【推荐1】Is the west falling out of love with the car? For environmentalists it seems a(n) _________ dream, but it is happening. While those with young families may carry on using four wheels, a combination of our ageing societies and a new attitude among the young seems to be _________ our 20th-century car addiction. Somewhere along the road, we reached the high point of the car and are now moving down the other side.

That _________ takes several forms. Sales of new cars have almost halved in the US, down from nearly 11 million in 1985 to about 5.5 million now. We shouldn't _________ that to a great degree, though. Cars last longer these days, and sales go up and down with the economy. But we have hit peak car ownership, too. And, more to the point, peak per-capita travel (人均出行).

The phenomenon was first _________ in The Road ... Less Traveled, a 2008 report by the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, but had been going on largely unnoticed for years. Japan reached it in the 1990s. They talk there of "demotorisation". The west had its _________ point in 2004. That year the US, UK, Germany, France, Australia and Sweden all saw the start of a decline in the number of kilometres and average person travelled in a car that _________ today.

What could be driving us _________? Fuel costs and rising insurance premiums (保险费) may be a factor. And urban congestion, combined with an absence of parking places and congestion charging, makes an increasing number of us look on the car as a(n) _________ way to move around in cities where there are public transport alternatives.

Demographics (人口统计数据) are another possible __________. It is surely no __________ that "peak car" happened first in Japan, which has the world's oldest population. Pensioners do not drive to work, and many don't drive at all. There is also the rise of "virtual commuters" who work from home through the Internet.

Besides these new __________ pattern, leisure lifestyle are also changing. The biggest __________ in car use in the US is among people under 35. The number of American 17-year-olds with a drivers' licence has fallen from about three-quarters to about half since 1998. Twenty-somethings have recently gone from driving more than the average to driving less.

Social scientists detect a new "culture of urbanisms". The stylish way to live these days is in inner-city apartments, not the __________. Richard Florida, an urban studies theorist at the University of Toronto in Canada, points out that the young shop online, telecommute, live in walk-able city neighborhoods near public transport and rely more on social media and less on fact-to-face visiting. Given those changes, they can think of better ways to spend their money than buying a(n) __________.

【推荐2】Where do cars get their energy from? For most cars, the answer is petrol, _______some cars use electricity. These cars have _______ motors that get their power from large batteries. In _______, there are even cars that have _______ an electric motor and a petrol motor. These types of cars are _______hybrid (混合) cars.

Most people tend to think of electric cars as a new _______, but they have been around for a long time. In the _______19th and early 20th centuries electric cars were common because the technology for petrol engines was not very advanced. But _______ the petrol engine became easier to make and more powerful, this type of engines became the most _______. Interest in electric cars was high in the 1970s and 1980s because ________became very expensive. Recently, electric cars have again become well-liked because people want cars that pollute ________.

Electric cars are better than petrol cars ________several ways. The biggest benefit is reduced pollution. In areas ________there is a high percentage of electric cars, pollution is not that serious. The second benefit of electric cars is a ________in the dependence on foreign oil. Several countries don’t want to ________on oil from other countries. Since electric cars can run on electricity from coal or nuclear power stations, there is less need to import oil.

【推荐3】School buses are familiar to most people. However, Sam Balto, an elementary school teacher, creates a brand-new ______ of school buses in Portland, Oreg. ______ loading kids into the yellow vehicles, he involves them in a school “bike bus”. The bike bus ______ differently from the way school buses do. There’re two meetup locations for kids. After the two groups ______, the children cycle to school together.

Though popular in some areas, bike buses are still ______ in the U.S. Balto’s idea for that began as an initiative for Earth Day, which surprisingly became a ______, with most students in Balto’s school participating. Then he decided to ______ . Now ______ the bike bus in action. “Kids ______ the ride. Parents notice on bike bus mornings, kids get up and out of home ______. They’ re eager to be with friends,” said Balto. Actually, its ______    go beyond promoting socializing. The physical activity helps ______ kids’ strength and it’s also climate action.

Right now, Balto feels it’s ______ to offer the bike bus once a week and he’s relying on volunteers and seeking official ______. “It can be a daily way to transport kids if cities or schools pay adults to lead it,” Balto explained. If possible, he encourages other Portland schools to ______ them. “More kids across the city should have such pleasant experiences.”

【推荐2】I was thirty-four the first time I saw the real Santa.

He drove a big, charcoal-colored_________, without white beard, and he was out and about in the August heat in Georgia. He wasn’t what I_________at all.

