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1．Traveling by Bus

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　　Why do people in all countries ride in buses to school, to work and to far places？Buses can go where trains and airplanes cannot．They do not cost as much to travel on．Even though they may not move as fast as airplanes and trains, they sometimes take people between two places faster．This is because they may travel a more direct way, or may leave more often, or at better times．

　　Buses come in different sizes．A small bus can carry only eight or ten people．A large one might have seats for fifty to seventy people and have standing room for more．

　　Thousands of yellow school buses carry millions of children to school every year．Most of these buses have seats placed quite close together to fit in as many children as possible．Some schools buy their own buses．Others pay to use buses that belong to bus companies．

　　City and town buses carry people for short distances．The seats of these are close together, and there is standing room as well．Most city buses have two doors so that people can get on and off quickly．

　　Long distance buses go from state to state or country to country．They give people the chance to travel across huge stretches of land．These buses have comfortable seats that can be moved to different positions．They have places to store suitcases．Many have washrooms．All these things are important on a long trip．

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Henry Ford was the first person to build cars which were cheap, strong and fast．He was able to sell millions of models because he could produce them in large numbers at a time; that is, he made a great many cars of exactly the same kind．Ford’s father hoped that his son would be come a farmer, but the young man did not like the idea and he went to Detroit(底特律)where he worked as a mechanic(机械师)．By the age of 29, in 1892, he had built his first car．However, the car made in this way, the famous “Model T” did not appear until 1908-five years after Ford had started his great motor car factory．This car showed to be well-known that it remained unchanged for twenty year．Since Ford’s time, this way of producing cars in large numbers has become common in industry and has reduced the price of many goods which would otherwise(否则)be very expensive．

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　　What is the Driving Offence Points System?

　　After the introduction of this system, certain traffic offences will earn the driver points besides other punishment．If a driver makes any of these offences, the points will be recorded．When the driver gets a certain number of points, he will be forbidden to drive for a certain amount of time．

　　What are the purposes of this system?

　　This is a system designed to make roads much safer．It can improve standards of driving and reduce the accident rates．

　　Which traffic offences will result in Driving Offence Points?

　　Of course, not all traffic offences are covered by this system．Only those that have direct effect on road safety are included．There are altogether fourteen items．

　　What will happen if you have got up to 10 points?

　　If you have got 10 points or above, but still less than 15 points, you will receive a warning letter from the Transport Department．This letter will tell you your record of Driving Offence Points and remind you of the result of getting more points．It is hoped that this warning will change your driving behavior for the better．

　　What will happen if you have got 15 points?

　　If you have got 15 points or more within two years, a court will take away your driving license．The first time you are found guilty you will not be able to drive for three months, but if you are caught a second time, you will not be able to drive for six months．

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　　There are more than 100 million cars in the United States．An ordinary car gets less than 15 miles from each gallon(加仑)of gas．It travels about 10, 000 miles each year．In that time, it uses about 650 gallons of gas．In all, automobiles use up some 70 billion gallons of gas a year．That comes out to be four-and-a-half million barrels a day．

　　The importance of saving gas, then, cannot be stressed too much．Let’s say, the fuel used by each car could be cut back just 15 percent．This could be done by making fewer trips each day．It could be done by keeping the automobiles in good shape．It could be done through better driving habits．If these were done, the nation’s use of fuel would fall by close to two-thirds of a million barrels per day．

　　Everyone can help to save gas．One way is to ride buses．Some could walk to work．Others could ride their bikes．Another way is to share a ride．People could share cars．About one-third of all cars are used for going to and from work．You can go shopping with a friend from time to time．If two people use a car instead of two, they all save．Driving stress(紧张)would be less, too, with fewer cars on the road．The savings on gas around the nation would come to more than one-half million barrels a day．Still another way to save is by cutting out trips one does not need to take．Can you find one car trip per week that could be done by telephone?Can you combine trips?If each car traveled 10 miles less each week, they could save three-and-a-half billion gallons of gas a year．This comes to nearly 5 percent of the total passenger cars demand for gas．

　　The way people drive decides how much fuel they save．Careful drivers may get 20 percent more miles per gallon than ordinary drivers．They obey the 55-mile-per-hour speed limit．If just one gallon of gas were saved each week for each car in the country, a total of five-and-a-half billion gallons could be saved a year．

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　　Meet the new Volvo 460．

　　Volvo with so much going for it, you’ll find it very easy to get into the driving seat．

　　You will love the feel of this car, even before you’ve turned the key．Standard features on all models include adjustable steering column(可调整方向盘支撑杆), heated seats, electric sunroof．

　　On the GLE and Turbo models there are electric windows, heated door mirrors and power assisted steering．

　　The level of comfort and equipment is extravagant(豪华的)even by Volvo’s generous standards．

　　More comforting still is the knowledge that all this luxury(奢侈)is designed around Volvo’s rigid adherence(严格确保)to safety．

　　But the real excitement starts when the engine starts．

　　The 460 is a stylish performer．Smooth, responsive and very lively, particularly the Turbo version．

　　This car drives like a dream．And while getting into the driving seat is easy, getting out is another matter．

　　At the end of your test drive you won’t want an open door．

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　　There are little cars that may some day take the place of today’s automobiles(汽车)．If everyone drives such a little car in the future, there will be less pollution in the air, there will be more parking space in cities, and the streets will be less crowded．The space now for one car of the usual size can hold at least three such little cars．

