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China Goes Car Crazy
In late April, as authorities in Beijing mobilized to contain the SARS virus, 33 -yearold Li Yang climbed into her red Suzuki Alto and headed west. Slipping out of the city hours ahead of a government 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 a notice on the Internet, documenting her adventure with digital photos and appealing for a companion 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 the villages where they were born. Now all that is changing. After nearly a quarter century of economic 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 2002 passenger 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 and society 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 at rush hour. In Shanghai the bridges and tunnels crossing the Huangpu River are so congested that 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 is multiplying so fast it poses a grave threat to the environment and could reshape the global economics of oil.
Beijing now boasts the drive-in3 movie theaters. Prospering yuppie4 SUV5 owners band together 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 and import models. Private -car ownership has spawned a new class of commuters, 162 too, who motor 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-trip to his office in central Shanghai. He lives with his wife and infant son in a gated community with a familiar name : Long Island. The grounds are immaculately landscaped, and the homes come in French, Italian, and English Tudor model."It would be probably be cheaper to ride a taxi every day, "he confides."But this way I have more freedom. "
练习题：
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.“免下车”电影
3. drive-in movie C. 隔离区
4. yuppie D. 下跌, 快速落下
