Somepessimisticexpertsfeelthattheautomobileisboundtofallintodisuse.Theyseeadayinthenot-too-distantfuturewhenallautoswillbeabandonedandallowedtorust.Otherauthorities,however,thinktheautoisheretostay.Theyholdthatthecarwillremainaleadingmeansofurbantravelintheforeseeablefuture.
Themotorcarwillundoubtedlychangesignificantlyoverthenext30years.Itshouldbecomesmaller,safer,andmoreeconomical,andshouldnotbepoweredbythegasolineengine.Thecarofthefutureshouldbefarmorepollution-freethanpresenttypes.
Regardlessofitspowersource,theautointhefuturewillstillbethemainprobleminurbantrafficcongestion(拥挤).Oneproposedsolutiontothisproblemistheautomatedhighwaysystem.
Whentheautoentersthehighwaysystem,aretractable(可伸缩的)armwilldropfromtheautoandmakecontactwitharail,whichissimilartothosepoweringsubwaytrainselectrically.Onceattachedtotherail,thecarwillbecomeelectricallypoweredfromthesystem,andcontrolofthevehiclewillpasstoacentralcomputer.Thecomputerwillthenmonitorallofthecar’smovements.
Thedriverwilluseatelephonetodialinstructionsabouthisdestinationintothesystem.Thecomputerwillcalculatethebestroute,andreservespaceforthecarallthewaytothecorrectexitfromthehighway.Thedriverwillthenbefreetorelaxandwaitforthebuzzer(蜂鸣器)thatwillwarnhimofhiscomingexit.Itisestimatedthatanautomatedhighwaywillbeabletohandle10,000vehiclesperhour,comparedwiththe1,500to2,000vehiclesthatcanbecarriedbyapresent-dayhighway.
练习题：
Choosecorrectanswerstothequestion:
1.Onesignificantimprovementinthefuturecarwillprobablybe________.
2.Whatistheauthor’smainconcern?
A.Howtorenderautomobilespollution-free.
B.Howtomakesmallerandsaferautomobiles.
C.Howtosolvetheproblemoftrafficjams.
D.Howtodevelopanautomatedsubwaysystem.
3.Whatprovidesautoswithelectricpowerinanautomatedhighwaysystem?
4.Inanautomatedhighwaysystem,allthedriverneedstodois________.
B.waittoarriveathisdestination
C.keepinconstanttouchwiththecomputercenter
D.informthesystemofhisdestinationbyphone
5.Whatistheauthor’sattitudetowardthefutureofautos?
1.[A]推断题。从第2段首句可以看出第2段主要讲未来汽车的变化方向。该段第2、3句说它将变得更小巧、安全、节能，给它提供动力的将不再是汽油发动机。而第3段也着重展望了未来汽车动力系统的新模式，故未来汽车一个最重要的改进就在于它的能量来源，故答案为A。
2.[C]事实细节题。第3段首句提到，未来的汽车仍将是令城市交通拥挤的主要问题而这也是作者最为关心的问题，C之相符。其他各项在文章中都提到过，但并非themainproblem，故排除。
3.[A]事实细节题。文章第4段第1、2句提到，当汽车进入高速公路系统后,一只自动伸缩臂就会从车上伸下来，搭上一根铁轨，这根铁轨类似于为地铁列车提供电能的那些铁轨，一旦汽车连接到rail上，它就可以从中获得电能。因此A正确。
4.[D]事实细节题。最后一段首句提到，司机将通过电话发出指令，把目的地输入系统。由此可见，司机可以使用电话来告知系统他的目的地，故选D。A、B、C在文中没有提及。
5.[C]推断题。根据第2段和最后一段(特别是最后一句)不难看出作者对于汽车发展的前景持乐观态度，故选C。
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