2013年英语四级阅读试题及答案4

　　Passage Two

　　Believe it or not，optical illusion (错觉) can cut highway crashes.Japan is a case in point.It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion.Bent stripes，called chevrons (人字形)painted on the roads make drivers think that they are d riving faster than they really are，and thus drivers slow down.Now the American Association Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington D.C.is planning to rep eat Japan's success.Starting next year,the foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes.Excessive speed plays a major role role in as much as one fifth of all fatal traffic accidents,according to the foundation .To help reduce those accidents，the foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed - related hazards are the greatest - curves，exit slopes，traffic circles，and bridges.Some studies suggest that straight，horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half.However，traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bar.Chevrons，scientists say，not only give drivers the impress ion that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane appear to be narrower.The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.

　　26. The passage mainly discusses .

　　A) a new way of highway speed control

　　B) a new pattern for painting highways

　　C) a new approach to training drivers

　　D) a new type of optical illusion

　　[答案及分析]：[A]通读全文可知本文主旨是：如何通过在路面上涂上类似“人字形”的标志来降低车速以减少交通事故。

　　27. On roads painted with chevrons drivers tend to feel that.

　　A) they should avoid speed - related hazards

　　B) they are driving in the wrong lane

　　C) they should slow down their speed

　　D) they are approaching the speed limit

　　[答案及分析]：[C]文章第二段第二句说“在路面上涂了人字形线，司机会觉得车速会比实际的快些，于是不自觉的降低车速”。

　　28. The advantage of chevrons over straight，horizontal bars is that the former .

　　A) can keep drivers awake

　　B) can cut road accidents in half

　　C) will have a longer effect on drivers

　　D) will look more attractive

　　[答案及分析]：[C]本文倒数第二段指出水平线相对于人字形的缺点是：司机很快就会适应水平线，而又提高车速。

　　29. The American Association Foundation for Traffic Safety plans to .

　　A) try out the Japanese method in certain areas

　　B) change the road signs across the country

　　C) replace straight，horizontal bars with chevrons

　　D) repeat the Japanese road patterns

　　[答案及分析]：[A]本文第二段说美国汽车协会计划效仿日本的成功实践，及在全国选择一些路面涂上人字形及其它符号，以测试它们是否能减少交通事故。

　　30. What does the author say about straight，horizontal bars painted acr oss roads?

　　A) They are falling out of use in the United States.

　　B) They tend to be ignored by drivers in a short period of time.

　　C) They are applicable only on broad roads.

　　D) They cannot be applied successfully to traffic circles..

　　[答案及分析]：[B]该题实际上是第28题的重复，只是换了一个问法，通过阅读文章倒数第二段便知水平直线会在较短的时间内失去效用。