职称英语阅读理解练习题

TheDevelopmentofPR

Theriseofmultinationalcorporations,globalmarketing,newcommunicationstechnologies,and

shrinkingculturaldifferenceshaveledtoanunparalleledincreaseinglobalpublicrelationsorPR.

Surprisingly,sincemodernPRwaslargelyanAmericaninvention,theU.S.leadershipinpublic

relationsisbeingthreatenedbyPReffortsinothercountries.Tenyearsage,forexample,theworld,s

topfivepublicrelationsagencieswereAmerican-owned.In1991,onlyonewas.TheBritishinparticular

arebecomingmoresophisticatedandcreative.ArecentsurveyfoundthatmorethanhalfofallBritish

companiesincludePRaspartoftheircorporatePlanningactivities,comparedtoaboutone-thirdof

U.S.companies.ItmaynotbelongbeforeLondonreplacesNewYorkasthecapitalofPR.

WhyisAmericalaggingbehindintheglobalPRrace?Firstly,Americansasawholetendtobefairly

provincialandtakemoreofaninterestinlocalaffairs.Knowledgeofworldgeography,forexample,

hasneverbeenstronginthiscountry.Secondly,AmericanlagbehindtheirEuropeanandAsian

counterpartsinknowingasecondlanguage.Lessthan5percentofBurson-MarshalTsU.S.employees

knowtwolanguages.OgilvyandMatherhasaboutthesamepercentage.Conversely,someEuropeanfirms

havehalformoreoftheiremployeesfluentinasecondlanguage.Finally,peopleinvolvedinPRabroad

tendtokeepaclosereyeoninternationalaffairs.InthefinancialPRarea,forinstance,most

AmericansreadtheWal1StreetJournal.Overseas,theircounterpartsreadtheJournalaswellasthe

FinancialTimesofLondonandTheEconomist,publicationsnotoftenreadinthiscountry.

PerhapsthePRindustrymighttakealessonfromTedTurnerofCNN(CableNewsNet-work).Turner

recentlyannouncedthattheword“foreign”wouldnolongerbeusedonCNNnewsbroadcasts.According

toTurner,globalcommunicationshavemadethenationsoftheworldsointerdependentthatthereis

nolongeranysuchthingasforeign.

36Accordingtothepassage,U.S.leadershipinpublicrelationsisbeingthreatenedbecauseof

Ashrinkingculturaldifferencesandnewcommunicationtechnologies

Bincreasedeffortsofothercountriesinpublicrelations

Canunparalleledincreaseinthenumberofpublicrelationscompanies

Dthedecreasingnumberofmultinationalcorporationstechnologies

37Theunderlinedword“provincial”(Para.3)mostprobablymeans

Arigidinthinking

Binterestedinworldfinancialaffairs

Clikepeoplefromtheprovinces

Dlimitedinoutlook

38LondoncouldsoonreplaceNewYorkasthecentreofPRbecause

ABritishcompaniesplacemoreimportanceonPRthanU.S.companies

BBritishcompaniesareheavilyinvolvedinplanningactivities

CBritishcompaniesaremoreambitiousthanU.S.

DFouroftheworld'stoppublicrelationsagenciesareBritish-owned

39WelearnfromthethirdparagraphthatemployeesintheAmericanPRindustry

AenjoyreadingagreatvarietyofEnglishbusinesspublications

Bspeakatleastoneforeignlanguagefluently

Careignorantaboutworldgeography

DarenotassophisticatedastheirEuropeancounterparts

40WhatlessonmightbethePRindustrytakefromTedTurnerofCNN?.

ATheAmericanPRindustryshoulddevelopglobalcommunicationtechnologies.

BPeopleinvolvedinPRshouldavoidsuingtheword"foreign”.

CAmericanPRcompaniesshouldbemoreinternationallyminded.

DPeopleworkinginPRshouldbemorefluentinforeignlanguages.

