A
The amount of time that people spend on travel is 1.1 hours per person per day in all societies.The average distance travelled is 7，400 miles (12，000 km) per year.In total，the world population travels more than 16.6 trillion miles (23 trillion km) per year，53% of which is by car，26% by bus，9% by rail，9% by highspeed transport such as airplanes，and 3% by bicycle，boat and other means.
It is estimated (估计) that，due to developments in highspeed public transport，travel time will drop to only 12 minutes per person per day by 2050.Of the global traffic volume，35% will be by car，20% by bus，41% by highspeed transport，and 4% by rail.
At present，traffic congestion (拥塞) has a huge negative (消极的) economic and environmental impact (影响) across the world.Road congestion in the UK costs the UK economy ￡15 billion a year.It costs the US$100 billion a year.In Seattle，Washington for instance，a driver spends an average (平均) of 59 hours stuck in traffic each year.In the greater Seattle area there are more cars than people；each household makes an average of 10 motorcar trips a day.According to Sierra Club，“American cars and trucks account for 20 percent of the world's petroleum consumption (石油消耗)．”
The US has the most highways，but European roads are busier.In Europe，cars travel more than 600 miles (1，000 km) per road per year，compared to an average of 500 km per road in the US.The world's worst traffic jam usually occurs during the summer on the road from Paris to Toulouse，France.
So take a hike.You can use Google's public transport trip planner.Or，in the least，find a job closer to home.
【语篇解读】 现在全球过半的人选择自己驾车出行，这给交通造成了很大的压力。
1．According to the figures given in Paragraph 1，what is the main means of transport at present?
A．The car. B．The bus.
C．The train. D．The airplane.
A [细节理解题。根据第一段的“In total，the world population travels more than 16.6 trillion miles (23 trillion km) per year，53% of which is by car”可知小汽车是目前主要的出行工具。]
2．Compared to today，we know in 2050， ．
A．more people will choose to travel by train
B．more people will have a car of their own
C．a lot more people will choose the bus to go out
D．a lot more people will choose highspeed transport
D [细节理解题。根据第二段的“41% by highspeed transport”可知到2050年，41%的人会选择高速交通工具，这比目前的9%高了很多，故选D项。]
3．What does Paragraph 3 suggest?
A．Traffic congestion is a major problem for some countries.
B．Traffic congestion will be more serious in the following years.
C．Traffic congestion is a problem for global economic development.
D．America has more cars than any other country around the world.
C [推理判断题。根据第三段的“At present，traffic congestion has a huge negative economic and environmental impact across the world.”可知交通阻塞严重影响了全球经济的发展，故选C项。]
4．From the passage，we learn that in the greater Seattle area， ．
A．people are not encouraged to go out by bus
B．few people travel by train
C．every person owns a car
D．the traffic is very bad
D [推理判断题。根据第三段的“In Seattle，Washington for instance，a driver spends an average of 59 hours stuck in traffic each year.In the greater Seattle area there are more cars than people”可推断西雅图的交通状况很差。]
