第三篇 Transportation
For many years in the desert, camels were the only form of transportation. Before the age of modern trains, camels were used to carry all the goods for trading between Central Africa and Europe. Traders sometimes put together 10,000 to 15,000 animals. Each animal often used to carry as much as 400 pounds and it could travel twenty miles a day. This form of transportation used to be so important that camels were called “ships of the desert”.
Now modern trains travel across the desert in a very short time. One engine can pull as much weight as 135,000 camels. In addition, trains use special cars(車廂) for their load. Refrigerator cars carry food; boxcars (棚車) carry heavy goods; stock cars carry animals; and tank cars carry oil.
Air travel is also a modern means of transportation, but it has changed since the early twentieth century. The earliest planes were biplanes (雙翼飛機醫(yī)學全在線quanxiangyun.cn), with two sets of wings. The top speed of this plane was 60 miles per hour. The pilots sat or lay on the wings in the open air. The plane engines sometimes stopped in the middle of a trip. It used to be impossible to fly in bad weather. In snow or in rain, the wings frequently became icy. Then the plane might go down.
Mechanical improvements during the First World War changed airplanes. Monoplanes (單翼飛機) took the place of biplanes. Pilots flew inside of covered cabins. Still, even these planes were small. Only rich people used to be able to travel in airplanes.
Now modern jets make air travel possible for all people. No place in the world is more than 24 hours away by jet. Further improvements have lowered the cost of flying, and they have made air travel much safer than it used to be. People never used to eat, sleep, or watch movies on airplanes. Now these things are a usual part of air travel.
41 According to the passage, why were camels called “ships of the desert”?
A Because they were strong and patient.
B Because they were the only important means of transportation in the desert.
C Because they moved faster than modern trains.
D Because they could travel 20 miles a day.
42 Which of the following about the advantages of a train is NOT mentioned in paragraph 2?
A Trains can use special cars for different purposes.
B Trains run much faster than camels.
C A train can carry much more goods than a camel.
D A train can carry goods at much lower costs.
43Biplanes were dangerous in bad weather because
A pilots had to fly them at top speed.
B the wings were too soft for pilots to sit on.
C their engines were too hot to work.
D they might go down if the wings became icy.
44 Which of the following led to the replacement of the biplane by the monoplane?
A Its large wings.
B Its small size.醫(yī)學全在線.搜集.整理quanxiangyun.cn
C Its high price.
D The progress in science.
45 Which of the following would best replace the title of the passage?
A From Camels to Modem Jets.
B The Safest Means of Transportation.
C Camels — Ships of the Desert.
D The Role of Science in Transportation.
