TheUnitedStateshasaround475,000schoolbuses.Eachdaytheycarrymorethan25million children,halfofalltheschoolchildreninthecountry.
Thesebuses,onaverage,use4litersofdiesel(柴油)fueltotravellessthan16kilometers. When theschoolyearbeganlastfall,dieselaveraged55centsaliternationally.Thepricenearlydoubledby theendofschool inJune.
BobRileyisthespokesmanfortheAmericanSchoolBusCouncil.Hesaysfuelpricesnegotiated(商议) for schools arenot lower thanothers have to pay. Asaresult,schoolsarelookingfor waystoreducetransportationcosts.Busroutesarebeing redrawnor,insomecases,canceled.Someareas arebuyingbusesthatuse naturalgas orother alternativefuels.
Otherstepsincludefewerfieldtrips andlesstravel bysports teams.Someschool districtsmayend any busservicenotrequiredby law.
Studiesshowthatschoolbusesarethesafestform oftransportationtoandfrom school.
The AmericanSchoolBus Councilsayscutsinbus serviceare badfor childrenandpossiblythe environment.Itsaysremovingbusesfromtheroadwillmeananincreaseinothervehiclestransporting students. Spokesman Bob Riley saysanotherconcern is thatreducing busservicemightreduce attendance.
It couldalso getmorechildren to walkor bicycle to school.That wouldsurely makepeople happy attheNationalCenterforSafeRoutestoSchool.Morekidswalkingorbikingsafelytoschoolisthe aimofa3-year-oldfederal program,partofaninternationalmovement.Thegoalis toincreasephysical activity and reduce air pollution.
小题1:Inthesecondparagraph,theauthorwantsto provethat .
A．toomany schoolchildren takebuses every day
B．thecost offuelhasincreased
C．theschoolbusesconsumemorefuelthanaverage
D．the school busesusuallygoon long routes小题2:Inthe thirdparagraph,what doesBobRiley mean'?
A．Thefuel pricesforschool busesneed to be negotiated again.
B．High fuelprices are also affecting the efficiency of their services.
C．The fuelprices for school are much higher thanothers pay.
D．TheAmericanSchool BusCouncilshould workforstudents’benefit.小题3:Whatistheadvantage ofreducingschoolbusserviceaccordingto thepassage?
A．Morefuelwillbesaved.
B．Studentscangotoschool inasaferway.
C．Studentscanexercisebywalkingorriding toschool.
D．Trafficjams willbereducedduringrushhour.小题4:Whatisthesixth paragraphmainly about?
A．Bob Riley's concern about the resultsof reducing school buses.
B．Theconvenience brought by school buses.
C．Thebad effectsofreducingschool buses.
D．Thestudiesabout students'choicescarried out by theAmericanSchool BusCouncil.
