1.We all remember seeing hitchhikers,standing by the side of the road,thumb sticking out,waiting for a lift.But it is getting(50)C nowadays.What killed hitchhiking?(51)D is often mentioned as a reason.Movies about murderous hitchhikers and real-life crime have put many drivers off(52)B hitchhikers.That no single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester no doubt(53)C the safety fear:a large,strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous.
But the reason may be more(54)A:hitchhiking happens where people don't have cars and transport services are poor.Plenty of people still hitchhike in Poland and Romania.Perhaps the rising level of (55)B in the UK means the few people left hitchhiking are usually considered strange.Why can't they afford cars?
Three-quarters of the UK population have access to a car; many of the remainder will be quite old.The (56)A hitchhiking population is therefore small.Yet my trip proves it's still
(57)A to hitchhike.The people who picked me up were very interesting-lawyer,retired surgeon,tank commander,carpenter,man who live in an isolated farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains.My(58)D is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes (家伙) in red,spotted scarves.Most just wanted to do someone a good turn; a few said they were so surprised to see a hitchhiker that they couldn't help(59)B.
The(60)A of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet,via sites such as hitchhikers.org.But for now,you can still stick your thumb out (actually,I didn't do much of that,(61)C just to hold up my destination sign) and people-wonderful,caring,sharing,unafraid people-will stop.
In the UK,with its cheap coaches and reasonable rail service,I don't think I'll make a
(62)B of it.But having(63)A it so much,I'm ready now to do a big trip across Europe and beyond.In the 1970s a female friend of my wife's hitchhiked to India.How wonderful it would be to have another go,though Afghanistan might be a(n) (64)D.I wish I'd got that tank commander's mobile number.
50.A.frequent | B.meaningless | C.rare | D.unbelievable |
51.A.Expense | B.Distance | C.Location | D.Safety |
52.A.refusing | B.picking up | C.saving | D.getting rid of |
53.A.eliminates | B.strengthens | C.reflects | D.multiplies |
54.A.complex | B.relevant | C.personal | D.persuasive |
55.A.safety awareness | B.car ownership | C.transportation service | D.road condition |
56.A.potential | B.sensitive | C.suspected | D.respectable |
57.A.dangerous | B.doubtful | C.possible | D.sensible |
58.A.prediction | B.principle | C.intension | D.conclusion |
59.A.hating | B.stopping | C.fearing | D.gasping |
60.A.future | B.problem | C.uncertainty | D.danger |
61.A.pretending | B.expecting | C.preferring | D.managing |
62.A.mistake | B.habit | C.misunderstanding | D.decision |
63.A.enjoyed | B.heard about | C.imagined | D.suffered from |
64.A.example | B.coincidence | C.imagination | D.challenge |