We all remember seeing hitchhikers, standing by the side of the road, thumb, sticking out, waiting for a lift. But it is getting rare nowadays. What killed hitchhiking? Safety is often mentioned as a reason. Movies about murderous hitchhikers and real-life crime have put many drivers off picking up hitchhikers. That no single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester no doubt reflects the safety fear: a large, strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous.
But the reason may be more plex: hitchhiking happens where people don’t have cars and transport services are poor. Plenty of people still hitchhike in Poland and Romania. Perhaps the rising level of car ownership in the UK means the few people lift hitchhiking are usually considered strange. Why can’t they afford cars? Why can’t they take the coach or the train?
Three-quarters of the UK population have access to a car; many of the remainder will be quite old. The potential hitchhiking population is therefore small. Yet my trip proves it’s still possible to hitchhike. The people who picked me up were very interesting-lawyer, retired surgeon, tank mander, carpenter, man who live in an isolated farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains. My conclusion is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes in red, spotted scarves. Most just wanted to do someone a good turn; a few said they were so surprised to see a hitchhiker that they couldn’t help stopping.
The future of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet, via sites such as hitchhikers.org. But for now, you can still stick your thumb out (actually, I didn’t do much of that, preferring just to hold up my destination sign) and people-wonderful, caring, sharing, unafraid people-will stop.
In the UK, with its cheap coaches and reasonable rail service, I don’t think I’ll make a habit of it. But having enjoyed it so much, I’m ready now to do a big trip across Europe and beyond. In the 1970s a female friend of my wife’s hitchhiked to India. How wonderful it would be to have another go, though Afghanistan might be a challenge. I wish I’d got that tank mander’s mobile number.
【小题1】The author tried to hitchhike but was rejected by single women drivers because .A．they were not heading towards ManchesterB．they thought most hitchhikers were dangerousC．hitchhiking had been handed and they didn’t want to break the lawD．he was a strong man in strange clothes who seemed dangerous【小题2】Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?A．Movies have discouraged people from hitchhikingB．Car ownership levels are lower in Romania than in the UK.C．25% of UK people don’t have access to cars.D．Increased car ownership has reduced the need for hitchhiking.【小题3】The “fat blokes in red, spotted scarves” in Paragraph 3 most likely means .A．murderous hitchhikersB．friendly and talkative hitchhikersC．typical hitchhikersD．strange hitchhikers like the author【小题4】According to the author, future hitchhikers are more likely to .A．visit websites and find people to share cars withB．stand by roads with their thumbs sticking outC．stick out signs with their destinations written onD．wait for some kind people to pick them up【小题5】From the last paragraph, we know that the author .A．frequently hitchhikes in BritainB．plans to hitchhike across EuropeC．thinks public transport is safer for travelD．is going to contact the tank manderD
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(答案→)D
解析：文章讨论的是为什么搭便车这种现象越来越少？并给出了令人信服的原因。
【小题1】D 推理题。根据文章第一段最后一行a large, strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous可知他很高大穿着很奇怪的衣服人让他看起来很危险，这让单身的女司机不敢让他搭便车，故D正确。
【小题2】A 推理题。根据第二段第一句But the reason may be more plex可知作者认为搭便车这种现象越来越来的原因很复杂，不仅仅是第一段中提到的电影的问题。故A正确。
【小题3】D 推理题。文章第二段中提及他自己来路边搭便车，结果没有人愿意带他。原因也许是因为他的长相和衣着。第三段中My conclusion is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes in red, spotted scarves. pick up停车接的也许就是我这样穿着和长相的人，故D正确。
【小题4】A 细节题。根据文章倒数第二段1,2行The future of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet, via sites such as hitchhikers.org.可知在未来，人们可能在通过网络来寻找搭车的人。故A正确。
【小题5】B 细节题。根据文章最后一段2,3行I’m ready now to do a big trip across Europe and beyond.可知他打算靠搭车环游欧洲。故B正确。