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A

Believe it or not， optical illusion （錯覺） 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. Bent 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 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 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. The passage mainly discusses ______.

A. a new way of highway speed control

B. a new pattern for painting highways

C. a new approach to training drivers

D. a new type of optical illusion

2. On roads painted with chevrons， drivers tend to feel that ______.

A. they should avoid speed-related hazards

B. they are driving in the wrong lane

C. they should slow down their speed

D. they are approaching the speed limit

3. The advantage of chevrons over straight， horizontal bars is that the former ______.

A. can keep drivers awake

B. can cut road accidents in half

C. will have a longer effect on drivers

D. will look more attractive

4. The American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety plans to ______.

A. try out the Japanese method in certain areas

B. change the road signs across the country

C. replace straight， horizontal bars with chevrons

D. repeat the Japanese road patterns

5. What does the author say about straight， horizontal bars painted across roads？

A. They are falling out of use in the United States.

B. They tend to be ignored by drivers in a short period of time.

C. They are applicable only on broad roads.

D. They cannot be applied successfully to traffic circles.

B

Amtrak （美國鐵路客運公司） was experiencing a downswing in ridership （客運量） along the lines comprising its rail system. Of major concern to Amtrak and its advertising agency DDB Needham， were the long-distance western routes where ridership had been declining significantly.

At one time， trains were the only practical way to cross the vast areas of the west. Trains were fast， very luxurious， and quite convenient compared to other forms of transportation existing at the time. However， times change and the automobile became America’s standard of convenience. Also， air travel had easily established itself as the fastest method of traveling great distances. Therefore， the task for DDB Needham was to encourage consumers to consider other aspects of train travel in order to change their attitudes and increase the likelihood that trains would be considered for travel in the west.

Two portions of the total market were targeted： 1） anxious fliers - those concerned with safety， relaxation， and cleanliness and 2） travel-lovers - those viewing themselves as relaxed， casual， and interested in the travel experience as part of their vacation. The agency then developed a campaign that focused on travel experiences such as freedom， escape， relaxation， and enjoyment of the great western outdoors. It stressed experiences gained by using the trains and portrayed western train trips as wonderful adventures.

Advertisements showed pictures of the beautiful scenery that could be enjoyed along some of the more famous western routes and emphasized the romantic names of some of these trains （Empire Builder， etc.）. These ads were strategically placed among family-oriented TV shows and programs involving nature and America in order to most effectively reach target audiences. Results were impressive. The Empire Builder， which was focused on in one ad， enjoyed a 15 percent increase in profits on its Chicago to Seattle route.

6. What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage？

A. To show the inability of trains to compete with planes with respect to speed and conve-nience.

B. To stress the influence of the automobile on America’s standard of convenience.

C. To emphasize the function of travel agencies in market promotion.

D. To illustrate the important role of persuasive communication in changing consumer atti-tudes.

7. It can be inferred from the passage that the drop in Amtrak ridership was due to the fact that ______.

A. trains were not suitable for short distance passenger transportation

B. trains were not the fastest and most convenient form of transportation

C. trains were not as fast and convenient as they used to be

D. trains could not compete with planes in terms of luxury and convenience

8. To encourage consumers to travel by train， DDB Needham emphasized ______.

A. the freedom and convenience provided on trains

B. the practical aspects of train travel

C. the adventurous aspects of train trips

D. the safety and cleanliness of train trips

9. The train ads were placed among family-oriented TV programs involving nature and America because ______.

A. they could focus on meaningful travel experiences

B. they could increase the effectiveness of the TV programs

C. their profits could be increased by some 15 percent

D. most travel-lovers and nervous fliers were believed to be among the audiences

10. According to the passage， the Empire Builder enjoyed an increase in ridership and profits because ______.

A. the attractiveness of its name and route was effectively advertised

B. it provided an exciting travel experience

C. its passengers could enjoy the great western outdoors

D. it was widely advertised in newspapers and magazines in Chicago and Seattle

C

Why does cream go bad faster than butter？ Some researchers think they have the answer， and it comes down to the structure of the food， not its chemical composition - a finding that could help rid some processed foods of chemical preservatives.

Cream and butter contain pretty much the same substances， so why cream should sour much faster has been a mystery. Both are emulsions - tiny globules （小球體） of one liquid evenly distributed throughout another. The difference lies in what’s in the globules and what’s in the surrounding liquid， says Brocklehurst， who led the investigation.

In cream， fatty globules drift about in a sea of water. In butter， globules of a watery solution are locked away in a sea of fat. The bacteria which make the food go bad prefer to live in the watery regions of the mixture. “This means that in cream， the bacteria are free to grow throughout the mixture，” he says.

