Ford Abandons Electric Vehicles         

       The Ford motor company’s¹ abandonment of electric cars effectively signals the end of the road for the technology，analysts say．
　　General Motors² and Honda³ ceased production of battery-powered cars in 1 999, to focus on fuel cell⁴ and hybrid electric gasoline engines⁵, which are more attractive to the consumer．Ford has now announced it will do the same．

　　Three years ago．the company introduced the Think City two—seater car and a golf cart called the THINK, or Think Neighbor⁶．It hoped to sell 5，000 cars each year and 10，000 carts．But a lack of demand means only about l，000 of the cars have been produced，and less than 1，700 carts have been sold so far in 2002．
　　“The bottom line is⁷ we don’t believe that this is the future of environment transport for the mass market．”Tim Holmes of Ford Europe said on Friday．“We feel we have given electric our best shot⁸”
　　The Think City has a range of only about 53 miles and up to a six-hour battery recharge time．General Motors’EVI electric vehicle also had a limited range，of about 100 miles．
　　The very expensive batteries also mean electric cars cost much more than petrol-powered alternatives．An electric Toyot⁹ RAV4 EV vehicle costs over$42，000 in the US, compared with just $17，000 for the petrol version．Toyota and Nissan¹⁰ are now the only major auto manufacturers to produce electric vehicles．
　　“There is a feeling that battery electric has been given its chance．Ford now has to move on with its hybrid program¹¹，and that is what we will be judging them on，”Roger Higman，a senior transport campaigner at UK Friends of the Earth，told the Environment News Service．

　　Hybrid cars introduced by Toyota and Honda in the past few years have sold well．Hybrid engines Offer Greater mileage than petrol—only engines , and the batteries recharge themselves. Ford says it thinks such vehicles will help it meet planned new guidelines ¹² on vehicle emissions¹³ in theU.S.

　　However, it is not yet clear exactly what those guidelines will permit．In June，General Motors and Daimler Chrysler¹⁴ won a court injunction，delaying by two years Californian legislation requiring car—makers to offer 100，000 zero-emission and other low—emission vehicles in the state by 2003．Car manufacturers hope the legislation will be rewritten to allow for more low--emission，rather than zero—emission，vehicles．

词汇：

hybrid / "haɪbrɪd / n.杂种，混合物；adj. 杂种   

Mileage/ ˈmaɪlɪdʒ/n.英里数，英里里程的；混合的

Injunction / ɪnˈdʒʌŋkʃən/ n命令；指令

注释:  

1. The Ford motor company:福特汽车公司。Henry Ford (1863--1947)美国汽车制造商，他改进了以汽油为燃料的汽车，成立了福特汽车公司(1903年)，并大量生产最早的大众负担得起且广泛使用的T型车。

2. General Motors:美国通用汽车公司

3. Honda:日本本田汽车公司

4. fuel cell:燃料电池，一种化学电池。 

5. hybrid electric gasoline engines:电池和内燃机混杂使用的发动机，使用这种发动机的汽车被称为: Hybrid electric vehicles，或HEVs。 

6. … the company introduced the Think City two-seater car and a golf cart called the THINK, or Think Neighbor:福特汽车公司计划在公司内开发一种全新的品牌，建立了Think Group.该研究机构分为两部分: Think Mobility和Think Technologies。Think Mobility开发the Think City (一种电动汽车)，Think Neighbor (一种高尔夫车)，以及Think Bike (一种电动自行车)。Think Technologies开发燃料电池技术。 

7. The bottom line is:在此的意思是“the main or essential point”，即“关键之处是，实质问题是”。

8. shot: an attempt, a try (尝试)。

9. Toyota:日本丰田汽车公司

10. Nissan:日本日产汽车公司 

11. hybrid program:指上文提到的电池和内燃机混杂使用的新型汽车开发项目。

12. guideline:指导方针，规定

13. vehicle emissions:车辆排放物 

14. Daintier Chrysler:戴姆勒克莱斯勒汽车公司。德国戴姆勒·奔驰公司集团与克莱斯勒汽车公司合并。

Which of the following is true about the hope of car manufacturers according to the last paragraph?

A:Low-emission cars should be banned． B:Only zero-emission cars are allowed to run on motorways． C:The legislation will encourage car makers to produce more electric cars． D:The legislation will allow more low．emission to be produced

