The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled by anthropologists. Descriptions like ‘ Palaeolithic Man’, ‘Neolithic Man’, etc., neatly sum up whole periods. When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century, they will surely choose the label ‘Legless Man’. Histories of the time will go something like this: ‘in the twentieth century, people forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars, buses and trains from a very early age. There were lifts and escalators in all large buildings to prevent people from walking. This situation was forced upon earth dwellers of that time because of miles each day. But the surprising thing is that they didn’t use their legs even when they went on holiday. They built cable railways, ski-lifts and roads to the top of every huge mountain. All the beauty spots on earth were marred by the presence of large car parks. ’
The future history books might also record that we were deprived of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we failed to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird’s-eye view of the world – or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way. When you travel by car or train a blurred image of the countryside constantly smears the windows. Car drivers, in particular, are forever obsessed with the urge to go on and on: they never want to stop. Is it the lure of the great motorways, or what? And as for sea travel, it hardly deserves mention. It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song: ‘I joined the navy to see the world, and what did I see? I saw the sea.’ The typical twentieth-century traveler is the man who always says ‘I’ve been there. ’ You mention the remotest, most evocative place-names in the world like El Dorado, Kabul, Irkutsk and someone is bound to say ‘I’ve been there’ – meaning, ‘I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else. ’
When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend all experience; the present ceases to be a reality: you might just as well be dead. The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present. For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical weariness. He knows that sound. Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travellers.
1、Anthorpologists label nowaday’s men ‘Legless’ because________.
A people forget how to use his legs.
B people prefer cars, buses and trains.
C lifts and escalators prevent people from walking.
D there are a lot of transportation devices.
2、Travelling at high speed means________.
A people’s focus on the future.
B a pleasure.
C satisfying drivers’ great thrill.
D a necessity of life.
3、Why does the author say ‘we are deprived of the use of our eyes’ ?
A People won’t use their eyes.
B In traveling at high speed, eyes become useless.
C People can’t see anything on his way of travel.
D People want to sleep during travelling.
4、What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A Legs become weaker.
B Modern means of transportation make the world a small place.
C There is no need to use eyes.
D The best way to travel is on foot.
5. What does ‘a bird’s-eye view’ mean?
A See view with bird’s eyes.
B A bird looks at a beautiful view.
C It is a general view from a high position looking down.
D A scenic place.
VOCABULARY
1. Palaeolithic 舊石器時代的
2. Neolithic 新石器時代的
3. escalator 自動電梯，自動扶梯
4. ski-lift 載送滑雪者上坡的裝置
5. mar 損壞，毀壞
6. blur 模糊不清，朦朧
7. smear 涂，弄臟，弄模糊(尤指畫面、輪廓等)
8. evocative 引起回憶的，喚起感情的
9. El Dorado (由當(dāng)時西班牙征服者想象中的南美洲)黃金國，寶山，富庶之鄉(xiāng)
10. Kabul 喀布爾(阿富汗首都)
11. Irkutsk 伊爾庫茨克(原蘇聯(lián)亞洲城市)
答案詳解：
1. A 人們忘了用腳。答案在第一段：人類學(xué)家把以往年代的人們分別標(biāo)上舊石器時代、新石器時代人，等等。干脆利落地總結(jié)了一個時期。當(dāng)他們轉(zhuǎn)向20世紀(jì)，他們肯定會標(biāo)上“無腳的人”。因?yàn)樵?0世紀(jì)，人們忘了如何用腳走路。男人女人早年外出就坐車、公共汽車、火車。大樓里由電梯、自動扶梯，不需要人們走路。即使度假期間，他們也不用腳。他們筑有纜車道、滑雪載車和路直通山頂。所有的風(fēng)景旅游區(qū)都有大型的汽車停車場。
B 人們喜歡汽車、公交車、火車等。 C 電梯、自動扶梯制止人們走路。 D 有許多交通運(yùn)輸工具。
2. A 人們的注意力在未來。見最后一段第一句話：當(dāng)你高速旅行，現(xiàn)在等于零，你主要生活在未來，因?yàn)槟愦蟛糠謺r間盯在前面到達(dá)的某個地方。真到了，又沒有意義了，你還要再向前進(jìn)。
B 是一種歡樂。 C 滿足司機(jī)強(qiáng)烈的渴望。第二段中提及死機(jī)醉心于開車、不停車但不是快速前進(jìn)著眼于未來。 D 生活的需要。這一條在第一段中提及這種情況是因?yàn)樗麄兡钱惓５纳罘椒◤?qiáng)加給時代的居民。這是指不用腳走路，而用一切代步器――交通運(yùn)輸工具，不是開快車。
3. C 人們在旅行途中什么都見不到。答案在第二段，由一地轉(zhuǎn)向另一地，路上你什么都沒有見到。乘飛機(jī)你只能俯視世界，火車，汽車，只見外界朦朧景象掠過窗子。海上旅游，只見到海。“我到過那里”此話含義就是“我以一小時一百英里在去某某地方時經(jīng)過那里”。正因?yàn)槿绱?，作者指出將來的歷史書上會記錄下：我們被剝奪了眼睛的應(yīng)用。
A 人們不愿用眼睛。 B 在高速旅行中，眼睛沒有用了。 D 旅行中，人們想睡覺。
4. D 旅行的最佳方式是走路。文章第一段、第二段分別講述了旅行可不用腳、不用眼等情況。第三段，在講述了人們只知向前向前，一切經(jīng)歷都停滯，現(xiàn)實(shí)不再是現(xiàn)實(shí)，還不如死的好。而用腳走路的旅行者總是生活再現(xiàn)實(shí)，對他來說旅行和到達(dá)是一回事，他一步一步走到某地，他用眼睛、耳朵，以至整個身體去體驗(yàn)現(xiàn)在時刻、旅行終點(diǎn)，他感到全身舒坦愉悅的疲勞，美美享受滿足的酣睡;一切真正旅行者的真實(shí)報償。這一段就是作者寫文章的目的――走路是旅行的最佳方式。
A 腳變得軟弱無力。 B 現(xiàn)代交通工具把世界變小。 C 沒有必要用眼睛。
5. C 從高出向下看的景致：俯視。
A 用鳥的眼睛看景點(diǎn)。 B 鳥在看美景。 D 風(fēng)景點(diǎn)。
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