In late April, as authorities in Beijing mobilized to contain the SARS virus, 33 -yearold Li Yangclimbed into her red Suzuki Alto and headed west. Slipping out of the city hours ahead of agovernment quarantine 1, she" just kept going to see how far I could get. "Six days and 1, 600 miles later, she arrived in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. Thrilled and exhausted, she posted anotice on the Internet, documenting her adventure with digital photos and appealing for acompanion to share the drive home.

　　For centuries such freedom of movement has been unimaginable in China . In feudal times,poverty, bad roads, and imperial edict confined subjects of the Middle Kingdom to thevillages where they were born. Now all that is changing. After nearly a quarter century ofeconomic liberalization, car ownership is suddenly within reach of millions of ordinary Chinese.As incomes rise, new car prices plummet2, and the government adds new roadways, China's 1. 3 billion inhabitants are eager to trade their bicycles for a faster set of wheels. In 2002passenger car sales topped one million for the first time. In the first six months of first year ( 2003 ), China's new car sales surge 85% over the same period last year.

　　The profusion of cars has launched a new cultural revolution, transforming Chinese life andsociety in ways that bear surprising resemblance to what happened in American 50 years ago.The most obvious change is the traffic. Beijing's broad boulevards are now choked with cars atrush hour. In Shanghai the bridges and tunnels crossing the Huangpu River are so congestedthat a cab ride from one side to the other can be an hour-long ordeal. To prevent gridlock,the Shanghai city government auctions a limited number of new car license plates each month.Nevertheless, demand has soared, driving the minimum successful bid to more than 4, 000 .Even with these restrictions, the number of gas-guzzling vehicles on Chinese roads ismultiplying so fast it poses a grave threat to the environment and could reshape the globaleconomics of oil.

　　Beijing now boasts the drive-in3 movie theaters. Prospering yuppie4 SUV5 owners bandtogether of off-road excursions to the Great Wall. Some have organized weekend drag races.The newsstands display a riot of motor magazines, where readers can ogle domestic andimport models. Private -car ownership has spawned a new class of commuters, 162 too, whomotor to downtown office towers from spacious, modern homes in the suburbs.

　　" I enjoy the drive, "says the manager for a Dutch food additives company, of the 30-minut-tripto his office in central Shanghai. He lives with his wife and infant son in a gated community witha familiar name : Long Island. The grounds are immaculately landscaped, and the homes comein French, Italian, and English Tudor model."It would be probably be cheaper to ride a taxi everyday, "he confides."But this way I have more freedom. "

　　練習題：

　　Ⅰ. Choose correct answers to the question:

　　1. Why did she post a notice on the Internet?

　　A. To document her adventure . B. To ask for help.

　　C. To appeal for a companion. D. To show off her bravery.

　　2. In feudal times, what confined people to the villages where they were born?

　　A. Poverty. B. The feudal government.

　　C. Their reluctance to leave home. D. Bad roads.

　　Ⅱ. Match word with its Chinese equivalent:

　　1. quarantine A. 雅皮士

　　2. plummet B.“免下車”電影

　　3. drive-in movie C. 隔離區(qū)

　　4. yuppie D. 下跌, 快速落下

　　Ⅰ. 1. A. C 2. A. B. D

　　Ⅱ. 1 . C 2. D 3. B 4. A

　　中國為車狂

　　2003年5月末, 北京官方動員抗擊非典時, 33歲的李揚開動她的紅色鈴木奧托在北京被隔離前數(shù)小時開始西行。車子悄悄溜出城市, 遠離隔離區(qū), 她“ 只是想試試逃離, 看自己能走多遠”。歷經6天, 她跑了1600英里后, 到達了西藏的省會拉薩。極度興奮和疲勞之余, 她在網(wǎng)上刊登數(shù)碼照片敘述了她異乎尋常的經歷, 尋求一起駕車回家的同伴。

