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  3. Consumer Demand and Development of Green CarsThe day automakers

Consumer Demand and Development of Green CarsThe day automakers

游客2024-01-03  18
问题                 Consumer Demand and Development of Green Cars
The day automakers put the earth at the top of their agenda will go down in history. Reading this book, one gets the sense that day is coming, major automakers- still no paragons of environmentalism—have gotten the message that replacing the dirty internal-combustion engine is an urgent priority. With less than 5 percent of the world’s population, Americans produce 14 percent of all global warming carbon-dioxide gas. And car tailpipes pump out more than 30 percent of U. S. air pollution.
    In his new book, Forward Drive-. The Race to Build "Clean" Cars for the Future, environmentalist Jim Motavalli concludes that capitalist competition is leading the way over government mandates to clean up that exhaust. Motavalli chronicles the movement for cleaner cars: the few visionaries and zealots building and driving home-built battery-powered cars; the divided giant automakers working tirelessly to develop clean cars while fighting regulatory efforts to require them; university researchers concluding studies; and the regulators trying to speed their adoption.
    Forward Drive covers the technological advances of the hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles poised to take over from the internal-combustion engine. In some ways, Motavalli is an unlikely narrator. A self-vowed car nut who stumbled into a job editing E, the Enviromental Magazine, he seems biased on both sides of the issue. But ultimately, that’s what makes him best suited to tell this story.
    Motoavalli’s concern for the environment is sincere, and his knowledge of cars is refreshingly accurate. The most interesting passages follow his transformation from internal-combustion devotee to environmental auto cynic and battery-car zealot to hopeful future-car realist. "It was disconcerting, to say the least, to learn that my hobby of collecting classic cars and my growing concern for the environment didn’t necessarily mesh," Motavalli writes. "The car has certainly been good to me, but I’m becoming disenchanted. "
    In the preface, he noted that he set out to write a book critical of the auto industry for teaming up with major oil companies to block the development of clean cars. But when he dug in to do more research, he found a different story. Namely that automakers in Detroit, Japan, and Europe are in a heated race to start selling cars that are more environmentally correct.
     (A)Unfortunately, Motavalli glosses over issues of consumer demand.(B)He never mentions that today’s electric cars and gasoline-electric hybrids cost far more than internal-combustion cars of equal or greater capability.(C)He notes their utter dedication to their electric cars and implies that the rest of the buying public should simply be as enthusiastic, without addressing issues of price or various ways families use their cars.(D)
    He strongly favors California’s mandate that 10 percent of all vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission-vehicle-battery or fuel-cell electrics, not hybrids—even though he writes, "Ultimately, vehicles halfheartedly designed to meet a mandate would fail in the marketplace. " And he gives a short shift to the point that clean cars do nothing to ease congestion and sprawl.
    In a telephone interview, Motavalli concedes that technology is progressing faster than the book deadline allowed him to keep up with. If anything, automakers are working harder to develop hybrid-electrics. And mass-market hybrid-drive systems will likely first show up in the big sport utility vehicles that Motavalli rails against.
    Nevertheless, he now believes that the automakers with the deepest pockets have the best chance of building better cars for tomorrow. "The new, clean cars will emerge not from a tinker’s garage, but from the well-funded research labs of the same big auto companies that initially fought their introduction," he says. [br] An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.
In the future, clean cars are likely to be put into use to reduce the air pollution.

                            Answer Choices
(A)Motavalli discussed this in his new book, with his sincere concern for the environment, and his refreshingly accurate knowledge of cars.
(B)10 percent of all vehicles sold in the state are zero-emission vehicle— battery or fuel-cell electrics, not hybrids.
(C)Clean cars will soon replace normal cars for environmental protection reasons.
(D)Automakers in Detroit, Japan, and Europe are in a heated race to start selling cars that are more environmentally correct.
(E)The new, clean cars will emerge from the well-funded research labs of the major auto companies that initially fought their introduction.
(F)Technology is progressing faster than the book deadline allowed him to keep up with, and the first clean car will be likely to occur in the sports vehicles.
选项
答案 A. Motavalli discussed this in his new book, with his sincere concern for the environment, and his refreshingly accurate knowledge of cars.
E. The new, clean cars will emerge from the well-funded research labs of the major auto companies that initially fought their introduction.
F. Technology is progressing faster than the book deadline allowed him to keep up with, and the first clean car will be likely to occur in the sports vehicles.
解析 本题为篇章总结题，考查考生理解全篇中心思想和相关重要信息的能力，考生通过区分主要观点和次要观点以及文章中没有提及的观点达到总结全篇的目的。选项C(出于环保，清洁汽车将很快代替常规汽车)在文中没有提到，选项B、D不能表达文章的中心意思，是非重点句子。A、E、F句反映了本文的主旨：Motavalli在他的新书中特别关心环境问题，并对汽车知识也有新的见解(选项A)。新型清洁汽车将首先出现在资金雄厚的大型汽车公司的研究实验室内(选项E)。技术的发展如此之快，待到书出版时已无法将新的发展写进去，第一辆清沽汽车将可能出现在运动车型中(选项F)，所以选A、E、F比较合理。
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