WhenmybrotherandIwereyoungmymumwouldtakeusonTransportationDays.Itgoeslikethis：Youcan’ttakeanymeansoftransportationmorethanonce.Wewouldstartfromhomewalkingtwoblockstotherailstation.We’dtaketh

Question

  When my brother and I were young my mum would take us on Transportation Days.

It goes like this： You can’t take any means of transportation more than once. We would start from home walking two blocks to the rail station. We’d take the train into the city centre then a bus switching to the tram then maybe a taxi. We always considered taking a horse carriage in the historic district but we didn’t like the way the horses were treated so we never did. At the end of the day we took the subway to our closest station where Mum’s friend was waiting to give us a ride home—our first car ride of the day.

  The good thing about Transportation Days is not only that Mum taught us how to get around. She was born to be multimodal (多方式的).She understood that depending on cars only was a failure of imagination and above all a failure of confidence—the product of a childhood not spent exploring subway tunnels.

  Once you learn the route map and step with certainty over the gap between the train and the platform nothing is frightening anymore. New cities are just light-rail lines to be explored. And your personal car if you have one becomes just one more tool in the toolbox—and often an inadequate one limiting both your mobility and your wallet.

  On Transportation Days we might stop for lunch on Chestnut Street or buy a new book or toy but the transportation was the point. First it was exciting enough to watch the world speed by from the train window. As I got older my mum helped me unlock the mysteries that would otherwise have paralyzed my first attempts to do it myself： How do I know where to get off? How do I know how much it costs? How do I know when I need tickets and where to get them? What track what line which direction where’s the stop and will I get wet when we go under the river?

  I’m writing this right now on an airplane a means we didn’t try on our Transportation Days and we now know the dirtiest and most polluting of them all. My flight routed me through Philadelphia. My multimodal mum met me for dinner in the airport. She took a train to meet me.

(   ) 1. Which was forbidden by Mum on Transportation Days?

   A. Having a car ride.

   B. Taking the train twice.

   C. Buying more than one toy.

   D. Touring the historic district.

(   ) 2. According to the writer what was the greatest benefit of her Transportation Days?

   A. Building confidence in herself.

   B. Reducing her use of private cars.

   C. Developing her sense of direction.

   D. Giving her knowledge about vehicles.

(   ) 3. The underlined word “paralyzed”(in Para. 5) is closest in meaning to       

   A. displayed   B. justified

   C. ignored   D. ruined

(   ) 4. Which means of transportation does the writer probably disapprove of?

   A. Airplane.

   B. Subway.

   C. Tram.

   D. Car.

Answer 1

[文章大意]本文记叙了作者小时候母亲带着她和弟弟过交通曰的情形，即在这一天他们要乘坐各种交通工具，但每种交通工具只能乘坐一次。母亲认为依赖小汽车不利于孩子想象能力和自信心的培养。1. B细节理解题。由第二段"…You can't take any means of transportation more than once."可知，"交通日"的规则是这一天任何交通工具乘坐不能多于一次。故B项正确。2. A推理判断题，文章第三段提到"交通日不仅仅意味着母亲教给他们出行方式，更重要的是母亲认为依赖小汽车是想象力，尤其是自信心的失败"。所以交通日最大的好处是"建立自信"。故A项正确。3. D词义猜测题。作者年龄稍长，母亲帮助她解开许多交通方面的困惑，否则她会因为对于未知的恐惧而"打消"亲自尝试的念头。ruin毁灭，毁坏。故D项正确。4. A推理判断题。由文章最后一段可知，作者是坐在飞机上写这篇文章的。而飞机是他们在交通日所没有尝试过的，现在他们知道它是最脏也最能污染环境的交通工具。由此可以推断，作者最不认同的交通工具就是飞机。故A项正确。