15000 bài tập tách từ đề thi thử môn Tiếng Anh có đáp án (Phần 88)

Most journeys in Britain and the US are made by road. Some of these are made on public transport but most are by private car.

 In Britain many people rely on their cars for daily local activities, e.g. getting to work, doing the shopping, and visiting friends. People living in urban areas may use buses, trains or, in London, the Underground, to get to city centres, mainly because traffic is often heavy and it is difficult to find anywhere to park a car. Some places in the country may have a bus only two or three times a week so people living there have no choice but to rely on their cars.

In the US large cities have good public transportation systems. The El railroad in Chicago and the underground systems of New York, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, DC are heavily used. Elsewhere, most Americans prefer to use their cars. Families often have two cars and, outside major cities, have to drive fairly long distances to schools, offices, shops, banks, etc. Many college and even high-school students have their own cars.

Long-distance travel in Britain is also mainly by road, though railways link most towns and cities. Most places are linked by motorways or other fast roads and many people prefer to drive at their own convenience rather than use a train, even though they may get stuck in a traffic jam. Long-distance coach/bus services are usually a cheaper alternative to trains, but they take longer and may be less comfortable. Some long-distance travel, especially that undertaken for business reasons, may be by air. There are regular flights between regional airports, as well as to and from London. A lot of freight is also distributed by road, though heavier items and raw materials often go by rail.

In the US much long-distance travel is by air. America has two main long-distance bus companies, Greyhound and Trailways. Amtrak, the national network, provides rail services for passengers. Private railway companies such as Union Pacific now carry only freight, though in fact over 70% of freight goes by road.

The main problems associated with road transport in both Britain and the US are traffic congestion and pollution. It is predicted that the number of cars on British roads will increase by a third within a few years, making both these problems worse. The British government would like more people to use public transport, but so far they have had little success in persuading people to give up their cars or to share rides with neighbours. Most people say that public transport is simply not good enough. Americans too have resisted government requests to share cars because it is less convenient and restricts their freedom. Petrol/gasoline is relatively cheap in the US and outside the major cities public transport is bad, so they see no reason to use their cars less.

(Extracted from Oxford Guide to British and American Culture, Oxford University Press, 2000)

A trend that has emerged recently is the sharing of childcare (321) __________ between husband and wife. Young couples will try to arrange their work schedules so that they work opposite hours or shifts in order that one parent is always home with the children. Since childcare is expensive, this saves money for the young couple trying to establish themselves and provide a secure environment for the family. Husband and wife may also share household chores. Some fathers are just as capable as mothers at cooking dinner, changing and bathing the baby, and doing the laundry.

In some cases, the woman’s salary is for family (322) __________ and the father becomes the “househusband." These cases are still fairly rare. One positive trend, however, is that fathers seem to be spending more time with their children. In a recent survey, 41% of the children sampled said they spend equal time with their mothers and fathers. “This is one of our most significant cultural changes,” says Dr. Leon Hoffman, who co-directs the Parent Child Center at the New York Psychoanalytic Society. In practice, for over 30 years, Hoffman has found "a very dramatic difference in the involvement of the father in everything from care-taking to general decision (323) __________ around kids' lives.”

Another factor has recently been added to the childcare formula. The number of people who work from home nearly full-time rose 23% from the last decade. The (324) _________ of technology - computers, faxes, teleconferencing - has made it easier for at-home workers to be constantly in touch.

If parents bring up a child with the sole aim of turning the child into a genius, they will cause a disaster. According to several leading educational psychologists, this is one of the biggest mistakes which ambitious parents make. Generally, the child will be only too aware of what his parents expect, and will fail. Unrealistic parental expectations can cause great damage to children.

However, if parents are not too unrealistic about what they expect their children to do, but are ambitious in a sensible way, the child may succeed in doing very well — especially if the parents are very supportive of their child. Michael Collins is very lucky. He is crazy about music, and his parents help him a lot by taking him to concerts and arranging private piano and violin lessons for him. They even drive him 50 kilometers twice a week for violin lessons. Michael's mother knows very little about music, but his father plays the trumpet in a large orchestra. However, he never makes Michael enter music competitions if he is unwilling.

Winston Smith, Michael's friend, however, is not so lucky. Both his parents are successful musicians, and they set too high a standard for Winston. They want their son to be as successful as they are and so they enter him for every piano competition held. They are very unhappy when he does not win. Winston is always afraid that he will disappoint his parents and now he always seems quiet and unhappy.