完形填空

　Mr Robinson had to travel somewhere on business, and as he was in a hurry, he decided to go by 　1 　．He liked sitting beside a window seat when he was 　2 　, so when he got onto the plane, he looked 　3 　a window seat．He found that all of them had already been 　4 　except one．There was a soldier 　5 　in the seat beside this one, and Mr Robinson was surprised that he 　6 　taken the one by the windows, but 　7 　, he at once went toward it．

　When he 　8 　it, however, he saw a notice on it．It 　9 　, “This seat is reserved for proper load balance（载重平衡）．Thank you．”Mr Robinson had never seen 　10　 notice in a plane before, but he thought that the plane 　11 　be carrying something particularly heavy in 　12 　baggage room which made it necessary to 　13 　the passengers properly balanced, so he walked on and found 　14 　empty seat, not beside a windows, to sit 　15 　．

　Two or three people 　16 　to sit in the window seat beside the soldier, but they too read the 　17 　and went on．

　Then, when the plane was nearly 　18 　, a very beautiful girl stepped into the plane．The soldier, 　19 　was watching the passengers coming in, quickly took the notice off the seat beside him．In this way he succeeded to have the 　20 　as a companion during the whole trip．

Mr Black once decided to travel by air on business because of some reason. He liked　16 beside a window when he was　17 ,so when he got onto the plane, he　18　 a window seat. He　19  that all of them had already been taken  20  one, and there was a soldier sitting in the seat beside this one. Mr Black was 21  that he had not taken the one by the window, but, anyhow, he at once went towards 22 .

When he  23 it, however, he saw that there was a notice on it. It was written 24  ink and said,“This is reserved for proper load balance. Thank you.” Mr Black had never seen such a notice in a plane  25 ,but he thought that the plane  26   be carrying something particularly heavy in 27  baggage room which made  28  necessary to have passengers properly balanced, so he walked on and  29  another empty seat, not beside the  30 ,to sit in.

Two or three other people tried  31   in the window seat beside the soldier, but they, too, 32  the notice and went on. Then, when the plane was nearly full, a very beautiful girl stepped into the plane. The soldier, who was 33  the passengers coming in, quickly took the notice off the seat beside him－and  34   that way succeeded in  35   the company of the girl during the whole of the trip.

Mr Black once decided to travel by air on business because of some reason. He liked　16 beside a window when he was　17 ,so when he got onto the plane, he　18　 a window seat. He　19  that all of them had already been taken  20  one, and there was a soldier sitting in the seat beside this one. Mr Black was 21  that he had not taken the one by the window, but, anyhow, he at once went towards 22 .
When he  23 it, however, he saw that there was a notice on it. It was written 24  ink and said,“This is reserved for proper load balance. Thank you.” Mr Black had never seen such a notice in a plane  25 ,but he thought that the plane  26   be carrying something particularly heavy in 27  baggage room which made  28  necessary to have passengers properly balanced, so he walked on and  29  another empty seat, not beside the  30 ,to sit in.
Two or three other people tried  31   in the window seat beside the soldier, but they, too, 32  the notice and went on. Then, when the plane was nearly full, a very beautiful girl stepped into the plane. The soldier, who was 33  the passengers coming in, quickly took the notice off the seat beside him－and  34   that way succeeded in  35   the company of the girl during the whole of the trip.

　　For those who make journeys across the world, the speed of travel today has turned the countries into a series of villages．Distances between them appear no greater to a modern traveler than those which once faced men as they walked from village to village. Jet planes fly people from one end of the earth to the other, allowing them a freedom of movement undreamt of a hundred years ago.
　　Yet some people wonder if the revolution in travel has gone too far. A price has been paid, they say, for the conquest (征服) of time and distance. Travel is something to be enjoyed, not endured (忍受).  The boat offers leisure and time enough to appreciate the ever-changing sights and sounds of a journey. A journey by train also has a special charm about it. Lakes and forests and wild, open plains sweeping past your carriage window create a grand view in which time and distance mean nothing. On board a plane, however, there is just the blank blue of the sky filling the narrow window of the airplane. The soft lighting, in-flight films and gentle music make up the only world you know, and the hours progress slowly.
　　 Then there is the time spent being “processed” at a modern airport. People are conveyed like robots along walkways; baggage is weighed, tickets produced, examined and produced yet again before the passengers move to another waiting area. Journeys by rail and sea take longer, yes, but the hours devoted to being “processed” at departure and arrival in airports are luckily absent. No wonder, then, that the modern high-speed trains are winning back passengers from the airlines.
　　Man, however, is now a world traveler and cannot turn his back on the airplane. The working lives of too many people depend upon it; whole new industries have been built around its design and operation. The holiday maker, too, with limited time to spend, patiently endures the busy airports and limited space of the flight to gain those extra hours and even days, relaxing in the sun. speed controls people’s lives; time saved, in work or play, is the important thing—or so we are told. Perhaps those first horsemen, riding free across the wild, open plains, were enjoying a better world than the one we know today. They could travel at will, and the clock was not their master.
【小题1】What does the writer try to express in Paragraph 1?