　　The little cars will cost much less to own and to drive．Driving will be safer, too, as these little cars can go only 65 kilometers an hour．

　　The cars of the future will be fine for going around the city, but they will not be useful for going far away．If powered by electricity, it will have two batteries－one battery for the motor and the other for the horn(喇叭), signals(信号灯), etc．Little cars which are powered by gas will go 45 kilometers before needing to stop for more gas．

　　If big cars are still used along with the small ones, two sets of roads will be needed to set up in the future．Some roads will be used for the big, fast cars, and other roads will be needed for the small, slower ones．

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　　This poster can be found inside a subway^⑨ car in San Francisco．It reminds commuters for anything they think out of place．The police in charge of the subway system hang up because they are worried about terrorism．An unattended bag could contain a bomb．

　　The bottom of the sign gives three ways to report any suspicious(可疑的)packages．The first way is to use the intercom(内部通信系统)on the train; the second is to call the police on a pay phone and third is simply to tell a subway employee．In the right hand comer, “BART” stands for Bay Area Rapid Transportation．“Bay Area” refers to several cities surrounding the San Francisco Bay．

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　　It was at least two months before Christmas when nine-year-old?Almie Rose told her father and me that she wanted a new bicycle．As Christmas drew nearer, her desire for a bicycle seemed to fade^⑤, or so we thought．We bought the latest rage(时兴的东西), Baby Sitter’s Club dolls, and a doll house．Then, much to our surprise, on December 23rd, she said that she “really wanted a bike more than anything else．” It was just too late, what with all the details of preparing Christmas dinner and buying last minute gifts, to take the time to select the “right bike” for our little girl．So, here we were Christmas Eve around 9：00 p．m．, with Almie and her six-year-old brother, Dylan, nestled^⑥ comfortably in their beds．Now we could only think of the bicycle and the disappointment of our child．What if I make a little bicycle out of clay(泥)and write a note that she could trade the clay model in for a real bike?” Her dad asked．“This is an expensive item^⑦ and she is ‘such a big girl’, it would be much better for her to pick it out．” So he spent the next four hours painstakingly^⑧ working with clay to make a tiny bike．

　　On Christmas morning, we were excited for Almie to open the little heart shaped package with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note．Finally, she opened it and read the note aloud．“Does this mean that I trade in(抵价购物)this bike that Daddy made me for a real one?” Beaming, I said, “Yes．” Almie had tears in her eyes when she replied, “I could never trade in this beautiful bicycle that Daddy made me．I’d rather keep this than get a real bike．” At that moment, we would have moved heaven and earth to buy her every bicycle on the planet!

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　　In 1947 the pilot of a small aeroplane saw nine strange objects in the sky over Washington in the USA．He said that they looked like saucers．Newspapers printed his story under the headline “Flying Saucers(飞碟)”．

　　Since then, all over the world, people have reported seeing similar strange objects．No one knows what they are or where they come from．Some people say that they do not exist, but many others say that they have seen them．Usually people on the ground have seen them but not always．Airline pilots also have reported seeing them and so have astronauts－the men who fly in spaceships．

　　Perhaps some people saw them only in their imagination on illusion(幻觉，错觉)．Perhaps some people made a mistake．But airline pilots and astronauts do not usually make mistakes of this kind．Captain Ed Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon, said in 1974 that he believes that some “flying saucers” are real．Many other people now believe that these strange flying objects are visiting the earth from other worlds in space．

　　“They have come to greet us, ” they say．

　　The American government tried to find out more about these objects．It listened to a great many people who said they had seen them．But the Government Committee could not decide on what the objects were．It called them UFOs, which is short for Unidentified Flying Objects．

　　Some even say they have seen people in the flying saucers!In 1964, a driver of a police car in New Mexico saw a UFO landing a mile away．When he reached it, there were two small figures standing near it．They looked like little men．When he reported on his radio, they got inside the object and flew away．

　　In 1973 two men were out fishing in Mississippi．They say they saw a UFO shaped like an egg．There were three creatures like men but their skins were silver in colour．They had no eyes, and their mouths were just slits(裂缝)．Their noses and ears were pointed．They made the fishermen get inside the UFO for a while．Then the creatures photographed them and took them to the place where they had been fishing．

　　There are many other similar stories．Some are probably untrue but some may be true．No one knows．

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　　Before a new type of airplane goes into service, every part of it is tested again and again．But there are two tests that are more important than all the others．

　　The first is called the “tank test”．A modern airplane must fly very high in the sky．Air must be pumped into the plane so that the passengers can breathe．The metal structure(结构)of the plane has to be very strong for this reason．When the plane is filled with air, the air presses against the skin of the plane inside．The pressure(压力)on a small window is like a huge foot that is trying to get out．If a small part of the plane were to fail, the plane would explode^④ in the sky．To test the structure of the plane, the plane is lowered into a huge tank or container of water．Then it is filled with air．The pressure inside the plane is greater than it ever will be when it is high up in the air．Finally, there is an explosion．This does not cause so much damage inside the water tank as it would anywhere else．Engineers can discover which part of the plane has broken．Then that part is made stronger．

　　The most dangerous test happens when the new plane is going through test flights in the air．The test pilot must find out exactly what happens when the engines(发动机)are all shut off at once．The plane begins to fall like a stone．It is the pilot’s job to find out how he can get control of the plane again．These two tests are examples of how planes are made safe before they ever carry passengers．