D

     The German city of Hamburg has announced plans to become car-free within the next two decades. It is an ambitious idea, but city officials obviously feel that the personal motorcar does not fulfill a function that walking, biking and taking public transport cannot. The goal of Hamburg's project is to replace roads with a green network, which will allow people to navigate through the city without the use of cars.

    Banishing the car from urban areas is becoming a common trend in many European cities. London imposes a "congestion charge" on private vehicles entering the city centre during rush hours. Copenhagen is building bicycle superhighways radiating out from the city centre. These developments combined may make worrying reading for driving enthusiasts. Is the time of the personal car over?

     In the century since the Ford Model T was introduced in 1908, global vehicle numbers have swollen to well over a billion. But according to recent research, the growth may have stopped.

    According to Professor Michael Sivak, at the University of Michigan, "motorization" in the US might have reached a peak in 2008, and that the figures have been on the decline since.

     "New York, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, each have more than thirty percent of households without a light duty vehicle," says Sivak. In fact, the figures show that fifty-six percent of households in New York (which top the list) don't have a car. "I think that will be surprising to most people. It was surprising to me, and I am in the business. "

      Sivak thinks a number of factors could be contributing to the trend, including workingfrom home and the movement of populations back to city centers. In China, Beijing and Shanghai are looking at plans to limit the number of new vehicles being registered to control prouth. It's a movement more cities are looking towards, particularly in the US.

56.Why does Hamburg launch the "car-free" program?

A. To build a greener environment.

B. To fix a worldwide road network.

C. To call on people to take exercise.

D. To replace the public transport.

57. The underlined word "banishing" in Paragraph 2 can best be replaced by "_____ "

A. putting out                           B. giving away

C. driving away                         D. setting out

58. Professor Michael Sivak uses the examples in Paragraph 5 -

A. to prove the number of cars has been increasing sharply

B. to persuade American people to give up their way of life

C. to introduce to the readers a new trend in buying cars

D. to show many Americas have already abandoned cars

59. What does Michael Sivak think of the result of his research?

A. Terrifying.   B Amazing.        C.Exciting        D. Disappointing.

60. What can be learned from the last paragraph?

A. Most people like to work in the countryside.

B. It is only big cities that are taking action.

C. Many factors contribute to the trend.

D. Effective rules have come into effect.

E

     Europe on Thursday launched the first satellite of its Copernicus Earth observation project that will supply valuable images in the event of natural disasters or even a plane crash.

     The Sentinel-la satellite,  which was sent into Earth' s orbit from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana9 will be used to monitor sea ice, oil spills and land use and to respond to emergencies such as floods and earthquakes.

　　The Copernicus protect ,  for which the European Union and the -European Space Agency (ESA) have committed funding of around 8. 4 billion euros (_$_11. 5 billion) until 2020, is described by the _ESA as the most ambitious earth observation program  to date.

     "The big step forward is that we can now cover every place on Earth every three to six days," Volker Liebig, director of ESA' s Earth Observation program, said ahead of the launch. "If you want to use images for disaster management support or to find a plane, then you want the images to be as fresh as possible. " But he cautioned you would first need to know roughly where a plane had crashed, which is not the case with the missing Malaysian Airlines jet.

    Copernicus also offers new business opportunities. Images can be downloaded free of charge, meaning companies can then use them to help deliver data to farmers on soil conditions or pest infestation, help oil companies decide where to drill new wells or make it easier for insurers to assess the risk of costly floods and fires.

     Sentinel-la, which will operate with a second satellite, Sentinel-1b, to be launched next year, has high-tech instruments that will allow it to record radar images of Earth's surface, even when the skies are cloudy or dark. As part of the Copernicus program, there will be 17 launches over the next decade.

61. For what purpose was the Sentinel-la satellite sent up into space?

 A. To improve observation of the earth.

 B. To search for some missing planes.

 C. To download free valuable images.

D. To predict floods and earthquakes.

62.What do we know about Copernicus Earth observation project,?

A. It can cover every place on Earth at the same time.

B. It makes a profit by offering downloaded images.

C. It is financed by the European Union and ESA.

D: It has put two satellites into Earth's orbit successfully.

63.According to Volker Liebig , the Sentine-la satellite ______.

A. can locate the missing Malaysian Airlines jet

B. has advanced but limited functions

C. may cause some safety problems

D. doesn't work on cloudy days or at night

64. How does the Copernicus project benefit farmers?

A. By supplying data on soil conditions.

B. By calculating the loss of costly floods.

C. By drilling oil wells in proper places.

D. By controlling the risk of potential fires.

65. What does the last paragraph mainly tell us about the Sentinel-1a satellite?

A. Its operation.  B. Its appearance.     C. Its instruments.    D. Its future.
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