When the situation is reversed， the bacteria are locked away in compartments （隔倉室） buried deep in the sea of fat. Trapped in this way， individual colonies cannot spread and rapidly run out of nutrients （養料）. They also slowly poison themselves with their waste products. “In butter， you get a self-limiting system which stops the bacteria growing，” says Brocklehurst.

The researchers are already working with food companies keen to see if their products can be made resistant to bacterial attack through alterations to the food’s structure. Brocklehurst believes it will be possible to make the emulsions used in salad cream， for instance， more like that in butter. The key will be to do this while keeping the salad cream liquid and not turning it into a solid lump.

11. The significance of Brocklehurst’s research is that ______.

A. it suggested a way to keep some foods fresh without preservatives

B. it discovered tiny globules in both cream and butter

C. it revealed the secret of how bacteria multiply in cream and butter

D. it found that cream and butter share the same chemical composition

12. According to the researchers， cream sours faster than butter because bacteria ______.

A. are more evenly distributed in cream

B. multiply more easily in cream than in butter

C. live on less fat in cream than in butter

D. produce less waste in cream than in butter

13. According to Brocklehurst， we can keep cream fresh by ______.

A. removing its fat

B. killing the bacteria

C. reducing its water content

D. altering its structure

14. The word “colonies” （Para.4） refers to _____.

A. tiny globules

B. watery regions

C. bacteria communities

D. little compartments

15. Commercial application of the research finding will be possible if salad cream can be made resistant to bacterial attack ______.

A. by varying its chemical composition

B. by turning it into a solid lump

C. while keeping its structure unchanged

D. while retaining its liquid form

D

The biggest safety threat facing airlines today may not be a terrorist with a gun， but the man with the portable computer in business class. In the last 15 years， pilots have reported well over 100 incidents that could have been caused by electromagnetic interference. The source of this interference remains unconfirmed， but increasingly， experts are pointing the blame at portable electronic devices such as portable computers， radio and cassette players and mobile telephones.

RTCA， an organization which advises the aviation （航空） industry， has recommended that all airlines ban （禁止） such devices from being used during “critical” stages of flight， particularly take-off and landing. Some experts have gone further， calling for a total ban during all flights. Currently， rules on using these devices are left up to individual airlines. And although some airlines prohibit passengers from using such equipment during take-off and landing， most are reluctant to enforce a total ban， given that many passengers want to work during flights.

The difficulty is predicting how electromagnetic fields might affect an aircraft’s computers. Experts know that portable devices emit radiation which affects those wavelengths which aircraft use for navigation and communication. But， because they have not been able to reproduce these effects in a laboratory， they have no way of knowing whether the interference might be dangerous or not.

The fact that aircraft may be vulnerable （易受損的） to interference raises the risk that terrorists may use radio systems in order to damage navigation equipment. As worrying， though， is the passenger who can’t hear the instructions to turn off his radio because the music’s too loud.

16. The passage is mainly about ________.

A. a new regulation for all airlines

B. the defects of electronic devices

C. a possible cause of aircraft crashes

D. effective safety measures for air flight

17. What is said about the over 100 aircraft incidents in the past 15 years？

A. They may have been caused by the damage to the radio systems.

B. They may have taken place during take-off and landing.

C. They were proved to have been caused by the passengers’ portable computers.

D. They were suspected to have resulted from electromagnetic interference.

18. Few airlines want to impose a total ban on their passengers using electronic devices because ________.

A. they don’t believe there is such a danger as radio interference

B. the harmful effect of electromagnetic interference is yet to be proved

C. most passengers refuse to take a plane which bans the use of radio and cassette players

D. they have other effective safety measures to fall back on

19. Why is it difficult to predict the possible effects of electromagnetic fields on an airplane’s computers？

A. Because it is extremely dangerous to conduct such research on an airplane.

B. Because it remains a mystery what wavelengths are liable to be interfered with.

C. Because research scientists have not been able to produce the same effects in labs.

D. Because experts lack adequate equipment to do such research.

20. It can be inferred from the passage that the author ________.

A. is in favor of prohibiting passengers’ use of electronic devices completely

B. has overestimated the danger of electromagnetic interference

C. hasn’t formed his own opinion on this problem

D. regards it as unreasonable to exercise a total ban during flight

參考答案：

1-5 ? A? C? C? A? B

6-10? ?D? B? C? D? A

11-15? ?A? B? D? C? D

15-20? ?C? D? B? C? A