ListeningtoBirdsong

Amalezebrafinchlchirpsaway2tohimself.Suddenlyhenoticesafemalebirdnearby.Herealizes

hehasanaudienceandimmediatelychangeshissong.Canthefemaletellthedifferenceinhis

performance?Accordingtoanewstudy,thefemalezebrafinchknows.Andsheprefersthespecialtrills

hecreateswhenhesingstoher.Amalezebrafinchchangeshissongwhensingingtoafemaleinways

thatpeoplecanbarelydetect.But"thefemalefinchcantellthedifference.

Scientistshadnoticedslightvariationsinthesongsofmal"zebraf'inchesbasedonwhetherthey

weresingingaloneorwhethertherewasafemale(andpotentialmate)nearby.Withanaudience,the

malesspedupthepaceoftheirsongsandcontrolledthenotestheyused.

Forthisstudy,researchersSarahC.WoolleyandAllisonDoupeattheUniversityofCalifornia,

SanFranciscodecidedtofocusattentiononthelisteningfemales,whichhavenotbeenwellstudied

inthepast.

Inthestudy,WoolleyandDoupesetup,alongcagewithasoundspeakerateachend.Onebroadcast

thesoundofamalezebrafinchsingingtohimself,likesomeonesingingintheshower.Theotherspeaker

broadcastamaleperformingforafemaleaudience,asifhewasgivingaconcert.

Femalebirdswereplacedbetweenthetwospeakers.Someofthebirdshadmates,othersdidn't.

Thefemalesshiftedaroundabit,andthenmostofthemhoppedovertositbesidejustonespeaker.

Allthebirdsthatmadeaclearchoicelikedsongsmeantforafemaleaudience,evenifthey'dnever

metthemale.

Matedfemalesalsohadachancetolistentotwodifferentperformancesongs,onefromanunknown

male,andonefromtheirmate.Theyspentmoretimelisteningtotheconcertversionoftheirmates'

songs.Thissuggeststhatafterawhile,femaleslearntorecognize一一andprefer-thesongsoftheir

mates.

Scientiststhenstudiedthebrainsofthefemales.Theyfoundcertainareasofthebrainperked

up3whenthebirdslistenedtotheconcertsongs.Thesebrainareasmaybeinvolvedinrecognizing

andevaluatingthesongs,andstoringthememoriesofthem.

Thisresearchdealswithwhat'scalleddirectedcommunication,whenthecommunicator,orsender,

focusesthemessageforaspecificaudience.Oneexampleisthewaymomsspeaktotheirbabies.Mothers

aroundtheworldusethesamesortofhigh'pitch6d4sing-songchatter,andthebabiesrespondbest

tothosesounds.Songbirdsareoneoftheonlyotherspeciesknowntolearntheircommunication,in

thiscasetheirsongs.

1.Whatdoesthefirstparagraphsayaboutzebrafinches?

A)Malezebrafinchesliketosingtofemalezebrafinches.

B)Malezebrafinchessinglouderthanfemalezebrafinches.

C)Malezebrafincheschangetheirsongsinfemalezebrafinches，presence.

D)Malezebrafinchesliketolistentofemalezebrafinchessing.

2.Whatdidtheresearchersfredintheirstudyoffemalezebrafinches?

A)Femalefincheslikedsongsmalefinchessangforthem.

B)Femalefinchesonlylikedsongsmalefinchessangfortheirmates.

C)Femalefincheslikedtolistentosongsfrombothspeakers.

D)Femalefincheschosethebestmalesingersastheirmates.

3.Whatismeantby"concertsongs,intheseventhparagraph?

A)Songssungbyzebrafinchesataconcert.

B)Songssungbymalefinchesforfemalefinches.

C)Songssungbyfemalefmchesformalefinches.

D)Songssungbymalefmchestomanyfemalefinches.

4.WhatisNOTtrueofdirectedcommunication?

A)Thesenderofamessagehasaspecificaudience.

B)Malezebrafinchessingtofemalefinches.

C)Motherstalktotheirbabies,

D)Malezebrafinchessingtothemselves.