My husband had lost his job early in July, and we_________expenses everywhere we could. He’d been_________often, but the process was extremely slow. There were unexpected_________along the way, and he was feeling defeated.

One afternoon, we were feeling particularly_________, so we decided to treat ourselves to a meal from Chick-fil-A. When we got to the window to pay, the employee said our meal had been_________by the car ahead of us. It’s always a lovely _________, but we still attempted to keep the pay-it-forward type of _________going by offering to pay for the car behind us.

“No, that man just paid for them, too. He paid for everyone inline.” The employee said. She then pointed at the truck that was __________pulling away to exit the parking lot. I looked toward the truck, seeing the man giving a __________wave with a big grin, and it instantly__________me of the illustration where Santa waved goodbye and said, “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

I’m sure that man — “Santa” in my mind — had no__________how much we needed that little reminder that we’d be alright. I bet there were__________stories behind us inline — maybe not losing a job, but perhaps other sufferings. But from then on, we’ve gone on to do random acts of __________for others, remembering the effect this free meal had on us.

【推荐3】Last June, my sister, Katy, graduated from high school. I didn’t think much about it then because I was __ a great summer holiday. But when the __ came to an end, I started to __ that soon my sister would be off to college.

At the end of August, my __ drove to my grandparents’ house near Katy’s __ . The next day we __ to the campus and helped arrange all her things. After getting everything __ and chatting with her roommates for a while, we headed for our car. We all stood there __ and kissing her, telling her how much we __ her and wishing her luck. I looked at my mom and saw her starting to cry.

As we were pulling out of the parking lot, we __ our arms to say the last goodbye to her. I would have never __ that I was going to feel that sad. I was___ to accept the fact that I wouldn’t be seeing my sister. I was once __ that I would jump with joy the day Katy left for college, but deep down I knew I would __ miss her.

Even now, I miss her and have to keep __ myself that she is not around. The Internet and telephone are ready __ for us to communicate. I’m more than __       that I can talk to her online or on the phone.

So, to all those little brothers and sisters, treasure the __ you have with your siblings (兄弟姐妹). They may be a(n) __ sometimes but once they’re___ , you’ll almost wish you had that pain back.

【推荐2】When my partner and I were young parents, we were poor. We struggled to ________ on a little money. Businessmen in our local market ________ their customers. I experienced a lot of ________ .

Our two-year-old liked cheap mussels (贻贝). Therefore, it was to the fishmonger’s (鱼店) we went ________ . Always after I paid the mussels, the fishmonger always put extra mussels into the bag. “Just a few extra to ________ the ones that don’t open,” he explained. I accepted with ________ . I knew it was his ________ and he just wanted to help.

When I ________ another day, he greeted me warmly. “Mussels. Thanks,” I said. He asked ________ I could use some tails. “Restaurants only want the central part and I don’t have much of a ________ for these.” Two tails went into the bag. Free.

When my wife was expecting our second child, she ________ a local restaurant’s tai dop voy. One evening, I placed a takeout order. When my order came bagged, I found it was a bit ________ than normal. She noticed that I ________. “We are closing soon. There is some fried rice left. Enjoy. Have a healthy baby. ” My visits to her restaurant were not ________ , but she knew me. When I got home, there was not only fried rice but two orders of tai dop voy.

Local businessmen’s ________ meant a lot to my family. We were seen as a member of the community that the business served.

【推荐3】A taxi driver specially gave a free ride to a mother and her little boy Tyler who had a sudden attack of an illness on the road.18 years later, a touching ________ followed.

66-year-old Carl booked a taxi to the hospital. He had ________ from work and had developed health ________ due to old age. He was waiting outside his house when a taxi approached him ________ . Carl waved at the young driver. He got in and ________ the driver to drop him off at the hospital.

They didn’t ________ much during the half-hour drive. When Carl ________ his wallet, he found he had no cash. “Hey, do you accept cards?” he broke the silence, only to be ________ to tears by the young driver’s reply. “Sir, you don’t have to pay me. All the trips I make to the hospital are free!” Carl was greatly ________ and asked, “Free? But why?”

The driver smiled, “When I was little, I suffered from an attack in need of ________ treatment on the road, and a kind taxi driver drove me to the hospital for free and ________ my life. My mother told me the driver never ________ for trips to the hospital. His ________ inspired me, so I do the same!”

Carl’s heart felt lighter and happier. “What’s your name, young man?” he inquired the driver. And tears of joy ________ his eyes when the driver said, “My name is Tyler.”

Be the light that helps others ________ the darkest of times.