For most city people, the elevator is an unremarkable machine that inspires none of the enthusiasm or interest that Americans afford trains, jets, and even bicycles. Dr Christopher Wilk is a member of a small group of elevator experts who consider this a misunderstanding. Without the elevator, they point out, there could be no downtown skyscrapers or tall buildings, and city life as we know it would be impossible. In that sense, they argue, the elevator's role in American history has been no less significant than that of cars. In fact, according to Wilk, the car and the elevator have been locked in a “secret war” for over a century, with cars making it possible for people to spread horizontally(水平地), and elevators pushing them towards life in close groups of towering vertical(垂直的) columns.
If we tend to ignore the significance of elevators, it might be because riding in them tends to be such a brief, boring, and even awkward experience—one that can involve unexpectedly meeting people with whom we have nothing in common, and an unpleasant awareness of the fact that we're hanging from a cable in a long passage.
In a new book, Lifted, German journalist and cultural studies professor Andreas Bernard directed all his attention to this experience, studying the origins of elevator and its relationship to humankind and finding that riding in an elevator has never been a totally comfortable experience. “After 150 years, we are still not used to it，” Bernard said. “We still have not exactly learnt to cope with the mixture of closeness and displeasure.” That mixture, according to Bernard, sets the elevator ride apart from just about every other situation we find ourselves in as we go about our lives.
Today, as the world's urban population explodes, and cities become more crowded, taller, and more crowded, America's total number of elevators—900，000 at last count, according to Elevator World magazine's “2012 Vertical Transportation Industry”—are a force that's becoming more important than ever. And for the people who really, really love them, it seems like high time that we looked seriously at just what kind of force they are.
67. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
A. The general view of elevators.
B. The particular interests of experts.
C. The desire for a remarkable machine.
D. The enthusiasm for transport vehicles.
68. The author's purpose in mentioning cars is ________.
A. to contrast their functions with elevators'
B. to emphasize the importance of elevators
C. to reveal their secret war against elevators
D. to explain people's preference for elevators
69. According to Prof Bernard, what has made the elevator ride different from other life experiences?
A. Vertical direction.
B. Lack of excitement.
C. Little physical space.
D. Uncomfortable conditions.
70. The author urges readers to consider ________.
A. the exact number of elevator lovers
B. the serious future situation of elevators
C. the role of elevators in city development
D. the relationship between cars and elevators
【要点概述】 本文是一篇议论文。文章告诉我们，电梯在美国人的生活中是非常重要的，它使人们向垂直方向发展。随着城市规模的扩大，电梯的使用越来越多，人们要更加关注电梯的作用。
67. A 推理判断题。根据第一段的第一句“For most city people, the elevator is an unremarkable machine that inspires none of the enthusiasm or interest that Americans afford trains, jets, and even bicycles.”可知，大部分人都认为电梯是不值得关注的机器，而Dr Christopher Wilk认为这是一种错误的想法，他认为电梯和汽车几乎同样重要。故this是指大众对于电梯的错误的看法，所以A项正确。
68. B 推理判断题。作者在第一段中提到汽车，提到了它的作用“…with cars making it possible for people to spread horizontally(水平地)…”，然后提到电梯的作用“…elevators pushing them towards life in close groups of towering vertical(垂直的) columns.”，其目的是用汽车的作用说明电梯的作用及它的重要性。 所以B项正确。
69. C 推理判断题。根据第三段中的“…that riding in an elevator has never been a totally comfortable experience.”以及“‘We still have not exactly learnt to cope with the mixture of closeness and displeasure.’”可知人们乘坐电梯的时候感觉是拥挤的、不愉快的，而这主要是因为电梯里的空间太小，给人压抑感。所以C项正确。
70. C 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段第一句“Today, as the world's urban population explodes, and cities become more crowded, taller, and more crowded, America's total number of elevators—900，000 at last count, according to Elevator World magazine's ‘2012 Vertical Transportation Industry’—are a force that's becoming more important than ever.”可知，随着城市规模的扩大，电梯的使用越来越多，它起的作用比以往更重要了，所以人们要更加关注电梯的作用。所以C项正确。
