A new plan for getting children to and from school is being started by a local government in Eastern England. This could end the worries of many parents fearful for their children’s safety on the roads.
Until now the local government has only been prepared to provide bus services for children living more than three miles from their school, or sometimes less if special reasons existed. Now it has been decided that if a group of parents ask for help in organizing transport they will be prepared to go ahead, as long as the arrangement will not lose money and children taking part will be attending their nearest school.
The new plan is to be tried out this term for children living at Milton who attend Impington School. The children live just within the three-mile limit and the local government said in the past that they would not undertake (agree) to provide free transport to the school. But now they have agreed to offer a sum of money for a bus service from Milton to Impington and back, a plan which has the support of the school’s headmaster.
Between 50 and 60 parents have said they would like their children to take part. Final calculations have still to be carried out, but a government official has said the cost to parents should be less than ￡20 a term. They have been able to arrange the service at a low cost because there is already an agreement with the bus company for a bus to take children who live further away to Impington. The same bus would now just make one more journey to pick up the Milton children. The official said they would get in touch with other groups of parents who in the past had asked if transport could be provided for their children, to see if they would like to take part in the new plan.
小题1:What is the aim of the plan?
A．To prevent the students’ road accidents.
B．To relieve the traffic pressure.
C．To save time for the parents and students.
D．To help the parents save money.小题2:How can the local government arrange the new bus service at a low cost?
A．By letting the bus run in the morning only.
B．By limiting the number of the students.
C．By getting the support from the headmaster.
D．By linking the new bus service with the existing one.小题3:Which of the following is possible if the plan is carried out?
A．The bus company will make much more money.
B．The children can choose whatever school they like.
C．The parents can get rid of their worries.
D．The students in Impington School can have free bus rides.小题4:This passage is most probably____________.
A．a personal letter
B．an advertisement
C．a headmaster’s report
D．a newspaper article
小题1:A
小题2:D
小题3:C
小题4:D
题目分析：本文介绍了英国的地方政府帮助那些离学校较远的父母清楚对孩子上学的路上的安全方面的担忧所采取的行动。
小题1:A 细节题。根据第一段最后一句This could end the worries of many parents fearful for their children's safety on the roads.说明这样的做法是防止学生的交通事故，故A正确。
小题2:D 细节题。根据文章最后一段的句子：They have been able to arrange the service at a low cost because there is already an agreement with the bus company for a bus to take children who live further away to Impington. The same bus would now just make one more journey to pick up the Milton children.说明政府通过将新的公共汽车服务和现存的结合起来节省钱。故D正确。
小题3:C 细节题。根据文章第一段A new plan for getting children to and from school is being started by a local government in Eastern England. This could end the worries of many parents fearful for their children's safety on the roads.说明这样一来，家长就不必再担心孩子的安全问题了，故C正确。
小题4:D 推理题。本文应该属于新闻报告，因为它介绍的是一个地方上的新闻事件，故D项正确。