第四部分 閱讀理解（共六篇）
第四十四篇
Road Trip Vacations
It's summer. In the United States, it's the season of swimming pools, barbeques, camping and road trips.
Road trip vacations where the car journey is part of the fun are especially popular with college students, who like to explore the country on wheels. These budget trips are ideal for students who often have plenty of free time but little money.
"Ever since I went to college, I've been traveling around a lot, exploring the country," said Austin Hawkins, a 19-year-old college student from New York. This summer, Hawkins and his friends have spent weekends traveling in New England.
The best part about car trips, said Hawkins, is that you can be spontaneous. "On a road trip, if you get interested in things you see along the way you can stop and explore."
Matt Roberts, a 20-year-old student from Ohio who drove to Montreal, Canada, agrees. "With road trips you don't have to plan in advance, you can just get into a car and drive."
Even with high gas prices, driving with friends is cheaper than flying. Roberts paid about 40 dollars for gas, but a round trip plane ticket would have cost nearly 400 dollars.
Driving trips first became popular in the 1920s. Newly paved roads and improved, cars made it possible to travel longer distances. Motels started appearing outside cities.
By the 1950s, car ownership became the norm. Construction of the US interstate highway system began in 1956 and motel and restaurant chains popped up1 everywhere making long distance trips easier.
Today, the US has the highest car ownership rate in the world. Only 8 percent of American homes have no car, according to the most recent US census.
Though many college students don't own a car, most have access to one. 2 On many of Hawkins' trips, they used a borrowed van.
Hawkins' most memorable road trip took place over spring break. He and two friends drove from New York to New Orleans to volunteer, helping rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina hit it last July. They crossed the country in two days and slept in their car in church parking lots.
Roberts' road trip to Canada last winter was even more eventful. Upon arriving in Montreal, they were lost in a blizzard and shivering in the -25°cold. To find their hotel, they turned on a laptop and drove around in circles until they found a spot with wireless Internet coverage.3
"I know we should have planned better, but we're young. Now, when I see those guys I always say: 'Remember when we were lost in the snow storm!' I'll never forget that."
詞匯：
barbeques n. 戶外烤肉
budget adj. 低廉的
motels n. 汽車旅館
interstate adj. 洲際的
pop v. 突然出現(xiàn)
hurricane n. 風暴
laptop n. 筆記本電腦
注釋：
1．popup是“突然冒出”，也可說pop out。
2．Though many college students don’t own a car, most have access to one．雖然許多大學生是沒有車的，但是大多數(shù)都可以弄到一輛。“to have access t0…”是“可以得到”的意思。
3．To find their hotel，they turned on a laptop(筆記本電腦)and drove around in circles until they found a spot with wireless Internet coverage．為了找旅館，他們打開筆記本電腦，然后一圈圈地轉(zhuǎn)，最后終于發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個無線因特網(wǎng)覆蓋的區(qū)域。
練習：
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true of American college students?
A) They have little money.
B) They like traveling by bike.
C) They like to explore the country.
D) They often have plenty of free time.
2. What will Hawkins do when he sees something interesting on a road trip?
A) He will turn back.
B) He will drive around.
C) He will stop to explore.
D) He will stop exploring.
3. When did motels suddenly appear?
A) After the work to build the interstate highway system started.
B) When driving trips became popular.
C) After many roads were paved.
D) After new cars were made.
4. Which of the following words can best describe Hawkins' trip to New Orlends?
A) Eventful.
B) Colourful.
C) Delightful.
D) Unforgettable.
5. The word blizzard in paragraph 12 can be replaced by
A) snowstorm.
B) hurricane.
C) mist.
D) fog.
答案與題解：
1．B 問題問的是：下面的哪一個有關(guān)美國大學生的命題是不對的。B說“他們喜歡騎自行車旅行”。這個命題是不對的。第二段的第一句是這么說的：路面旅行假期的部分樂趣來自開車旅行，這種通過路面旅行度過假期尤其在大學生中特別盛行。可以看出，大學生還是喜歡開車旅行，而不是騎車旅行。
2．C 問題問的是：當Hawkins在路面旅行中見到有趣的東西時會干什么？第四段Hawkins說了這么一句話：當你在路面旅行中一路上看到有趣的東西時，你可以停下來仔細看看。
3．A 問題問的是：汽車旅館是什么時候突然出現(xiàn)的?答案在第六段，其中有一句話是這么說的：汽車旅館開始在城外出現(xiàn)。第七段講到的是汽車旅館和菜館連鎖店的突然出現(xiàn)。
4．D 問題問的是：下面的哪個詞描寫Hawkins去新奧良的旅途最合適？倒數(shù)第三段講到了Hawkins和他的伙伴志愿從紐約去新奧良，幫助重建該城。其中的第一句話是這么說的：Hawkins’ most memorable road trip took place over spring break．Hawkins的最值得記憶的路面旅行發(fā)生在春假。“memorable”和“unforgettable”的意思差不多。
5．A 問題問的是：最佳替換第12段的“blizzard”是哪個詞？從該段提供的背景我們可以推出“snow storm”應(yīng)該是最合適的。
