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  3. Production of the Ambassador, the first car to be made in India, has been ha

Production of the Ambassador, the first car to be made in India, has been ha

游客2024-04-22  29
问题     Production of the Ambassador, the first car to be made in India, has been halted because of falling demand. Modelled on the Morris Oxford, the car’s design has changed little since it first went into production in 1957. But motoring journalist Hormazd Sorabjee is not too upset to see it go.
    Generations grew up with this car. It was a taxi for many and a family car for the rich. It transported prime ministers, MPs and bureaucrats. It was truly India’ s national car, dominating the roads for decades.
    When India’ s economy was liberalised in the early 1990s, global car-makers and their latest models were allowed into the country for the first time. But the Ambassador continued to have a loyal, although fast-shrinking, fan following.
    Modern cars in their quest for sleeker styling and better dynamics come with lower rooflines. They can never match the Ambassador’ s high seating position and generous headroom. This made getting in and out easy, while the car’ s low front bench gave rear passengers a wonderful, uninterrupted view of the road ahead. Today’ s cars with their big bucket seats, thick pillars(structural uprights that support a car’ s roof)and high window lines just don’t have the same sense of airiness.
    There can be no doubt, the Ambassador’s departure marks the end of an era. However, for me, it’ s an era best forgotten. The Ambassador was a symbol of all that was wrong with India’s controlled economy and its stifling regulations. Car makers could not increase prices or make more cars without the government’ s approval. They couldn’ t import technology or components and had to make do with locally developed bits and pieces that were carelessly produced. Buyers were saddled with cars of very bad quality, which constantly broke down and yet the waiting list to buy one could stretch up to eight years! And there were Ambassador jokes aplenty, my favourite one being: "The only thing that doesn’ t make a sound in an Ambassador is the horn!"
    For the best part of 30 years, the Ambassador got only minimal cosmetic upgrades. The first big change, possibly prompted by emission regulations, was an all-new engine. When I tested the Ambassador for an automobile magazine in the mid-1990s, it was the fastest-accelerating car in India, outpacing the more modern Fiats and Maruti-Suzukis of that age. That it needed the length of an airport runway to stop it was another matter. The maker had barely upgraded the brakes.
    Modern cars have taken away every last reason left to buy an Ambassador except one: to have a slice of automotive history sitting in your garage. [br] Why the author say the era represented by Ambassador best be forgotten?
选项 A、Because it is a time of social disorder.
B、Because it is a time of extreme poverty.
C、Because it is a time of controlled economy and its stifling regulations.
D、Because it is a time of civil wars.
答案 C
解析 细节题。根据题干中的the era represented by Ambassador可以定位到文中的There can be no doubt，the Ambassador’s departure marks the end of an era．However，for me，it’s an era best forgotten．The Ambassador was a symbol of all that was wrong with India’s controlled economy and its stifling regulations，从这里可以看出它代表的是计划经济和死板的管理的时代，所以最好被遗忘。C项的内容与此相符。其它的选项在文中都没有提及。因此，正确答案是C。
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