In the United States, train transportation is unpopular compared with cars and airplanes. Most people like traveling by car or by air.
Officials of the United States Department of Transportation made a study in 2001. The study is about how many miles Americans traveled by different means of transportation. They only studied trips longer than 50 miles. The study showed that fifty-six percent of all miles were traveled in personal vehicle. Forty-one percent were traveled in an airplane. Two percent were traveled in a bus. And less than one percent of miles were traveled in a train.
Amtrak is the national provider of train transportation in the United States. In the past ten years, the number of its passengers has increased by eighteen percent. Although the number of passengers has increased, it is still very small now. In countries such as France, Germany, or Japan, more people use trains.
There are several reasons why many people __________________________.
Firstly, Americans love to drive their own cars. On highways, cars can travel as fast as trains. These highways connect all major cities in America.Secondly, many travelers like to be independent. When they use their own cars they can decide when to travel. Thirdly, many buses travel between major cities. Bus travel is less costly than train travel.
In a huge country like the United States, cities are far away from each other. In some cases, travel from one city to another by train may take more than a day. Airplanes can carry passengers over long distances much faster. People who do not want to spend long time traveling by train decide to fly. For these people saving time is the most important thing.

1. 1.

   What is the best title of the passage? (Please answer within 10 words.)

2. 2.

   Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?
   It’s convenient for people to decide the start-off time when they travel in their own cars.

3. 3.

   Please fill in the blank in the fourth paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.( Please answer within 10 words.)

4. 4.

   What means of transportation do you like best when traveling, trains, cars, or planes? Why? (Please answer within 30 words)

5. 5.

   Translate the underlined sentences in the last paragraph into Chinese.

 Recent studies show that many young people in the United States never finish high school．Some researchers say about fifteen to twenty percent of public school students do not complete their education．But many other experts and policymakers believe that for the past twenty years，the dropout rate has been around thirty percent．For Latino and black students，the numbers are even higher．Researchers say almost half of them leave schoo1．At the same time，almost half the states let students leave school before the age of eighteen without letting their parents know．

    Finding a good job without a high school education is _________．A recent study found that almost half of all dropouts aged sixteen to twenty—four did not have a job．The lack of high school education can also lead to other problems．An estimated two—thirds of prisoners in the United States dropped out of high schoo1．

    The main reason why many students drop out of school is that they are failing．Many are bored with their classes or feel disconnected from their school and teachers．Some students feel that educators place low expectations on them．

   There have been efforts to increase graduation rates through education reforms during the past twenty years．Some communities are working on dropout prevention programs．These include alternative (其他的) high schools to meet special needs．In addition，experts suggest “early warning systems’’ to help identify young school children at the risk of dropping out of high schoo1．They say schools should also keep regular contact with parents，especially if their children are missing school often．

1.What is the best title of the passage? (Please answer within 10 words．)

2.Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

    Many students feel tired of their classes or don’t feel connected with their school and teachers．

3.Please fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence．(Please answer within 10 words．)

4.What do you think is the most important reason for the high dropout rate in the high school?(Please answer within 30 words．)

5.Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph into Chinese．