Hitchhiking
When I was in my teens and 20s, hitchhiking was a main form of long-distance transport. The kindness or curiosity of strangers ___B__1____ me all over Europe, North America, Asia and southern Africa. Some of the life-givers became friends, many provided hospitality ___D__2_____ the road.
No only did you find out much more about a country than __A___3_____ traveling by train or plane, but1 there was that element of excitement about where you would finish up that night. Hitchhiking featured importantly in Western culture. It has books and songs about it. So what has happened to ____C__4_____?
A few years ago, I asked the same question about hitching in a column on a newspaper. __A__5_____ of people from all over the world responded with their view on the state of hitchhiking.
If there is a hitchhikers __D__6_____it must be Iran, came one reply. Rural Ireland was recommended as a friendly place for hitching, __B__7_____ was Quebec, Canadaif you dont mind being berated for not speaking French.
But while hitchhiking was clearly still alive and well in many parts of the world, the ___C__8____ feeling was that throughout much of the west it was doomed .
With so much news about crime in the media, people assumed that anyone on the open road without the money for even a bus ticket must present a danger. But do we __D__9____ to be so wary both to hitch and to give a lift?
In Poland in the 1960s, ___A__10____a Polish woman who e-mailed me, the authorities introduced the Hitchhikers Booklet. The booklet contained coupons for drivers, so each time a driver ___B__11_____who had picked up somebody, he or she received a coupon. At the end of the season, ___C__12_____who had picked up the most hikers were rewarded with various prizes. Everybody was hitchhiking then.
Surely this is a good idea for society? Hitchhiking would increase respect by breaking down __B___13____between strangers. It would help fight __A___14_____warming by cutting down on fuel consumption as hitchhikers would be using existing fuels. It would also improve educational standards by delivering instant ___D__15____in geography, history, politics and sociology.
1. A. made B. took C. traveled D. crossed
2. A. in B. over C. at D. on
3. A. when B. after C. before D. if
4. A. the books B. them C. it D. the songs
5. A. Hundreds B. Hundred C. Thousand D. Dozen
6. A. sky B. space C. map D. heaven
7. A. like B. as C. for D. since
8. A. big B. large C. general D. little