1 . North American Train Routes for a Family Vacation

The Adirondack

Considered one of the top ten scenic train rides in the world, the Adirondack train route travels from New York City's Penn Station to Montreal, Canada. The trip is great for a weekend away in either Montreal or Manhattan. The route will take you past West Point Academy, the Hudson River Valley and fifty miles of Lake Champlain.

The Vermonter

The trip from Washington, D. C. to St. Albans, Vermont, takes you from the U.S. capital, through the beautiful New England states of Connecticut and Massachusetts on the way to Vermont. As you travel through New England towns, you'll be able to see some of the most beautiful scenery in this area, including rivers, falls and covered bridges.

The Downeaster

The Downeaster was established in 2001 and was expanded several years ago northward to Freeport and Brunswick, Maine. The short ride (between three and four hours) includes a trip along the beautiful Maine coastline. With five round-trips offered each day, this route is a great way for Massachusetts families to visit Maine for a day or longer. Many of these routes carry volunteers to aid passengers with questions about local attractions and destinations.

The Pennsylvanian

Both New York City and Pittsburgh are great family vacation destinations and the Pennsylvanian route takes you through the beautiful Pennsylvanian landscape between the two major cities. The 9.5-half hour trip travels through a variety of different terrains(地形), and stops along the way including Newark, Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Altoona. The connecting train service is available for those looking to travel to Cleveland, Chicago, and Toledo from Pittsburgh.

1. Where is St. Albans?

A．In Vermont.	B．In Washington, D. C.
C．Near Lake Champlain	D．In Main

2. Which train route offers the best choice for a one-day family sightseeing?

A．The Adirondack.	B．The Vermonter.
C．The Downeaster.	D．The Pennsylvanian.

3. How can you go to Chicago?

A．By taking a train at Penn Station to Montreal.

B．By taking a connecting train at Pittsburgh.

C．By traveling to Cleveland and then to Chicago.

D．By traveling through New England states to Chicago.

2 . Maybe in the near future, driverless cars may become common on the roads. Driverless cars have already been test-driven thousands of miles.     1     For instance, it helps reduce the number of accidents and traffic jams.

    2     That is because there are many issues that must be solved before the widespread use of them. One problem is that a driverless car cannot predict problems far down the road like a driver can. The driverless cars react to an emergency only when it actually occurs. For instance, a driver starts to slow down when he sees a child riding her skateboard directly into the road 0.2 km away.     3    

Driverless cars are not suitable for extreme weather conditions.     4     They don't predict or "feel" that the roads have become icy like an experienced driver would. For instance, when a road is icy, a human driver would step on the brakes more gently than when the roads are clean and dry.

Another issue is that driverless cars have maps programmed into their memory, but these maps aren't always updated and accurate. New roads are built, and old roads are closed down.     5     Perhaps one day, driverless cars will be everywhere, but we are not ready for that just yet.

A．The safety problems have almost been addressed.

B．However, they are not yet available for the public.

C．Many advantages can be associated to the driverless cars.

D．Driverless vehicles also have trouble adjusting to new roads.

E．They may become confused by fog, heavy rain, or heavy snow.

F．Due to this, a driverless car may get passenger to the wrong destination.

G．But the driverless car only takes action when the child is in its immediate path.