Question

The majority of your readers must have been surprised and shocked to read a letter from Mr. Hogg, published in last Wednesday’s Herald. Mr. Hogg seems to think that his own convenience and that of motorists in general are the only things that matter in our city.

I would have more sympathy with Mr. Hogg if he limited himself to making constructive suggestions to improve the situation. No doubt his problems would be partly solved if the local authorities built a multi-storey car park in the park in the city centre, instead of encouraging motorists to use public transport. All the same, judging from the tone of Mr. Hogg’s letter, I suspect that motorists who are so careless of pedestrians’（行人）safety that they would rather park their cars on the pavement than hold up the traffic would probably be too lazy to use a multi-storey car park if they had to walk a few hundred yards to their destination afterwards.

My main reason for writing, however, is much more important. Is Mr. Hogg aware that according to figures issued by the Department of Transport, 13, 000 people were knocked down in Britain last year because of cars being illegally parked either on the pavement or on crossings? In fact, although the total pedestrian casualty（伤亡事故）rate has fallen over the last ten years, there has been an increase in accidents caused when pedestrians have to step out into the road to avoid parked cars on the pavement and cannot see coming traffic.

I, for one, cannot share Mr. Hogg’s view that the authorities are prejudiced against “long-suffering motorists”. On the contrary, I think the penalties（处罚）for the dangerous parking should be made severe enough to prevent all motorists from breaking the law in this way.

 

79. From this letter we can infer that Mr. Hogg thinks ______.

A. motorists should be encouraged to use public transport.

B. a multi-storey car park should be built in the city center.

C. the authorities should try their best to prevent traffic accidents.

D. pedestrians are too careless when they walk across the street.

80. The writer of this letter thinks that ______.

A. to build a car park in the city is of no use.

B. motorists should not neglect pedestrians’ safety.

C. most motorists are lazy, careless and selfish.

D. regulations should be made to punish motorists in general.

81. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. 13,000 people were killed in traffic accidents in Britain last year.

B. Traffic accidents rate has fallen in the past ten years.

C. A lot of pedestrians were knocked down due to motorists' illegal parking.

D. Accidents involving pedestrians has increased sharply over the last years.

82. Which of the following things can Mr. Hogg have done?

A. Parking his car on the pavement or on crossing.

B. Having trouble in finding a car park in the city centre.

C. Having been fined for illegal parking.

D. a, b and c

Answer 1

BBCD