In hundreds of cities around the world, people can use a car 【小题1】 actually owning one. It’s known as car sharing.

Car sharing works like this: people pay a fee 【小题2】 (join) a car share organization. These organizations have cars available in different parts of a city 24 hours a day. Members make a 【小题3】 (reserve) for a car, and then go to one of several parking lots in a city to pick up the car. They pay an hourly or daily rate for driving it. When they are 【小题4】 (finish), they return the car to a parking area for someone else to use.

Car sharing works well for several reasons. Some people only need to drive from time to time. Usually, people only need a car for special reasons like moving things or 【小题5】 (take) long trips. Many people don’t want the costs or responsibilities of owning 【小题6】 car. The car-share organization pays for gas insurance, cleaning and repair costs.

Members also don’t have to wait in line or fill out 【小题7】 (form) to get a car. They know a variety of cars will be available when they need one.

Car sharing also 【小题8】 (benefit) the environment. People drive only 【小题9】 they need to and fewer cars on the road means 【小题10】 (little) traffic and air pollution. As more and more cities become interested in reducing traffic, car sharing programs are becoming an effective choice.

Luxembourg makes all public transport free

One square meter Luxembourg makes all public transport free. With a population of 602,000, Luxembourg is one of Europe’s 【小题1】 (small) countries - yet it suffers from major traffic jams. But that could be about to change. As of March 1, 2020 all public transport - trains, trams and buses - in the country is now free. The government hopes the move 【小题2】 (ease) heavy crowding and bring environmental benefits.

Tiny country, big traffic 【小题3】 (landlock) Luxembourg which is surrounded by three countries is one of the richest countries in Europe. 【小题4】 (take) up 2,586 square kilometers, Luxembourg is roughly the size of Rhode Island. From the capital of Luxembourg City, Belgium, France and Germany 【小题5】 all be reached by car in half an hour.

High housing costs, especially in Luxembourg City, mean more than 180,000 of the country’s workforce make regular journeys from those neighboring countries every day. Luxembourg is a very attractive place for jobs. But 【小题6】 “booming economy” and high concentration of jobs have led to crowding issues.

In 2016, Luxembourg had 662 cars per 1,000 people, and driving is a “primary means of transportation” for people. That year, drivers in Luxembourg City spent an average of 33 hours in traffic jams.   It   fared   worse   than European   cities Copenhagen and Helsinki, 【小题7】 have comparable population sizes to all of Luxembourg - yet drivers in both only spent an average of 24 hours in traffic. Park and rides around Luxembourg’s borders in the three neighboring countries, however, will encourage commuters to use free mass transit.

Free transport for all Luxembourg’s public transport system covers the whole country and costs $562 million per year to run. The government is putting up the cost of it free so that the people can benefit from the good economy. People still hold the concern 【小题8】making transport free may unintentionally prevent people who would normally walk or cycle in urban areas. 【小题9】walking 500 meters, people see a bus coming and they say, “we can get on and travel 500 meters 【小题10】it’s free”.However, the new scheme can signal important changes ahead when it comes to Luxembourg’s reliance on driving.

The government might say, “It’s important that you throw away your car, and look, we made public transport free” - and maybe this is helpful given the enormous cultural shift we need.”

Before discovering electricity, people relied on fire as a source of light. It was a troublesome business 【小题1】 fires can lead to disaster. Making fire dependable was so difficult that lights on moving vehicles were【小题2】 (hard) ever considered.

The early trains【小题3】 (travel) only during the day. The tracks were too dangerous during dark nights, and passengers also wanted to see【小题4】 they were traveling anyway. In the late 1830s, railroad traffic became so heavy that freight trains(货运火车) had to put off passenger trains. 【小题5】 (avoid) these put-offs, railroads started running freight trains at night. Horatio Allen’s 1831 【小题6】 (invent), the “Track illuminator(照明器),” was suddenly in demand. It was a pile of special wood【小题7】 (burn) in an iron grate that sat in a box of sand on a platform car, which was pushed ahead【小题8】 the train. The illuminator did not cast much light, but it warned of an approaching train.

In 1851, the first【小题9】 (electricity) headlamp was developed. Russia ran the first train 【小题10】 was equipped with a battery-powered one.