FormostcitypeopletheelevatorisanunremarkablemachinethatinspiresnoneoftheenthusiasmorinterestthatAmericansaffordtrainsjets，andevenbicycles.Dr.ChristopherWilkisamemberofasmallgroupofelevatorexpertswhoconsiderthisamisunderstanding.Withouttheelevatortheypointouttherecouldbenodowntownskyscrapersortallbuildingsandcitylifeasweknowitwouldbeimpossible.Inthatsensetheyargue，theelevator’sroleinAmericanhistoryhasbeennolesssignificantthanthatofcars.InfactaccordingtoWilk?thecarandtheelevatorhavebeenlockedina“secretwar”foroveracenturywithcarsmakingitpossibleforpeopletospreadhorizontally(水平地)，andelevatorspushingthemtowardlifeinclosegroupsoftoweringvertical(垂直的)columns.

Ifwetendtoignorethesignificanceofelevatorsitmightbebecauseridinginthemtendstobesuchabriefboringandevenawkwardexperience^onethatcaninvolveunexpectedlymeetingpeoplewithwhomwehavenothingincommonandanunpleasantawarenessofthefactthatwe’rehangingfromacableinalongpassage.

InanewbookLiftedGermanjournalistandculturalstudiesprofessorAndreasBernarddirectedallhisattentiontothisexperiencestudyingtheoriginsofelevatoranditsrelationshiptohumankindandfindingthatridinginanelevatorhasneverbeenatotallycomfortableexperience.“After150yearswearestillnotusedtoit”，Bernardsaid.“Westillhavenotexactlylearnedtocopewiththemixtureofclosenessanddispleasure.”ThatmixtureaccordingtoBernardsetstheelevatorrideapartfromjustabouteveryothersituationwefindourselvesinaswegoaboutourlives.

Today，astheworld’surbanpopulationexplodes，andcitiesbecomemorecrowdedtallerandmorecrowdedAmerica’stotalnumberofelevators—900000atlastcountaccordingtoElevatorWorldmagazine’s“2012VerticalTransportationIndustry”一areaforcethat’sbecomingmoreimportantthanever.Andforthepeoplewhoreallyreallylovethemitseemslikehightimethatwelookedseriouslyatjustwhatkindofforcetheyare.

小题1:Whatdoestheunderlinedword“this”inParagraph1referto?A．Thegeneralviewofelevators.B．Theparticularinterestsofexperts.C．Thedesiref