Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials (商业广告) 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 when you have fallen asleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, can you get separated from the unending cry of “You Need It! Buy It Now!”
As for the ride itself, the beginning of it is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things are keeping changing out of the windows — various houses, crop fields, attractive bridges, … and sometimes even a small accident. Your bus driver may have a unique style of driving and it’s fun trying experience it the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless (鲁莽的) or daring, the ride can be as thrilling (惊心动魄的) as an adventurous 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 the riding will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement with that. The seat, of course, has become harder for the hours having passed. By now you may sit with your legs crossed, or with your hands in your lap, or with your hands on the arms, or even with your hands crossed behind your head. That is to say that the end comes just at no more ways to sit.
小题1:According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?
A．Buses on the road.
B．Films on television.
C．Advertisements on the billboards.
D．Gas stations.小题2:What is the purpose of this passage?
A．To give the writer’s opinion about long bus trips.
B．To persuade you to take some long bus riding.
C．To explain how bus trips and television shows differ.
D．To describe the billboards along the road.小题3:The writer of this passage would probably prefer ______.
A．those reckless bus drivers
B．driving with no one around
C．a television set on the bus
D．no billboards along the road小题4:The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because ______.
A．the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun
B．they both have a beginning, a middle and an end, with commercials in between
C．the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses
D．both traveling by bus itself and watching TV programs on bus are not exciting.小题5:The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are .
A．exciting
B．comfortable
C．tiring
D．boring
小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:B
小题5:A
题目分析：本文讲述了在伦敦的长途旅行中的广告现象，并征求了大家对此的态度和观点。
小题1:C 细节题。根据第一段前3行Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials (商业广告) thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable.说明广告随处可见，无法避免，故C项正确。
小题2:A 主旨大意题。根据文章第一段Long bus rides are like television shows以及As for the ride itself和The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning都说明本文讲述的是long bus trips征求大家对此的观点，故A项正确。
小题3:D 推理题。根据文章第一段最后2行“Only when you have fallen asleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, can you get separated from the unending cry of “You Need It! Buy It Now!”说明作者以及厌倦了如此多的广告，故D项正确。
小题4:B 细节题。根据文章第一段They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials (商业广告) 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.说明广告有开头，中间也有结尾，还穿插了商业广告，就像电视剧一样。故B正确。
小题5:A 细节题。根据文章最后一段1,2行The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know the riding will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement with that.说明在长途旅行的开头和结尾都很让人兴奋，故A正确。
点评：从题目设置的角度看，本题侧重对学生把握文章中心段落和各段落的中心句的能力的考查，所以遇到这类题后，要注意把握好文章结构，了解文章中心意思，找到各段落中心句。不要让文中的一些生词影响了注意力。