5.Whichofthefollowingcanbestreflectthethemeofthepassage?.

A)Chirpingaway.

B)Birdsongsascommunication.

C)Zebrafinchesandtheirlife.

D)Enjoyingbirdsongs.

答案与题解：

1.C文章第一段的第二句告诉我们，雄性斑胸草雀只要注意到有雌性斑胸草雀听他唱歌便会改变声调。其

他选项均不是该段所表达的意思。

2.A选项B、C、D都不是答案，因为文章的第五段说，有配偶的雌性胸草雀更喜欢她们配偶的歌声，而没

有配偶的喜欢的听雄性斑胸草雀为雌性斑胸卓雀的歌。

3.B第四段提至…amaleperformingforafemaleaudience,asifhewasgivingaconcert.所以，

第七段中的concertsongs即指雄性斑胸草雀为雌性斑胸草雀的歌。

4.D文章的最后一段解释了什么是directedcommunication,即，whenthecommunicator,orsender,

focusesthemessageforaspecificaudience.该段又举了母亲对婴儿说话的例子，说明这与雄性斑胸草雀

为雌性斑胸草雀的歌同属directedcommunicationo

5.B文章所涉及的研究旨在发现雄性斑胸草雀歌声是否会在不同的情况下发生变化，其结果是，它们在为

雌性斑胸草雀唱歌时，会改变声调和速度。这就是说，它们的歌声实际上是一种交流方式。所以应选择B。

AlmostHuman?

ScientistsareracingtobuildtheworldJsfirstthinkingrobot.Thisisnotsciencefiction:

somesaytheywillhavemadeitbytheyear2020CarolPackerreportsMachinesthatwalk,speakand

feelarenolongersciencefiction.Kismetisthenameofanandroid(机器人)whichscientistshavebuilt

attheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT).Kismetisdifferentfromthetraditionalrobot,

becauseitCanshowhumanemotions.Itseyes,earsandlipsmovetoshowwhenit.feelshappy,sad

orbored.Kismetisoneofthefirstofanewgenerationofandroids,robotsthatlooklikehumanbeings

whichcanimitatehumanfeelings.Cog,anotherandroidinventedbytheMIT,imitatestheactionof

amother.However,scientistsadmitthatSofarCoghasthementalabilityofatwo-year-old.

Theoptimists(乐观主义者)saythatbytheyear2020wewillhavecreatedhumanoids(机器人)with

brainssimilartothoseofalladulthumanbeing.Theserobotswillbedesignedtolooklikepeople

tomakethemmoreattractiveandeasiertoselltothepublic.Whatkindofjobswilltheydo?Inthe

future,robotslikeRobonaut,ahumanoidinventedbyNASA,willbedoingdangerousjobs,likerepairing

spacestations.TheywillalsobedoingmoreandmomofthehouseholdworkforusinJapan,scientists

aredesigningandroidsthatwillentertainusbydancingandplayingthepiano.

Somepeopleworryaboutwhatthefutureholds:willrobotsbecomemonsters（怪物）？Willpeople

themselvesbecomeincreasinglylikerobots?Expertspredictthatmoreandmorepeoplewillbewearing

micro-computers,connectedtotheInternet,inthefuture.Peoplewillhavemicro-hipsinvariousparts

oftheirbody,whichwillconnectthemtoawidevarietyofgadgets（小装置）.Perhapsweshouldnot

exaggerate（夸大）theimportanceoftechnology,butonewonderswhether,inyearstocome,wewillstill

befallinginlove,andwhetherwewillstillfeelpain.Whoknows?

31.Kismetisdifferentfromtraditionalrobotsbecause

A.itthinksforitself

B.Itisnotlikesciencefiction

C.itcanlookaftertwo-year-old.

D.itseemstohavehumanfeelings.

32.WhatmakesCogspecial?

A.Itlookslikeamother.

B.Itbehaveslikeachild.

C.Itcanimitatethebehaviorofamother.

D.Ithasahugebrain.

33.Inabout15years'timefromnow,robots

A.willbecomespacedesigners.

