I was desperately nervous about becoming car-free. But eight months ago our car was hit by a passing vehicle and it was destroyed. No problem, I thought: we’ll buy another. But the insurance payout didn’t even begin to cover the costs of buying a new car—I worked out that, with the loan (贷款) we’d need plus petrol, insurance, parking permits and tax, we would make a payment as much as £600 a month.
And that’s when I had my fancy idea. Why not just give up having a car at all? I live in London. We have a railway station behind our house, a tube station 10 minutes’ walk away, and a bus stop at the end of the street. A new car club had just opened in our area, and one of its shiny little red Peugeots was parked nearby. If any family in Britain could live without a car, I reasoned, then surely we were that family.
But my new car-free idea, sadly, wasn’t shared by my family. My teenage daughters were horrified. What would their friends think about our family being “too poor to afford a car”? (I wasn’t that bothered what they thought, and I suggested the girls should take the same approach.)
My friends, too, were astonished at our plan. What would happen if someone got seriously ill overnight and needed to go to hospital? (an ambulance) How would the children get to and from their many events? (buses and trains) People smiled as though this was another of my mad ideas, before saying they were sure I’d soon realize that a car was a necessity.
Eight months on, I wonder whether we’ll ever own a car again. The idea that you “have to” own a car, especially if you live in a city, is all in the mind. I live—and many other citizens do too—in a place that has never been better served by public transport, and yet car ownership has never been higher. We worry about rising car costs, but we’d be better off asking something much more basic: do I really need a car? Certainly the answer is no, and I’m a lot richer because I dared to ask the question.
28. The author decided to live a car-free life partly because ______.
A. most families chose to go car-free B. he was hurt in a terrible car accident
C. the cost of a new car was too much D. the traffic jam was unbearable for him
29. What is the attitude of the author’s family toward his plan?
A. Supportive. B. Disapproving. C. Optimistic. D. Unconcerned.
30. What did the author suggest his daughters do about their friends’ opinion?
A. Argue against it. B. Take their advice. C. Think it over. D. Leave it alone.
31. What conclusion did the author draw after the eight-month car-free life?
A. Life cannot go without a car. B. Life without a car is a little bit hard.
C. His life gets improved without a car. D. A car-free life does not suit everyone.
CBDC
人生感悟类阅读的概念：
生活感悟类的文章就是指能给人心灵以启迪，使人从中受到教育的文章。这类文章的体裁可以是记叙文，如生活中一些感人故事或情感故事，有点类似心灵鸡汤一样的短文。
生活感悟类阅读解题指导：
一、文章特点：
生活感悟类的文章就是指能给人心灵以启迪，使人从中受到教育的文章。这类文章的体裁可以是记叙文，如生活中一些感人故事或情感故事，有点类似心灵鸡汤一样的短文。有时故事的结尾会有一句“点睛之笔”，点出全文的中心思想，就像《伊索寓言》里的寓言一样。还可能是夹叙夹议的哲理散文或生活随笔。散文随笔通常会阐述一种朴素易懂，耳熟能详的人生道理或宝贵品质。文章的结构和议论文类似，一般是总分总或总分结构。每段首句或尾句为主题句（论点），其它句子围绕主题展开论述（论据），论证方法多种多样，或举例，或引用名言，或正反对照等。
二、解题技巧：
针对生活感悟类文章的特点，做这类文章的完形填空时，要特别注意以下几点：
1、重点理解全文的首句。如果是记叙文，找出when，where，who，what等基本要素。如果是散文随笔，充分理解文章的中心句—全文的主题。
2、阅读全文的结尾段或结尾句，有助于理解文章所阐述或蕴含的哲理、感悟或忠告等。
3、调动自己的背景知识和情感。这类文章不会讲大道理也不会涉及到一些很专业的知识技术领域，而是谈一些小事和简单的道理，所以如果读者能和作者产生感情上的共鸣，读者会更好地把握作者的意图态度，从而提高做题的准确度。因此，考生在平时要做一个有心人，即用心去感悟生活中发生的小事，思考人生的一些基本道理，多阅读一些短小精悍的美文，多写写自己的心情故事和对生活学习的感悟。只有平时多用心，做题时才能调动自己的背景知识和情感。
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A. Take full responsibility B. Slow down your pace C. Find an advisor D. Cherish people around you E. Find your deepest values F. Be willing to change |
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You need to change in order to grow. Changing your life is a continuous process. It never ends. The moment you stop changing, you stop growing. Here are some tips that may help to change your life:
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To change your life, you need time to think and reflect. If you are always busy, you won’t have the time to think about your life, let alone taking action to change it. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast ― you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.
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It’s your life; nobody can change it but you. If you aren’t willing to change, then nothing in this world can make you do so. To build the willingness to change, first you should realize that your life can be better than it is now. No matter how good your life is, it can always be improved. On the other hand, don’t feel hopeless if your life doesn’t seem good right now. You can always change your life for the better.
Don’t blame other people for the bad things that happen in your life. Don’t blame your family, friends, boss, or the economy. Whether your life goes up or down depends on you and you alone. Stephen Covey once said, “We immediately become more effective when we decide to change ourselves rather than asking things to change for us.”
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Deep down in your heart, there are some principles that you know is true. Take the time to find them. What do you think is the most valuable thing in life? What principles do you think you must follow to live a fulfilling life? These are the values that you need to align yourself with. Find them and remind yourself constantly about them.
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Not only can this person give you advice on what to do in certain situations, he can also warn you about possible pitfalls in your path. Without a mentor, most likely you will have to learn many lessons the hard way. Having a mentor will save you serious amount of time.