20、
第四部分：阅读理解(每题3分，共45分， 建议40分钟以内完成)
下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题，每道题后面有4个选项。请仔细阅读短文并根据短文回答其后面的问题，从4个选项中选择1个最佳答案涂在答题卡相应的位置上。
难度B/C级
Inspecting a used car
The scariest part of buying a used car is not being completely sure of what condition it’s in.A car that’s been in a major accident is always a bigger risk，but sellers often try to hide this information.Andrew Bleakley, evaluator-inspector, runs a mobile vehicle inspection service in Montreal.For about$80 he will perform a full, unbiased inspection on a used vehicle.In his 10 years as a professional inspector, Bleakley has seen a lot.He warns, “Watch out for dealer demonstration vehicles which are used.not new.They may have been in a collision.”He adds mat it is not uncommon in Ontario and Quebec especially for unscrupulous sellers to roll back the odometer or to even disengage it.Bleakley has special tools to check for this.
Blealdey always recommends hiring an independent technician to inspect the condition of a used car before you buy it.The problem is finding someone qualified to do the inspection，which he says generally doesn’t mean just any mechanic，A thorough mechanical inspection includes checking the compression，all major systems，including the engine，electrical and charging systems，transmission and drive line，fluids，brakes，suspension，and steering.Essential，too，is all inspection of the car’s body and finally a road test.There are，however a few things everyone can do before buying a used car：
Do a visual check of the car.Look at the right rear door hinges.If they are very worn.Or the door doesn’t close well，the car may have been used as a taxi.Holes in the roof could mean the car was used for deliveries.
Check for oil 1eaks on the pavement.Note that 1eaks are not necessarily a significant
problem—it depends on the cause.
Don’t assume that new-looking brake and accelerator pedals mean the car hasn’t been
driven much.Resellers know people check these details and call buy new Pads for around $6.
Copy down the vehicle identification number(VlN), a 17-character combination of
numbers and letters，from the vehicle’s dashboard.In Ontario，ask the dealer or seller for the Used Vehicle Information Package.this gives details of previous owners，any outstanding liens on the car, and the fair market value of the vehicle.
练习：
1. According to the passage，in buying a second-hand vehicle it is most important to know
A)how long it has been used.
B)what color it is.http://ks.examda.com
C)whether it has been in a collision.
D)whether it leaks oil.
2. All of the following are mentioned as tricks which dishonest second-hand Car dealers may play upon their customers EXCEPT
A)To re-Paint the car
B)To roll back the odometer.
C)T0 replace the old pedal.
D)T0 disengage the odometer.
3. “An independent technician” in the first sentence of the second paragraph means
A)a technician who checks a car free of charge.
B)a technician who learned his trade all by himself.
C)a technician who works for a particular car-dealer.
D)a technician who runs his own inspection service.
4.According to Bleakley, before buying a used Car all the inspection work Can
A)be done by a mechanic together with the dealer.
B)only be done by a qualified mechanic.
C)be done by the buyer himself.
D)be done by a qualified mechanic together with the buyer.
5. According to the passage，from which of the following Call the buyer obtain reliable
information of the previous owner?
A)The vehicle identification number.
B)The unbiased inspector.
C)The second.hand car dealer.
D)The Used Vehicle Information Package.
标准答案： C,A,D,D,D
21、
难度B/A级
Thirsty in Karachi
After two weeks in Karachi，I’m not sure whether to laugh or to cry.Either way，it involves water—or rather the lack of it.
In Western Europe or the US，you only have to turn on the tap and you’11 see a jet of cold water, ready to drink，cook and bathe in，or wash the car.Turn on the tap in Karachi and you’ll be lucky to fill a few buckets.Until 1947，the city was part of British India，whose engineers built and maintained a modest water supply network for the city’s 500.000 inthabitants.Today, Karachi is home to around 12 million people.Half of them live in slum townships，with 1ittle or no water through the mains.Even the “rich’’ half usually have to wait days before anything tickles through their pipes.And the coloured liquid that finally emerges is usually too contaminated to drink.
According to the state.owned Karachi Water and Sewerage Board，the city needs more than 2.500 million litres of water each day. The board currently supplies 1，650 million 1itres of which nearly 40 per cent is lost from 1eaks—and theft.Leaks are dime a dozen to water utilities the world over, but theft?
Karachi’s unlikely water pirates turn out to be ordinary families struggling to get adequate supplies of one of life’s necessities.Stealing water takes many forms.The simplest is to buy a suction pump and get it attached to the water pipe that feeds your house from the mains.This should maximize your share of water every time the board switches oil the supply.When the practice started 20 years ago.the pumps would be carefully hidden or disguised as garden ornaments.These days people hardly bother.The pumps are so widespread and water board inspectors so thin on the ground that when officials do confiscate a pump its owner simply buy a replacement.
Insisting that people obey the law won’t work because most households have little
alternative but to steal.For its part, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board says it would dearly like to make 1ire easier, but finds itself mired in debt because most residents either won’t pay water charges or can’t afford to.According to the Urban Resource Centre, a Karachi-based think tank，of the 1.2 million known consumers of water only 750，000 are billed，of whom just 163.000 actually pay for their supplies.The board makes a perpetual loss，and there is no money to improve the system or even plug the leaks.Worse, the board increasingly relies on international 1oans from institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, which only makes its debt worse.
The joke is that the owners of the suction pumps end up with little—if any—extra water. Your house is in a line with 20 other households all tapping into one horizontal pipeline.All you can end up doing，given you have pumps of equal strength，is redistribute each other’s entitlement and pay higher electricity bills into the bargain.
Back home in London.I’ll remember not to complain about the water meter, or the hosepipe ban.