B.willlooklikemonsters.

C.willbehavelikeanimals.

D.willthinklikehumans.

34.Inthefuturerobotswillalso

D.explorespace.

B.entertainpeople.

C.movemuchfaster.

D.doallofthehousework.

35.Whatisthewriter'sattitudetorobotsinthefuture?

A.Critical.

B.Hostile.

C.Objective.

D.Enthusiastic

答案：31.D32.C33.D34.B35.C

WhoWantstoLiveForever?

Ifyourdoctorcouldgiveyouadrugthatwouldletyouliveahealthylifefortwiceaslong,

wouldyoutakeit?

Thegoodnewsisthatwemaybedrawingneartothatdate.Scientistshavealreadyextendedthe

livesofflies,wormsandmiceinlaboratories.Manynowthinkthatusinggenetictreatmentswewill

soonbeabletoextendhumanlifetoatleast140years.

Thisseemsagreatidea.Thinkofhowmuchmoretimewecouldspendchasingourdreams,spending

timewithourlovedones,watchingourfamiliesgrowandhavefamiliesoftheirown.

“Longerlifewouldgiveusachancetorecoverfromourmistakesandpromotelongtermthinking,“

saysDrGregoryStockoftheUniversityofCaliforniaSchoolofPublicHealth."Itwouldalsoraise

productivitybyaddingtotheyearwecanwork.”

Longerlivesdon'tjustaffectthepeoplewholivethem.Theyalsoaffectsocietyasawhole.

uWehavewar,poverty,allsortsofissuesaround,andIdon'tthinkanyofthemwouldbeatall

helpedbyhavingpeoplelivelonger,“saysUSbioethicistDanielCallahan."Thequestionis'What

willwegetasasociety?,Isuspectitwon'tbeabettersociety.v

Itwouldcertainlybeaverydifferentsociety.Peoplearealreadyfindingitmoredifficultto

staymarried.Divorceratesarerising.Whatwouldtomarriageinasocietywherepeoplelivedfor140

years?Andwhatwouldhappentofamilylifeifnineor10generationsofthesamefamilywereallalive

atthesametime?

Researchintoageingmayenablewomentoremainfertileforlonger.Andthatraisestheprospect

ofhaving100-year-oldparents,orbrothersandsistersbom50yearsapart".Wethinkofaneidersibling

assomeonewhocanprotectusandofferhelpandadvice.Thatwouldbehardtodoifthatsiblingcame

fromacompletelydifferentgeneration.

Workinglifewouldalsobeaffected,especiallyiftheretirementagewaslifted.Morepeoplewould

stayinworkforlonger.Thatwouldgiveusthebenefitsofage-skill,wisdomandgoodjudgement.

Ontheotherhand,morepeopleworkingforlongerwouldcreategreatercompetitionforjobs.It

wouldmakeitmoredifficultforyoungerpeopletofindajob.Toppostswouldbedominatedbythesame

fewindividuals,makingcareerprogressmoredifficult.Andhoweasilywoulda25-year-oldemployee

beabletocommunicatewitha125-year-oldboss?

Youngpeoplewouldbeasmallerpartofasocietyinwhichpeoplelivedto140.Itmaybethatsuch

asocietywouldplacelessimportanceonguidingandeducatingyoungpeople,andmoreonmakinglife

comfortablefortheold.

Andsocietywouldfeelverydifferentifmoreofitsmemberswereolder.Therewouldbemorewisdom,

butlessenergy.Youngpeopleliketomoveabout.Oldpeopleliketositstill.Youngpeopletendtoact

withoutthinking.Oldpeopletendtothinkwithoutacting.Youngpeoplearecuriousandliketoexperience

differentthings.Oldpeoplearelessenthusiasticaboutchange.Infact,theyarelessenthusiastic

abouteverything.

Theeffectofanti-ageingtechnologyisdeeperthanwemightthink.Butasthescienceadvances,

weneedtothinkaboutthesechangesnow.

