Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks use one word that best fits.
Electric Bike Ban in New York Hurts Food Delivery Workers
A ban on electric bicycles in New York City is hurting delivery workers who depend on them to earn a living. Many of the workers are immigrants.
Electric bicycles, or “e-bikes,” look like regular bicycles, but they have electric-powered motors to assist riders in moving the bike forward. Most e-bikes reach speeds of about 32 kilometers an hour, but some can go much 11 (fast).
12 it is legal to own e-bikes in New York City, it is not legal to operate them. Officials there consider the dangerous use of e-bikes on streets and sidewalks as the reason 13 the ban. Last year, the city announced severe measures 14 (mean) to hold e-bike riders and restaurants that employ the riders responsible.
E-bike operators can now be fined $500 for breaking the ban. The police 15 also seize the bikes.
Many of New York’s delivery workers are Chinese immigrants in their 50s and 60s. Their job requires them to work quickly and for long hours 16 (earn) enough money to live on.
Delivery worker Deqing Lian said it is important to perform quality work 17 their job also depends on tips. He added that when delivery workers are too slow, some people refuse to pay for the food, which makes the workers’ supervisors angry.
Liqiang Liu is an e-bike delivery worker and spokesperson for the New York Delivery Workers Union. He says 18 (catch) breaking the ban and having the bike seized would cause costly delays for workers.
Do Lee is with the Biking Public Project, 19 provides assistance to bicycle-related workers in New York City. He says the city’s ban on e-bikes is unfairly aimed at low-paid workers who largely come from the city’s Latino and Asian communities. He does not accept the argument 20 e-bikes present a danger to citizens. However, many New Yorkers are quick to blame e-bike riders for not being safe.