Like other big cities, Paris has also a traffic problem: lots of cars, traffic jams and traffic pollution. So since 2007, the city     1    (start) a plan to improve the situation.

Under a project, people can take a bicycle, use it as long as they want, and then leave it at the same or another bicycle station. The first half-hour is free,     2     if you don’t return it after 30 minutes, you have to pay. It’s only $1 or $29 a year. The bicycles are as heavy as 25 kilograms, and they’re all grey and have baskets. There’re a large number of     3    (they) in the city, and the bicycle stations are more than the subway stations!

Paris isn’t the first city to operate a project like this. One Parisian said, “These bicycles are only suitable for short     4    (journey). If people want to travel across the city, they won’t use a bicycle — they’ll still use their cars.”

A city spokesman said, “The bicycle project won’t solve all our traffic problems, but it might work in     5    (reduce) air pollution. Traffic, together with factory fumes,     6    (be) a big problem. Everyone knows about global warming and dramatic climate changes — we know this is partly because rainforests are     7    (gradual) disappearing. And it’s also because there’s so much pollution. There aren’t any simple answers     8     traffic problems and pollution in cities, but the bicycles might help people lead     9     healthier life. Unless we do something now, there’ll be more traffic jams and temperatures will continue to rise, so the problems in our environment will get even     10    (bad).”