“Ifthiscouldeverhappen,thenwe'dbetteraskwhatkindofsocietywewanttoget,“says

DanielCallahan."Wehadbetternotgoanywherenearit2untilwehavefigurethoseproblemsout.”

词汇：

mice/mals/n.老鼠（复数）bioethicist/7aIE5WIsIst/n.生物伦理学家

sibling/5sIblIN/n.兄弟姐妹

注释：

1.brothersandsistersborn50yearsapan出生年份才目隔50年的兄弟姐妹

2.Wehadbetternotgoanywherenearit我们最好离它远点，这里的it指代前面讲的anti-ageing

technologyo

练习：

1.WhichofthefollowingisNOTmentionedasoneofthethingsthatlivinglongermightenable

anindividualtodo?

A)Spendingmoretimewithhisfamily.

B)Havingmoreeducation.

C)Realizingmoredreams.

D)Workinglonger.

2.Whichofthefollowingisimpliedinthesixthparagraph?

A)MarriagesintheUStodayarequiteunstable.

B)MoreandmorepeopleintheUStodaywanttogetmarried.

C)Livinglongerwouldmakeiteasierforpeopletomaintaintheirmaritalties.

D)Ifpeoplelivelonger,theywouldstayinmarriagelonger.

3.AllofthefollowingarepossibleeffectslivinglongermighthaveonworkinglifeEXCEPT

A)Communicationbetweenemployersandemployeeswouldbemoredifficult.

B)Moremoneywouldbeusedbyemployeesinpaymentoftheiremployees.

C)Thejobmarketwouldbemorecompetitive.

D)Itwouldbemoredifficultforyoungpeopletobepromotedtotoppositions.

4.Animportantfeatureofasocietyinwhichpeoplelivealonglifeisthat

A)itplacesmoreemphasisoneducatingtheyoung.

B)itisbothwiseandenergetic.

C)itlacksthecuriositytoexperimentwhatisnew.

D)itwelcomeschanges.

5.WhichofthefollowingbestdescribesCallahan,sattitudetoanti-ageingtechnology?

A)Optimistic.

B)Pessimistic.

C)Reserved.

D)Negative.

答案与题解：

1.B长寿使个人能做的事主要在第3、4段里讲到，作者没有提到长寿可以让人更多地接受教育

2.A本题答案以下面的这两句话为依据：Psoplearealreadyfindingitmoredifficulttostay

married.Divorceratesarerising.暗示美国人目前的婚姻关系已经卜分脆弱。

3.B文章的第9段讲了寿命延长、退休推迟可能带来的种种问题，但作者没有提到雇佣者需要更多的钱来

支付员工的工资。

4.C答案可以在10,11这两段里找到。

5.C本题的答案依据可以在最后一段里找到。Callahan认为在搞清楚长寿社会会给我们带来哪些问题之

前，最好不要急着搞抗衰老的技术。可见他对抗衰老技术的发展是有保留的。

FamousAmericanFoods

What,besideschildren,connectsmothersaroundtheworldandacrosstheseasoftime?It'schicken

soup,oneprominentAmericanfoodexpertsays.

FromRussianvillagestoAfricaandAsia,chickensouphasbeentheremedyforthoseweakinbody

andspirit.MotherspassedtheirknowledgeontoancientwritersofGreece,ChinaandRome,andeven

12thcenturyphilosopherandphysicianMosesMaimonidesextolled（赞美）itsvirtues.

Amongtheancients,Aristotlethoughtpoultryshouldstandinhigherestimationthanfour-legged

animalsbecausetheairislessdensethantheearth.Chickensgotanotherboost（吹捧）intheBook

ofGenesis,whereitiswrittenthatbirdsandfishwerecreatedonthefifthday,adaybefore

four-leggedanimals.

ButaccordingtoMimiSheraton,whohasspentmuchofthepastthreeyearsexploringtheworld

ofchickensoup,muchofthereasonforchicken,srealorimaginedcurative（治愈的）powerscomes

fromitscolor.