　　在中國, 幾個世紀以來, 這樣的來去自由是無法想象的。在封建時代, 窮困的生活、坎坷的道路、專橫的法令將中世紀王國的臣民禁錮在自己出生的小村莊。現(xiàn)在一切都在改變 。經過二十多年的改革開放, 私家車已進入成千上萬的尋常百姓家。收入增加, 新車價格暴跌, 政府興建道路, 使中國的13 億國民急切地把他們的自行車換成四輪汽車。2002年轎車的銷售量首次到了100萬輛。2003年的上半年, 汽車銷量比去年同期上升了85% 。

　　汽車的普及引發(fā)了一場新的文化革命, 這種生活方式和社會的變化和50年前的美國有驚人的相似之處。最明顯的變化就體現(xiàn)在交通狀況上。北京的林蔭大道上, 上下班高峰時間里車滿為患。在上海, 交通嚴重堵塞時, 通過黃浦江的大橋和隧道要花上幾小時。為了防止交通堵塞, 上海政府每個月限量拍賣車牌號。然而, 購車欲望遠遠得不到滿足, 車牌號最低標價漲到了4000美元。即便如此, 公路上耗油的汽車仍然在成倍增長, 它們威脅到了環(huán)境, 甚至會重塑全球的石油經濟。

　　現(xiàn)在北京正興起“ 免下車”電影院。富有的雅皮士們組隊駕駛越野車到長城做短途旅行。有些人則每個周末組織汽車賽。報刊亭里各色的汽車雜志上面刊登著各色國產或進口樣車的圖片, 讀者可以一飽眼福。有車族形成了新型的通勤階層。他們開車從郊區(qū)寬敞、現(xiàn)代的家到市中心的辦公室。丹麥某食品添加劑公司的經理說:“ 我喜歡駕30分鐘的車到上海市中心辦公。”他和他的妻子以及襁褓中的兒子住在一個被冠名為“ 長島”的封閉式社區(qū)里。周邊的景色美化得無可挑剔, 房屋有法式的、意大利式的和英國都鐸式的。“ 可能每天打的士更便宜, ”他坦言:“ 但是這樣我更自由。”

　　1. quarantine v. ( 為防止傳染病的流行而) 將( 人、畜、船等) 隔離, 如: He was quarantined for three weeks when he had scarlet fever. ( 他患猩紅熱時被隔離了三個星期。) 作名詞的意思 為“ 隔離期或隔離區(qū)”, 如: The quarantine for a dog entering Britain from abroad is six months. ( 從國外進入英國的狗檢疫隔離期為6 個月。) 文章中用作名詞。

　　2. plummet v. ① 快速落下, 陡直掉下, 如: The explosion sent the aircraft plummeting towards the sea. ( 爆炸后飛機一頭栽向大海) 。② ( 價格、水平等) 驟然下跌, 陡然變差, 如:Market prices plummeted. ( 行市驟跌。) Most of the industrial world plummeted into a deep recession.( 大多數(shù)工業(yè)國一下子跌入了嚴重的衰退)

　　3. drive-in n. &adj. ( 顧客無須下車即可得到的服務的)“免下車”餐館( 或劇院、銀行和郵局等) , 如: a fast food drive-in ( 免下車路邊快餐店) ; a drive-in movie ( 坐在車上觀看的“ 免下車”電影) ; the convenient drive-in window at the bank( 銀行“免下車”服務窗口) 。

　　4. yuppie n. ( 美國) 少壯職業(yè)人士, 雅皮士。來源于young urban professionals 的首字母縮寫+ ( hip) pie。從這個來源我們可以知道, 雅皮士往往和hippie 即嬉皮士相對。嬉皮士是20 世紀60 年代出現(xiàn)于美國的頹廢派一員, 對現(xiàn)實社會抱不滿情緒, 常服用引起幻覺的麻醉劑, 信奉非暴力和神秘主義, 實行群居, 蓄長發(fā), 穿奇裝異服。

　　5. 越野車。