Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a
beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials thrown in every three or four
minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or
not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window.
"Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.” Drink Good Wet Root Beer.” Fill up with
Pacific Gas.” Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set
off, are you spared the unending cry of "You Need It! Buy It Now!"
The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat
exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have
changed new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver
has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or
so. If the driver is particularly reckless （魯莽的） or
daring, the ride can be as thrilling （驚心動(dòng)魄的） as a
suspense story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move
into the right or the left hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement
dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food
always makes bus rides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what
kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between
stops.
The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning.
You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement
in that. The seat of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now
you’ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands
on the armrests even with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes
just at no more ways to sit.
1.According to the passage, what do the passengers
usually see when they are on a long bus trip?
A．Advertisements
on the billboards. B．Films on
television.
C．Buses on the
road. D．Gas stations.
2.What is the purpose of this passage?
A．To explain how
bus trips and television shows differ.
B．To persuade
you to take a long bus trip.
C．To give the
writer’s opinion about long bus trips
D．To describe
the billboards along the road.
3.The writer of this passage would probably
favor .
A．bus drivers
who aren’t reckless B．driving alone
C．no billboards
along the road D．a(chǎn) television
set on the bus
4.The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows
because .
A．they both
have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between
B．the
commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun
C．the drivers
are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses
D．both
traveling and watching TV are not exciting.
5.The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat
like the beginning because both are .
A．comfortable B．exciting C．tiring D．boring