Hernewbook,“TheWholeWorldLovesChickenSoup”,looksatthebelovedandmysteriousbrew,

withdozensofrecipesfromaroundtheworld.Throughouttheages,shesaid,aTherehasbeenalot

offeelingthatwhite-coloredfoodsareeasiertoeatfortheweak-womanandtheill”.

Inaddition,asoups,oranythingforthatmattereatenwithaspoon”areconsidereducomfort

foods“Sheratonsaid."Ilovesoupandlovemakingsoupandas1wascollectingrecipesIbeganto

seethisasaninternationaldish.Ithasauniversalmystiqueassomethingcurative,astrength

builder,“SheratonsaidfromherNewYorkhome.

Herbooktreatstheoldestremedyasifitwasbrandnew.

TheNationalBroilerCouncil,thetradegrouprepresentingthechickenindustry,reportedthat

51percentofthepeopleitsurveyedsaidtheyboughtchickenbecauseitwashealthier,50percent

saiditwasversatile,41percentsaiditwaseconomicaland46percentsaiditwaslowinfat.

31Whichofthefollowingcanbethebesttitleofthepassage?

AProminentAmericanFoods

BHistoryoftheChickenSoup

CChickenSoupRecipes

DChickenSoup,aUniversalCureAll

32Sinceancienttimes,thevalueofchickensoup.

Ahasbeenover-estimated

Bhasbeenwidelyacknowledged

Chasbeenappreciatedonlybyphilosophers

Dhasbeenknownonlytomothers

33WhichofthefollowingstatementsisNOTtrue?

AChickensouphasaverylonghistory.

BSinceancienttimes,chickensouphasbeenahomeremedy.

CPoultryusuallystandshigherthanfour-leggedanimals.

DFour-leggedanimalsweresaidtobecreatedonthesixthday.

34ChickensouphascurativepowersmainlyforaccordingtoSheraton.

Aitscolor

Bitstaste

Citsflavor

Ditsrecipe

35Itcanbesaidfromthesurveythatchickenis.

Aamaindish

Bapopularfood

Ccheaperthananyotherfood

Dalloftheabove

答案：31.D32.B33.C34.A35.B

EndangeredSpecies

Endangeredspeciesareplantsandanimalsthatareinimmediatedangerofextinction.Extinction

isactuallyanormalprocessinthecourseofevolution.Sincetheformationoftheearth,manymore

specieshavebecomeextinctthanthoseexisttoday.Thesespeciesslowlydisappearedbecauseofchange

ofclimateandtheirfailuretoadapttosuchconditionsascompetitionandpredation（捕食）.Since

the1600s,however,theprocessofextinctionhasgreatlyacceleratedasaresultofbothhuman

populationgrowthandtechnologicalencroachment（侵犯）onnaturalecologysystems.Todaythemajority

oftheworld'senvironmentsarechangingfasterthantheabilityofmostspeciestoadapttosuch

changesthroughnaturalselection.

Speciesbecomeextinctorendangeredfornumberofreasons,buttheprimarycauseisthedestruction

ofnaturalhabitats（栖息地）.Drainageofwetlands（沼泽地），cuttingandclearingofforests,growth

ofcities,andhighwayanddamconstructionhaveseriouslyreducedavailablenaturalhabitats.Asthe

varioussurroundingsbecomefragments,theremaininganimalpopulationcrowdintosmallerareas,

causingfurtherdestructionofnaturalsurroundings.Speciesinthesesmall“islands”losecontact

withotherpopulationsoftheirextinction.

Someprivateandgovernmenteffortshavebeenorganizedtosavedecliningspecies.Lawsweremade

insomecountriesintheearly1900stoprotectwiIdanimalsfromcommercialtradeandkilling.

