Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels，yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for.We do know，however，that they existed over 5,500 years ago in ancient Asia.
The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia.It is over 5,100 years old.Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn’t become popular for a while，though.This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around.
But it could also be because of a difficult situation.While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces，roads with smooth surfaces weren’t going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them.Eventually，road surfaces did become smoother，but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later.There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.
In the mid­1700s，a Frenchman came up with a new design of road—a base layer(層) of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones.A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong，lasting road surface became a reality.At around the same time，metal hubs (the central part of a wheel)came into being，followed by the pneumatic tyre(充氣輪胎) in 1846.Alloy wheels were invented in 1967，sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads(柏油路)．As wheel design took off，vehicles got faster and faster.                          (2013·重慶，C)
小題1:What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?
A．Few knew how to use transport wheels.
B．Humans carried farming tools just as well.
C．Animals were a good means of transport.
D．The existence of transport wheels was not known.
小題2:What do we know about road design from the passage?
A．It was easier than wheel design.
B．It improved after big changes in vehicle design.
C．It was promoted by fast­moving vehicles.
D．It provided conditions for wheel design to develop.
小題3:How is the last paragraph mainly developed?
A．By giving examples.
B．By making comparisons.
C．By following time order.
D．By making classifications.
小題4:What is the passage mainly about?
A．The beginning of road design.
B．The development of transport wheels.
C．The history of public transport.
D．The invention of fast­moving vehicles.

小題1:C
小題2:D
小題3:C
小題4:B

小題1:　C
解析　細節(jié)理解題。從第二段中的“This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around.”可知，正確答案為C項。
小題2:　D
解析　推理判斷題。從第三、四段的描述我們可知，道路的設(shè)計為輪子的發(fā)展提供了條件。
小題3:　C
解析　組織結(jié)構(gòu)題。從最后一段中的In the mid­1700s；in the 1820s；At around the same time；in 1967等可看出該段是按時間順序組織起來的。
小題4:　B
解析　主旨大意題。全文主要向我們介紹了車輪的發(fā)展歷程。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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A．A historic discoveryB．A research on space
C．A scientific adventureD．An imaginary event
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A．a(chǎn)n earthquakeB．huge waves
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D．the Earth could be hit by other objects in space
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Most people know that awkward feeling when you walk into an elevator with other people and try not to make eye contact(接觸). But a new research suggests it may be down to a subconscious power struggle being played out as you make your way up and down.
A study found that people decide where they stand based on a micro social status，established within seconds of entering the lift.
Rebekah Rousi．a(chǎn) Ph. D．student in cognitive(認知)science，conducted an ethnographic(人種論)
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B communication in the elevator
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