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①　The car has reshaped our cities. It seems to offer autonomy for everyone. There is something almost delightful in the detachment from reality of advertisements showing mass-produced cars marketed as symbols of individuality and of freedom when most of their lives will be spent making short journeys on choked roads.

②　For all the fuss made about top speeds, cornering ability and acceleration, the most useful gadgets on a modern car are those which work when you’re going very slowly: parking sensors, sound systems, and navigation apps which will show a way around upcoming traffic jams. This seems to be one of the few areas where the benefit of sharing personal information comes straight back to the sharer: because these apps know where almost all the users are, and how fast they are moving almost all the time, they can spot traffic congestion (堵塞) very quickly and suggest ways round it.

③　The problem comes when everyone is using a navigation app which tells them to avoid everyone else using the same gadget. Traffic jams often appear where no one has enough information to avoid them. When a lucky few have access to the knowledge, they will benefit greatly. But when everyone has perfect information, traffic jams simply spread onto the side roads that seem to offer a way round them.

④　This new congestion teaches us two things. The first is that the promises of technology will never be realised as fully as we hope; they will be limited by their unforeseen and unintended consequences. Siting in a more comfortable car in a different traffic jam is pleasant but hardly the liberation that once seemed to be promised. The second is that self-organisation will not get us where we want to go. The efforts of millions of drivers to get ahead do not miraculously produce a situation in which everyone does better than before, but one in which almost everyone does rather worse. Central control and collective organisationcan produce smoother and fairer outcomes, though even that much is never guaranteed.

⑤　Similar limits can be foreseen for the much greater advances promised by self-driving cars. Last week, one operated by the taxi company Uber struck and killed a woman pushing her bicycle across a wide road in Arizona. This was the first recorded death involving a car which was supposed to be fully autonomous. Experts have said that it suggests a “catastrophic failure” of technology.

⑥　Increasingly, even Silicon Valley has to acknowledge the costs of the intoxicating (令人陶醉的）hurry that characterises its culture. What traffic teaches us is that reckless and uncontrolled change is as likely to harm us as it is to benefit us, and that thoughtful regulation is necessary for a better future.

1.1. What does the author say about car advertisements?

A They portray drivers who enjoy speed on the road.

B They present a false picture of the autonomy cars provide.

C They pursue individuality and originality in design concept.

D They overestimate the potential market of autonomous cars.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。本题考查汽车广告的相关信息。根据 car advertisements 可定位至首段③句(advertisements showing...cars)。首段②句指出汽车似乎赋予了每个人自主权,随后③句指出量产汽车广告将汽车标榜为个性与自由之象征的做法脱离了实际,这些汽车大多数时候是在拥堵的道路上进行短途行驶。可见,汽车广告中宣传的个性和自由与现实生活中的拥堵、消耗不符,B项符合此意。

2.2. What does the author imply about the various gadgets on cars?

A They can help to alleviate traffic jams.

B Most of them are as effective as advertised.

C Only some can be put to use under current traffic conditions.

D They are constantly upgraded to make driving easier and safer.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。本题考查与汽车上的装置有关的暗含信息。根据gadgets on cars可定位至第二段①句(the most useful gadgets on a modern car)。第二段①句指出尽管人们特别在意汽车的最高时速、转弯和加速能力,但汽车上最有用的装置还是那些在行车非常缓慢(堵车)时起作用的装置,诸如停车传感器、音响系统、导航应用程序等。结合首段末尾暗示的当前交通情形(汽车大多数时候是在拥堵的路上行驶)可推知,在目前堵车频发的交通条件下,汽车的动力、转向、加速等装置通常发挥不了作用,只有停车传感器,导航应用程序等装置在堵车时可以派上用场，C项符合此意。

3.3. What does the author say about the use of navigation apps?

A It is likely to create traffic jams in other places.

B It helps a great deal in easing traffic congestion.

C It sharply reduces the incidence of traffic accidents.

D It benefits those who are learning to drive.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。本题考查运用导航应用程序的影响。根据 the use of navigation apps 定位至第三段①句using a navigatlon app)。第三段①句指出如果大家都用导航软件来躲避堵车会出现问题,随后②③④句展开说明:当只有少数司机用导航软件获得路况信息时,他们确实可以避开堵车;但是当所有司机都用导航软件时，软件会引导他们走辅路来躲避拥堵的主路,这就造成了辅路的拥堵。综合可知,当大家都用导航应用程序来躲避堵车时，反而可能会在其他地方造成新的拥堵，A项正确。

4.4. What does the author say about technology?

A Its consequences are usually difficult to assess.

B It seldom delivers all the benefits as promised.

C It depends on the required knowledge for application.

D Its benefits are guaranteed by collective wisdom.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。本题考查作者对技术的评价,可定位至第四段②句(the promises of technology will never berealised as fully as we hope)。该句指出,技术预期的好处永远不可能像我们所期待的那样得到充分实现,它们会受限于无法预见或预料之外的结果。可见,技术所预期的好处无法全部实现,B项正确。

5.5. What key message does the author try to convey in the passage?

A The consequences of technological innovation need not be exaggerated.

B There is always a price to pay to develop technology for a better world.

C Technological innovation should be properly regulated.

D The culture of Silicon Valley ought not to be emulated.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。由题干中的 key message、in the passage 推断本题考查文章主旨,可结合篇末总结段解答。第六段②句指出“为了更美好的未来,周密的管控很有必要”,说明技术创新需要妥善的管控,C正确。