InternationalendeavorsareshownintheconventiononInternationalTradeinEndangeredSpecies,

approvedby51nations.Itspurposeistorestrictexploitationofwildanimalsandplantsbyregulating

andrestrictingtradeincertainspecies.Howeffectivesuchlawswillbeinvariouscountries,however,

dependsonenforcement（实施）andsupportbythepeopleandthecourts.Becauseoflackoflawenforcement,

thewillingnessofsomesegmentsofsocietytotradeinendangeredspecies,theactivitiesofpeople

whocatchandkillanimalsillegallyanddealerswhosupplythetrade,thefutureofmanyspeciesis

indoubtinspiteoflegalprotection.

31Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingisthemostimportantfactorcausingtherapid

extinctionofmanyspeciessincethe17thcentury

AHumanbeingsarenotawareoftheimportanceofpreservingendangeredspecies.

BSomeendangeredspecieshavealreadyreachedtheendoftheirlifespaninevolution.

CThedevelopmentofhumansocietyhasgreatlyaffectednaturalecologysystems.

DTheworld,sclimatehaschangedgreatlythatmostspeciescannotsurvive.

32Inthelastsentenceofthesecondparagraph,theword“islands“refersto

Athelandsthatarecompletelysurroundedbywater.

Bthewildanimals'breedinggroundsprotectedbylaw.

Cthepiecesoflandseparatedbymodernbuildingsandroads.

Dthesmal1andisolatedareasinhabitedbycertainspecies.

33ThispassagementionsallofthefollowingcausesfortheextinctionofmanyspeciesEXCEPT

Anaturalselectionofspecies.

Bvariousnaturaldisasters.

Ccommercialtradeandkilling.

Ddestructionofnaturalsurroundings.

34Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingismostimportantinsavingdecliningspecies

AGovernmentsshouldmakesomelawstoprotectendangeredspecies.

BPeopleshouldpaymoreattentiontotheprotectionofnaturalsurroundings.

CRelevantlawmustbemadeandenforcedwiththesupportofthepeople.

DSomeorganizationsshouldwarnpeoplenottotradeinendangeredanimals.

35Howdoestheauthorfeelabouttheprospectofprotectingendangeredspeciesfrombeingextinct?

AWorried.

BOptimistic.

CIndifferent.

DConfident.

ATrip

EveryyearNewZealanderslivinginLondoncanbeseenloadingupKombivansandheadingoffto

experiencethe“classicEuropeanholiday.ThetripusuallystartsinthenorthofFrance,after

crossingthechannelfromDoverinEnglandtoCalais,drivingdownthroughFrance,overthePyrenees

intoSpain,westintoPortugalandthenacrosstheContinenttoItalyandoftenbeyond.

TherearenumerousreasonsyoungNewZealanderstakethisriteofpassage-aswellasseeingall

thefantasticsightsandtastingthedelightsofEurope'sfoodandwine,it'srelativelyinexpensive.

TheKombiistransportandaccommodationallinone,cuttingdownsignificantlyoncosts.

Thereisjustoneproblem.AstheKombisbecome“antique”,thesetripsareusuallypunctuated

withnumerousroadsidesessionsasthevansitsidle,innohurrytostart,whileyouswelterinthe

hotsun.Butdonotletthisdeteryou.TravellingEuropeinyourownvehiclemeansnopublictransport

schedulestocrampyourstyle,theabilitytoexplorethequaint,off-the-beaten-trackvillageswhere

the“real"localslive,freedomtonothavetobookaccommodationinadvance--youcannearlyalways

getacampsiteandcanloadyourvehiclewithcheap,fantasticregionalwinesandsouvenirs.Withthese

bonusesinmind,herearesomesuggestionsforplanningthegreatEuroperoadadventure.Thekeyto

apleasurabledrivingexperienceisagoodnavigatorandadriverwithacoolhead.Ifyoudonotfeel

relaxeddrivingaroundNewZealand，scitiesandhighways,thenyouprobablywillnotenjoydriving

aroundEurope.Ascopilottothedriver,youneedtoread(andunderstand)maps,lookoutforturn-offs

—andkeepthemusicplaying.Languageisnotabigproblemonceafewessentialtermsaremastered.

Thebiggestchallengeisinthecities,wheretrafficcanbechaoticand