依赖汽车的代价

The cost of car dependency

慢速 | 六级（偏难） | 355词| 2min36s

刘立军供稿

Part I. QUESTIONS

Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to each question you hear.

Q1. The passage opens by suggesting that increased car commuting might have a cost despite offering which of the following benefits?

A. Reduced air pollution and safer roads.

B. Greater mobility and freedom.

C. Lower transportation expenses.

D. More efficient public transit systems.

Q2. According to the OECD’s International Transport Forum, how much more road space does the average person travelling in a car take up compared to someone on a bus?

A. Twice as much.

B. Three times as much.

C. Four times as much.

D. Five times as much.

Q3. What does the word “gridlock” most closely mean as it is used in the passage?

A. A severe traffic jam where vehicles cannot move.

B. A system for managing traffic flow.

C. A network of interconnected roads.

D. A method of charging for road usage.

Q4. Which of the following is NOT directly mentioned as a health impact of car dependency in the passage?

A. Asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

B. Injuries and fatalities from road traffic accidents.

C. Poor fitness and obesity due to sedentary lifestyles.

D. Hearing loss from traffic noise.

Q5. According to some experts, what is the most likely long-term consequence of building new roads to reduce traffic congestion?

A. It provides a permanent solution to traffic congestion.

B. It reduces the number of vehicles on the road over time.

C. It leads to more people driving, causing congestion to return to previous levels.

D. It causes a significant shift towards public transportation.

Part II. TRANSCRIPT

The cost of car dependency

(Q1) Driving: do we love it because it’s quick and convenient, or is it just that we don’t have a choice? Either way, commuting by car is becoming more common across the world. While this could mean that people are getting more mobility and freedom, could it have a cost?

As the number of cars on the road increases, so does congestion. As more people travel by car, more road space is used up. (Q2) According to the OECD’s International Transport Forum, the average person travelling in a car takes up five times as much road space as someone on a bus. This is made worse by the fact that, on average, today’s cars are larger than those of the past. Tailbacks and other traffic jams in the UK could be costing £7.5 billion each year in wasted time.

congest v. 使拥挤；堵塞

tailback n. （因交通堵塞形成的）车辆长队

(Q3) It’s not just gridlock and wasted time that’s the problem. Car dependency has significant health impacts. (Q4) Air pollution from diesel and petrol cars can cause health problems such as asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Road traffic accidents lead to injuries and fatalities. Additional to this are the long-term problems caused by sedentary lifestyles, leading to poor fitness and obesity. Road-building developments can also split communities, leading people to feel cut off. Where road transport dominates an area, people without access to a car can feel isolated.

gridlock n. 市区交通大堵塞

dependency n. 依赖

asthma n. 哮喘

respirator n. 呼吸器

sedentary adj. 久坐的

Cities and countries are sometimes tempted to build new roads to reduce the potential for snarl-ups. (Q5) However, some experts say that this can cause induced demand, where increased road capacity leads to more people driving, and congestion is soon back to its previous level. The other side of this theory is that when road space allocation is taken away from private cars, often congestion won’t get any worse. Authorities in some cities, such as Seoul and Utrecht, have demolished motorways, leaving natural features such as streams and rivers in their place. Making drivers pay more is an approach used in cities like London or Singapore, where ten-year car ownership licenses can cost over £60,000. The increased costs can help reduce the number of cars on the road and make traffic flow faster.

snarl-up n. 交通堵塞

demolish v. 拆除（建筑物）

Part III. KEY

Q1. B.【解析】细节题。题目出处为：“Driving: do we love it because it’s quick and convenient, or is it just that we don’t have a choice? Either way, commuting by car is becoming more common across the world. While this could mean that people are getting more mobility and freedom, could it have a cost?” 意为：“开车：我们爱它是因为它快速便捷，还是只是因为别无选择？无论如何，全球驾车通勤变得越来越普遍。虽然这可能意味着人们获得了更多的行动自由与自主空间，但这是否会带来代价？”该句明确指出驾车带来的好处是“更多的行动自由与自主空间”，因此正确答案为B。

Q2. D.【解析】细节题。题目出处为：“According to the OECD’s International Transport Forum, the average person travelling in a car takes up five times as much road space as someone on a bus.” 意为：“根据经合组织（OECD）的国际交通论坛，开车出行的话，每人平均占用公路的空间是乘公交车出行的五倍。”因此正确答案为D。

Q3. A.【解析】推断题。题目出处为：“It’s not just gridlock and wasted time that’s the problem.” 意为：“问题不仅仅是交通堵塞和浪费时间。”在语境中，gridlock与wasted time并列，且前文提到congestion、tailbacks和other traffic jams，因此可以推断gridlock指交通堵塞非常严重，以至车辆无法移动的状态，故正确答案为A。

Q4. D.【解析】细节题。题目出处为：“Air pollution from diesel and petrol cars can cause health problems such as asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Road traffic accidents lead to injuries and fatalities. Additional to this are the long-term problems caused by sedentary lifestyles, leading to poor fitness and obesity.” 意为：“柴油和汽油车造成的空气污染会导致哮喘和其他呼吸系统疾病等健康问题。道路交通事故导致受伤和死亡。除此之外，久坐不动的生活方式还会导致长期问题，例如体能不佳和肥胖。”文中直接提到了A、B、C选项，但未提及“Hearing loss from traffic noise”（交通噪音导致的听力损失），因此正确答案为D。

Q5. C.【解析】推理题。题目出处为：“However, some experts say that this can cause induced demand where increased road capacity leads to more people driving, and congestion is soon back to its previous level.” 意为：“然而，一些专家表示，这可能导致诱发性交通需求，即增加的道路容量导致更多人开车，交通拥堵很快又恢复到了以前的状况。”因此正确答案为C。

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