The United States has about 475,000 school buses ---all painted yellow. Each day

The United States has about 475,000 school buses ---all painted yellow. Each day they carry more than25,000,000 children, half of all schoolchildren in the country. But thesebuses, on average, use four liters of diesel (柴油) fuel to travel less thansixteen kilometers. When the school year began last fall, diesel averaged 55cents a liter nationally. The price nearly doubled, to a dollar and 8 cents, bythe 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 othershave to pay. As a result, schools are looking for ways to reduce transportationcosts. Bus routes are being redrawn or, in some cases, canceled . Some areasare buying buses that use natural gas or other alternative fuels. Other stepsinclude fewer field trips and less travel by sports teams. And some school districtsmay end any bus service not required by law.

Studies show that schoolbuses 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 theenvironment. It says removing buses from the road will mean an increase inother vehicles transporting students. Spokesman Bob Riley says another concernis that reducing bus services might reduce attendance.

But it could also get morechildren to walk or bicycle to school. And that would surely make people happyat the National Center for Safe Routes to School. More kids walking or bikingsafely to school is the aim of a three-year-old federal program, part of aninternational movement. The goal is to increase physical activity and reduceair pollution. The United States will celebrate Walk to School Day on Octobereighth this year. But for some students, high fuel prices could make every daya walk-to-school day.

1.This passage mainly tellsus____________.

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.

2.Which of the followinginformation 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.

3.What can we learn fromParagraph Three?

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.

4.In order to cut down transportation cost, many schoolstake the following measures EXCEPT____________.

A.changing some bus routes  

B.stopping some bus routes

C.asking parents to drive children to and from school

D.using other types of fuels

5.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

C.make the children live a simple life

D.keep the children healthy and the environment clean

试题答案

【答案】

1.A

2.C

3.A

4.C

5.D