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Passage 11
Questions 39 to 41 are based on the following passage:
Cars account for half the oil consumed in the U.S., about half the urban pollution and one fourth the greenhouse gases. They take a similar oil of resources in other industrial nations and in the cities of the developing world. As vehicle use continues to increase in the coming decade, the U.S. and other countries will have to deal with these issues or else face unacceptable economic, health-related and political costs. It is unlikely that oil prices will remain at their current low level or that other nations will accept a large and growing U.S. contribution to global climatic change. Policymakers and industry have four options: reduce vehicle use, increase the efficiency and reduce the emissions of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, witch to less harmful fuels, or find less polluting driving systems. The last of these -- in particular the introduction of vehicles powered by electricity is ultimately the only sustainable option. The other alternatives are attractive in theory but in practice are either impractical or offer only marginal improvements. For example, reduced vehicle use could solve traffic problems and a host of social and environmental problems, but evidence from around the world suggests that it is very difficult to make people give up their cars to any significant ex tent. In the U.S., mass-transit rider ship and carpooling have decline d since World War II. Even in western Europe, with fuel prices averaging more than '1 a liter (about '4 a gallon) and with easily accessible mass transit and dense populations, cars still account for 80 percent of all passenger travel. Improved energy efficiency is also appealing, but automotive fuel economy ha s barely made any progress in 10 years. Alternative fuels such as natural gas, burned in internal-combustion engines, could be introduced at relatively low cost, but they would lead to only marginal reductions in pollution and greenhouse missions (especially because oil companies are already spending billions of dollars every year to develop less polluting types of gasoline).
39. From the passage we know that the increased use of cars will ______.
A) consume half of the oil produced in the world
B) have serious consequences for the well-being of all nations
C) widen the gap between the developed and developing countries
D) impose an intolerable economic burden on residents of large cities
40. The U.S. has to deal with the problems arising from vehicle use because ______.
A. most Americans are reluctant to switch to public transportation systems
B) the present level of oil prices is considered unacceptable
C) other countries will protest its increasing greenhouse emissions
D) it should take a lead in conserving natural resources
41. Which of the following is the best solution to the problems mentioned in the passage?
A) The designing of highly efficient car engines.
B) A reduction of vehicle use in cities.
C) The development of electric cars.
D) The use of less polluting fuels