A
(2018·浙江高考)As cultural symbols go, the American car is quite young. The Model T Ford was built at the Piquette Plant in Michigan a century ago, with the first rolling off the assembly line (装配线) on September 27, 1908. Only eleven cars were produced the next month. But eventually Henry Ford would build fifteen million of them.
Modern America was born on the road, behind a wheel. The car shaped some of the most lasting aspects of American culture: the roadside diner, the billboard, the motel, even the hamburger. For most of the last century, the car represented what it meant to be American—going forward at high speed to find new worlds. The road novel, the road movie, these are the most typical American ideas, born of abundant petrol, cheap cars and a neverending interstate highway system, the largest public works project in history.
In 1928 Herbert Hoover imagined an America with “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.” Since then, this society has moved onward, never looking back, as the car transformed America from a farmbased society into an industrial power.
The cars that drove the American Dream have helped to create a global ecological disaster. In America the demand for oil has grown by 22 percent since 1990.
The problems of excessive (过度的) energy consumption, climate change and population growth have been described in a book by the American writer Thomas L. Friedman. He fears the worst, but hopes for the best.
Friedman points out that the green economy (经济) is a chance to keep American strength. “The ability to design, build and export green technologies for producing clean water, clean air and healthy and abundant food is going to be the currency of power in the new century.”
篇章导读：本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了汽车对美国文化的造就及产生的影响。
1．Why is hamburger mentioned in Paragraph 2?
A．To explain Americans' love for travelling by car.
B．To show the influence of cars on American culture.
C．To stress the popularity of fast food with Americans.
D．To praise the effectiveness of America's road system.
答案：B 细节理解题。根据第二段第二句“The car shaped some of the most lasting aspects of American culture: the roadside diner, the billboard, the motel, even the hamburger.”(汽车塑造了美国文化中一些最持久的层面：路边小餐馆、广告牌、汽车旅馆，甚至是汉堡。)可知，该段提及汉堡是为了显示汽车对美国文化的影响。故选B。
2．What has the use of cars in America led to?
A．Decline of economy.
B．Environmental problems.
C．A shortage of oil supply.
D．A farmbased society.
答案：B 推理判断题。根据第四段第一句以及第五段第一句可推知，美国汽车的使用导致了环境问题。故选B。
3．What is Friedman's attitude towards America's future?
A．Ambiguous. B．Doubtful.
C．Hopeful. D．Tolerant.
答案：C 推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句可知，Friedman认为在新世纪能够设计、构建和输出生产清洁水、洁净空气以及健康和充足食品的绿色技术将成为新世纪的硬通货。同时结合第五段最后一句中的“hopes for the best”可知，Friedman对美国的未来充满希望。故选C。
【词汇积累】 ①represent vt. 代表；表现；描绘 ②typical adj. 典型的；有代表性的 ③abundant adj. 大量的；丰盛的；充裕的 ④point out 指出
【难句分析】 原文：The ability to design, build and export green technologies for producing clean water, clean air and healthy and abundant food is going to be the currency of power in the new century.设计、建造和出口绿色科技用以生产清洁的水和空气、健康而充足的食品的这种能力将成为新世纪的硬通货。(最后一段第二句)
分析：本句为简单句。句子主干是“The ability is going to be the currency”； “to design, ... and abundant food”为不定式短语作后置定语，修饰ability; “of power in the new century”为介词短语作后置定语，修饰currency。
