Jim Boon is a hybrid kind of guy. He drives a Toyota hybrid to work, a Honda hybrid on weekends and, as a manager for Seattle public transit he recently placed the world's largest order for hybrid electric buses.
Now, with the biggest hybrid-bus fleet in the world, Seattle has become the main testing ground for a technology that claims it can drastically cut air pollution and fuel consumption. In the 1990s, demo fleets of 35 buses or fewer started cropping up in cities such as Tempe, Ariz. Sixteen of these early hybrids still service Genoa, Italy, where drivers switch from diesel to electric power when passing the city's downtown architectural treasures. But no city has gone as far as Seattle, which last year bought 235 GM hybrid buses at $645,000 a pop. When the final one rolls out this December, the region's bus system will be 15 percent hybrid.
But why Seattle, and why now? The Pacific Northwest has long been a hotbed of both Green politics and cutting-edge technology. Fourteen years ago the Seattle area bought 236 Italian-made Breda buses to service a mile-long downtown tunnel. They were supposed to operate as clean electric trolleys underground, but the switching mechanism often failed and "the bus drove through the tunnel as a diesel," says Boon. "It was pretty loud and smoky."
When the Bredas hit retirement age in 2002, Boon went shopping. He chose the GM buses because they use an automatic transmission and diesel boosters that provide power to scale inclines without strain. In hilly Seattle, the prospect of a hybrid that could climb like a diesel but accelerate without belching black fumes helped justify a price $200,000 higher than that of a regular bus. "The days of seeing a diesel pull away and pour out smoke are over," says Boon. "After we drove these hybrid buses across the country, I wiped a handkerchief inside the tailpipe. It came out spotless."
Experts say buses are critical to realizing the hybrid dream of greater efficiency and cleaner air. It would take thousands of hybrid cars to save as many gallons of gas (750,000) as Boon expects his buses to save Seattle each year. GM claims that compared with conventional diesels, its new buses also churn out 90 percent less particulate matter--a known carcinogen. "Buses are a major source of pollution in any city," says Dave Kircher of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. "They operate where people are breathing this exhaust, so this is a major step forward in terms of emissions."
And a major step forward in the marketplace: Philadelphia; Honolulu; Long Beach, Calif., and Albuquerque, N.M., have all bought the GM buses in recent months. GM is now touting itself in ads as the top hybrid-bus innovator, but Siemens is among the global giants dueling GM for new business, and New York plans to deploy 325 BAE Systems hybrids by 2006. "There's room for competition," says James Cannon, editor of Hybrid Vehicles newsletter. Seems Seattle isn't the only city trying to leave grunge behind.
1． How does Genoa protect its architectural treasures?
[A]Following Seattle’s steps to reduce pollution.
[B]Using electric power of the car when crossing.
[C]Shifting the power of the hybrids when crossing.
[D]Reducing the number of the buses crossing there.
2． Which of the following can be the main advantage of hybrid bus?
[A]Cutting air pollution and fuel consumption
[B]Producing less smoke and noise.
[C]Owning strong switching mechanism.
[D]Producing less dangerous matter.
3． The expression “churn out”(Line 4, Paragraph 5) most probably means ______.
[A]increase
[B]destroy
[C]reduce
[D]produce
4． Why buses are critical to realizing the hybrid dream of higher efficiency?
[A]Buses are a major source of pollution.
[B]A single bus saves much more gas than a single car.
[C]Buses carry more passengers.
[D]New buses produce less harmful material.
5． Which of the following is true according to the text?
[A]Many cities plan to buy GM buses.
[B]GM buses have the incomparable advantages over other buses.
[C]There is severe competition in the field of hybrid vehicles.
[D]The best way to keep the city clean is to buy hybrid buses.
答案：CADBC
篇章剖析
本文采用的是提出问题——分析问题的模式，指出混合动力公交车的优点，并分析了西雅图为什么会成为世界上拥有这种汽车最多的城市。第一段介绍了西雅图公共交通系统经理吉姆·布恩；第二段指出西雅图是世界上拥有混合动力公交车最多的城市；第三段和第四段分析了为什么会是西雅图这座城市，而且又是现在购买这么多GM公交车的原因；第五段介绍了同柴油机相比，混合动力公交车的性能优点；第七段介绍了其市场经营情况。
词汇注释
hybrid[5haIbrId]n.杂种, 混血儿, 混合物adj.混合的, 杂种的
place an order for sth. with v.向...定购某物
drastically adv.激烈地, 彻底地
demo[5demEJ]n.演示, 民主党员, 样本唱片
crop up v.突然出现
diesel[5di:z(E)l]n.柴油机
a pop每个，各
roll out v.铺开, 低沉地讲出, 离开, 动身, 大量生产, 滚出
hotbed[5hRtbed]n.温床
cutting-edge 尖端的，先进的
trolley[5trRlI]n.电车
accelerate[Ek5selEreIt]v.加速, 促进
belch[beltF]v.打嗝, (火山、炮等)冒烟、喷出
tailpipe[`teIlpaIp]n.[汽]排气管
churn out 大量产出；以一种丰富的和自动的方式产生
carcinogen[kB:5sInEdV(E)n]n.致癌物质
exhaust[I^5zC:st]n.废气
tout[taJt]v.吹捧
duel[5dju:El; (?@) 5du:El]v.决斗
deploy[dI5plCI]v.展开, 配置
grunge[^rQndV]n.<美俚>蹩脚货,难看的东西,乏味的东西
难句突破
1．In hilly Seattle, the prospect of a hybrid that could climb like a diesel but accelerate without belching black fumes helped justify a price $200,000 higher than that of a regular bus.
主体句式：… the prospect … helped justify a price …
结构分析：这句话的主语是“the prospect of a hybrid”，之后跟的是由that引导的定语从句来修饰“a hybrid”。在这个定语从句中，“climb”和“accelerate”都是谓语动词。“help”是谓语，后面经常跟“to do sth”， 其中“to”常被省略。“$200,000 higher than that of a regular bus”修饰“a price”，其中 “that”指代的是“price”。
句子译文：在多山的西雅图，能够像柴油机那样上下行驶，加速时又不冒黑烟这样的混合动力车比普通汽车高出200，000美元的价位还是合理的。
题目分析
1.答案为C, 属事实细节题。原文对应信息是：“Sixteen of these early hybrids still service Genoa, Italy, where drivers switch from diesel to electric power when passing the city's downtown architectural treasures.”
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