题文
The United States has about 475,000 school buses ---all painted yellow.Each day they carry more than 25,000,000 children, half of all schoolchildren in the country.But these buses, on average, use four liters of diesel (柴油) fuel to travel less than sixteen kilometers.When the school year began last fall, diesel averaged 55 cents a liter nationally.The price nearly doubled, to a dollar and 8 cents, by the end of school in June.Bob Riley speaks for the American School Bus Council.He says fuel prices for schools are not much lower than others have to pay.As a result, schools are looking for ways to reduce transportation costs.Bus routes are being redrawn or, in some cases, canceled (取消).Some areas are buying buses that use natural gas or other alternative fuels.Other steps include fewer field trips and less travel by sports teams.And some school districts (地区) may end any bus service not required by law.
Studies show that school buses are the safest form of transportation to and from school.The American School Bus Council says cuts in bus service are bad for children and possibly the environment.It says removing buses from the road will mean an increase in other vehicles transporting students.Spokesman Bob Riley says another concern is that reducing bus services might reduce attendance.
But it could also get more children to walk or bicycle to school.And that would surely make people happy at the National Center for Safe Routes to School.More kids walking or biking safely to school is the aim of a three-year-old federal program, part of an international movement.The goal is to increase physical activity and reduce air pollution.The United States will celebrate Walk to School Day on October the eighth this year.But for some students, high fuel prices could make every day a walk-to-school day.
小题1:What does this passage mainly tell us?A．High fuel prices’ influences on school buses.B．New measures to transport school students.C．The safest form of student transportation.D．The origin of Walk to School Day.小题2:Which of the following information is implied in the first paragraph?A．There are too many school buses in the United States.B．There are too many students in the US.C．Diesel prices are going up too rapidly in the US.D．School buses consume too much diesel in the US.小题3:What can we learn from Paragraph 3?A．Cuts in bus service will have negative results.B．The US government is encouraging cuts in bus services.C．The US schools are searching for the safest transportation means.D．Reducing bus service will do a lot of good to the environment.小题4:The National Center for Safe Routes to school encourages more children to walk or bike to school in order to ____.
A.save more fuels and diesel for the country
B.keep the children safe on their way to school
D.keep the children healthy and the environment clean. 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:A
小题2:C
小题3:A
小题4:D
解析
小题1:A 主旨大意题。根据文章1,2段可知不断增长的油价，让很多的地方的校车都在减少，引起了一系列的影响和变化。故A正确。
小题2:C 推理题。根据第一段最后一句When the school year began last fall, diesel averaged 55 cents a liter nationally.The price nearly doubled, to a dollar and 8 cents, by the end of school in June.可知油价上涨得很快，几乎要翻倍了，故C正确。
小题3:A 推理题，根据第三段后3行It says removing buses from the road will mean an increase in other vehicles transporting students.Spokesman Bob Riley says another concern is that reducing bus services might reduce attendance.说明本段讲述的是校车减少以后所产生的不好的影响。故A正确。
小题4:D 推理题。根据文章最后4行More kids walking or biking safely to school is the aim of a three-year-old federal program, part of an international movement.The goal is to increase physical activity and reduce air pollution.The United States will celebrate Walk to School Day on October the eighth this year.But for some students, high fuel prices could make every day a walk-to-school day.可知the National Center for Safe Routes to School.的目的就是鼓励人们步行或者骑自行车来进行身体锻炼，同时减少汽油的消耗，改善环境。故D正确。
点评：本文讲述的是油价上涨导致美国校车数量减少所带来的一系列的变化和影响，有好的一方面，也有不好的一方面。本文主旨鲜明,很容易在文中找到答案。做题时要注意文章的首段和每一段的首句或尾句，因为它们往往就是文章的主题句。阅读中要注意要点之间的关系。然后带着问题，再读全文，找出答题所需要的依据，完成阅读任务。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“The United States ha.....”主要考查你对 [社会现象类阅读 ]考点的理解。社会现象类阅读
社会现象类阅读概念：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。
社会现象类阅读解题技巧：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。阅读这类文章要理清思路。
1、浏览试题，明确要求。
在阅读文章前，最好先浏览一下文章后面的题干和选项。知道了问题后再去看文章，可使思路更敏捷，而且也便于阅读时留意文中出现的与选项有关的信息。
2、通读全文，抓住主要内容。
在不影响理解的前提下，尽可能地阅读以便在尽可能短的时间内理解文章或段落的内容。阅读时，如遇到不熟悉的单词、词组或一时看不懂的句子，不要停下来苦思冥想，继续读下去，通过上下文的词语和句子可能就理解了。
3、抓住中心思想和段落大意。
通读全文时，要特别注意主题句。每篇文章或每个段落都有与文章有关的句子，尤其是科技、政论性文章的主题句一般都在文章的开头或结尾，插在中间的很少。所以，文章的第一段或开头的第一、二个句子往往包含着文章的中心思想、作者的意图或全文的概述，因此要特别注意，彻底理解。
4、有针对性地仔细阅读，找寻所需信息。
在前面的基础上，可进行有针对性地阅读了。把与问题无关的内容一扫而过，而对于和问题有关的内容认真阅读，还可以用笔在下面做出记号。再把这些信息与问题的要求结合起来，逐条分析，综合判断，找出正确答案。
5、进行合理的推理判断。
对文章有了全面的了解之后，可以按照文章要求以及上下文之间的关系，做出推理判断。在进行推理判断的时候，需要综合考虑句型、语法、句子之间的逻辑关系、文化背景等方面的因素。
6、认真复读，验证答案。
要用全文的中心思想统帅各个题目，研究其内在联系和逻辑关系，并依次审核那些还未打上的题目，确保理解无误。