Text 3
After Wall Street closed one recent Friday, a young man in jeans and a sports jacket strode into the showroom of the Classic Car Club of Manhattan, a few blocks north of Tribeca. He paced between an Aston Martin v8, a Rolls-Royce Corniche, two vintage Ferraris and a dozen others, eager to find something for a night out. Ten minutes later he zipped through the hangar doors in a 2005 Lotus Elise, a bright red, curvy little number. There was no bill to pay and no insurance form to sign.
Luxury-car clubs are well established in Europe. Now they are catching on in the United States. The idea is that for an annual membership fee, plus (sometimes) a weekly charge, members can have their choice of smart cars. Ron Van Horssen, who recently opened a club near Phoenix, says the model is based on executive-jet sharing. Rich people, he thinks, are realising that "owning an asset is not necessarily the best way of getting the benefits of using it". A spin in a Van Horssen Ferrari Maranello costs $ 4, 500 per week, plus the $ 7, 000 annual fee. No one needs to worry about maintenance or inspections-and, as price tags on new Lamborghinis and Bentleys have climbed, the rich can even save a bit of money.
Only a handful of clubs exist now in America, and none has national scope. Club Sportiva, a pioneer when it opened three years ago, is in San Francisco and San Jose; Exotic Car Share is in Chicago and New York. The Classic Car Club, a British firm, opened its Manhattan branch last July. But most are looking to expand. Torbin Fuller of Club Sportiva predicts that: "We’ll be national here in the next two to three years."
A variant on the formula is offered by exotic rental-car companies, which have no annual membership fee, and rent out cars for a day or a week. They are growing too. Dream Car Rentals, a Las Vegas firm with a fleet of 140, is opening a new branch at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Many of the company’s Las Vegas customers are Europeans, and female clients come in only "once in a blue moon," says Gavin Mate, a manager.
The mainstream rental-car companies have also spotted the trend, and are determined not to be left behind. In.2001 Hertz launched its "Prestige Collection", with Jaguars and Lincoln Navigators and special services such as free pick-up. That business, claims Hertz, has been an "unmitigated success" and continues to expand. Enterprise, the largest rental company in North America, reports a nearly 45% jump in luxury-car rentals in the year to October 2005. And with Wall Street bonuses soaring, 2006 is looking pretty good as well.

A:the mainstream rental-car companies. B:the exotic rental-car companies. C:luxury-car rental business. D:luxury-car clubs.

Passage One
There was a nasty (肮脏的，卑鄙的) accident in our town not long ago, and I saw it happen. I was standing near a road which was under repair, not doing anything special—just watching the men at work. It was not far from the new motorway (高速公路) that runs past the town. It was an old road that used to be very busy—and dangerous before the motorway was built. Today, most cars use the new "superhighway" and the old road is pretty quiet, although cars do often come off the motorway into the town faster than they should.
Anyway, the men were repairing part of the road and there were signs up for at least 200 meters, telling everybody that the road was narrower than usual. Most of the drivers in both directions saw the signs and slowed down.
Then three cars came along close together, the third one moving at a very high speed. The first one pas sed the workmen and wanted to turn left. Meanwhile the third car came flying past the second one. The sec and car stopped. I think the driver knew something was going to happen. It did. The third car had no chance of stopping. Its driver braked (刹车) and pulled over to miss the first car and went right off the road.
There were four people in that car: a man, two women and a child. The child was a boy of nine. I read later that they were going shopping—just shopping, nothing more important than that. The driver was badly hurt. The little bay was hurt too. Both the women were killed immediately. One of them was the driver’s wife and the other was the mother of the little boy. They never got to the shops.

A:the driver of the first car B:the driver of the second car C:the driver of the third car D:both B and C

Passage One
There was a nasty (肮脏的，卑鄙的) accident in our town not long ago, and I saw it happen. I was standing near a road which was under repair, not doing anything special--just watching the men at work. It was not far from the new motorway (高速公路) that runs past the town. It was an old road that used to be very busy--and dangerous--before the motorway was built. Today, most cars use the new "superhighway" and the old road is pretty quiet, although cars do often come off the motorway into the town faster than they should.
Anyway, the men were repairing part of the road and there were signs up for at least 200 meters, telling everybody that the road was narrower than .usual. Most of the drivers in both directions saw the signs and slowed down.
Then three cars came along close’ together, the third one moving at a very high speed. ’The first one passed the workmen and wanted to turn left. Meanwhile the third car came flying past the second one. The second car stopped. I think the driver knew something was going to happen. It did. The third car had no chance of stopping. Its driver braked (刹车) and pulled over to miss the first car--and went right off the road.
There were four people in that car: a man, two women and a child. The child was a boy of nine. I read later that they were going shopping--just shopping, nothing more important than that. The driver was badly hurt. The little boy was hart too. Both the women were killed immediately. One of them was the driver’s wife and the other was the mother of the little boy. They never got to the shops.

A:the driver of the first car B:the driver of the second car C:the driver of the third car D:both B and C

They stopped the car on top of a hill in order to ______.

A:see the spires and the domes B:see Oxford C:to park their car D:to see the colleges

Passage One
There was a nasty (肮脏的，卑鄙的) accident in our town not long ago, and I saw it happen. I was standing near a road which was under repair, not doing anything special—just watching the men at work. It was not far from the new motorway (高速公路) that runs past the town. It was an old road that used to be very busy—and dangerous before the motorway was built. Today, most cars use the new "superhighway" and the old road is pretty quiet, although cars do often come off the motorway into the town faster than they should.
Anyway, the men were repairing part of the road and there were signs up for at least 200 meters, telling everybody that the road was narrower than usual. Most of the drivers in both directions saw the signs and slowed down.
Then three cars came along close together, the third one moving at a very high speed. The first one pas sed the workmen and wanted to turn left. Meanwhile the third car came flying past the second one. The sec and car stopped. I think the driver knew something was going to happen. It did. The third car had no chance of stopping. Its driver braked (刹车) and pulled over to miss the first car and went right off the road.
There were four people in that car: a man, two women and a child. The child was a boy of nine. I read later that they were going shopping—just shopping, nothing more important than that. The driver was badly hurt. The little bay was hurt too. Both the women were killed immediately. One of them was the driver’s wife and the other was the mother of the little boy. They never got to the shops.

A:the driver of the first car B:the driver of the second car C:the driver of the third car D:both B and C

They stopped the car on top of a hill in order to ______.

A:see the spires and the domes B:see Oxford C:to park their car D:to see the colleges