, millions of sellers and mobile commerce proficiency, is a logical place to pull together the products, groups of buyers and payment tools, Payne says. At least 12 sites, such as FrumUs.com and eDivvy.com, facilitate (便于,利于) group purchases but don"t sell products.Although a handful of retailers, including Victoria"s Secret and 1-800-Flowers , sell products through Facebook, Payne says he expects social commerce will take off as rapidly as shopping using mobile devices.EBay did more than $600 million in sales on mobile devices last year and expects mobile sales to increase to $1.5 billion this year. Although one in five consumers surveyed said they"d used Facebook for shopping in the past year, 88% said they would not be buying holiday gifts through a social network, mobile phone or smartphone. Of these, 26% were reluctant because of security or privacy concerns, and 20% were unclear about the benefits of using phones or Facebook to shop. | |||
| 1.What procedure should be followed if your extended family intends to buy your grandpa an 80th birthday gift? ①Asking family members to contribute more money if enough members don"t chip in ②Choosing a gift at groupgifts.eBay.com ③Paying using PayPal or a credit card ④Contributing or agreeing to pay a requested amount of money via Facebook or e-mail | |||
| A.②-①-③-④ B.①-③-②-④ C.②-④-①-③ D.②-③-④-① | |||
| 2.Where can we most probably read this text? | |||
| A. In a research paper B. In a travel magazine C. In a microblog D. On a website | |||
| 3.What does "it" mean in the 2nd paragraph? | |||
| A. The online group gift-buying service B. People"s social-network and e-mail contacts C. A major step forward in social commerce D. The still-small practice of selling products through social networks | |||
| 4. It can be inferred from the text that ______. | |||
| A. through eBay"s new tool, 200 million products on eBay are available to online shoppers B. social commerce can eliminate the headache of collecting contributions C. eBay"s new tool will gain mass adoption by online shoppers D. with the help of eBay"s new tool, FrumUs.com and eDivvy.com will also sell products |