Задание 23 на тексты и заголовки

A) The British are enthusiastic about mobility. They are sure that the opportunity to travel far and often is their right. Some people spend more than three hours every day to get to work in London or some other big city and back home late in the evening. Of course most people do not spend so much time every day on travelling, but it is a fact that very few people live near enough to their work or school to get there on foot.

B) As in almost all the countries in modern Europe, most people in Britain use the motor car as the most frequent means of transport. And as in many countries nowadays there are a lot of problems with traffic congestion and air pollution. In fact these problems are more serious than in many other European countries because of two facts. Firstly, Britain is densely populated and, secondly, a very high proportion of goods are transported by road.

C) Almost every family in Britain has a car that they use regularly and quite many families have more than one car. There are several reasons for the widespread enthusiasm for cars. Some people use them just to project an image of themselves. Another possible reason that might explain the British love for their own cars is the nation passion for privacy. Driving your car is like taking your ‘home’ with you wherever you go.

D) The privacy factor might as well explain why British drivers ‘communicate’ less than drivers from many other countries. They use their horns very seldom, are do not usually not ‘signal’ their displeasure at the behavior of other road users with their hands. Many tourists also notice that British drivers are a little bit more tolerant of both other drivers and pedestrians than drivers from their home countries. Some tourists first take this peculiarity for the British ‘being gentleman’.

E) British drivers are also more safety conscious than drivers from any other countries in Europe. Britain has the best road safety record among all the European countries. The speed limit on motorways in Britain is a little lower than in most other countries. It is 70 miles per hour (112 kilometers per hour). The British go over this limit very seldom. What’s more, it’s profitable to be a good driver in Britain as there are many costly government campaigns to encourage road safety.

F) Another interesting indication showing that the car is supposed to be a private space is that, in spite of British concern for safety, Britain was one of the last countries in Western Europe that introduced the compulsory wearing of seat belt. This measure was, and still is, considered by many British drivers to be a kind of an infringement of personal liberty.

G) The British are not really fond of on mopeds or motorcycles like the Italians, for example. They exist, of course, but they are considered to be not that private for British tastes. Every year there are twenty times as many cars as mopeds or motorcycles that are registered in Britain. Millions of bicycles are used especially by younger people in certain university towns such as Oxford and Cambridge. Still this means of transport is not as common as it is in other parts of north-western Europe like the Netherlands.

A) – 6
B) – 5
C) – 7
D) – 1
E) – 8
F) – 3
G) – 2