第四十四篇：
Road Trip Vacations(A级) 综合
It’s summer. In the United States, it’s the season of swimming pools, barbeques, camping and road trips.
Road trip vacations where the car journey is part of the fun are especially popular with college students, who like to explore the country on wheels. These budget trips are ideal for students who often have plenty of free time but little money.
“Ever since I went to college, I’ve been traveling around a lot, exploring the country,” said Austin Hawkins, a 19-year-old college student from New York. This summer, Hawkins and his friends have spent weekends traveling in New England.
The best part about car trips, said Hawkins, is that you can be spontaneous. “On a road trip, if you get interested in things you see along the way you can stop and explore.”
Matt Roberts, a 20-year-old student from Ohio who drove to Montreal, Canada, agrees. “With road trips you don’t have to plan in advance, you can just get into a car and drive.”
Even with high gas prices, driving with friends is cheaper than flying. Roberts paid about 40 dollars for gas, but a round trip plane ticket would have cost nearly 400 dollars.
Driving trips first became popular in the 1920s. Newly paved roads and improved cars made it possible to travel longer distances. Motels started appearing outside cities.
By the 1950s, car ownership became the norm. Construction of the US interstate highway system began in 1956 and motel and restaurant chains popped up everywhere making long distance trips easier.
Today, the US has the highest car ownership rate in the world. Only 8 percent of American homes have no car, according to the most recent US census.
Though many college students don’t own a car, most have access to one. On many of Hawkins’ trips, they used a borrowed van.
Hawkins’ most memorable road trip took place over spring break. He and two friends drove from New York to New Orleans to volunteer, helping rebuild the city after HurricaneKatrina hit it last July. They crossed the country in two days and slept in their car in church parking lost.
Roberts’s road trip to Canada last winter was even more eventful. Upon arriving in Montreal, they were lost in a blizzard and shivering in the -25 cold. To find their hotel, they turned on a laptop and drove around in circles until they found a spot with wireless Internet coverage.
“I know we should have planned better, but we’re young. Now, when I see those guys I always say: ‘Remember when we were lost in the snow storm!’ I’ ll never forget that.”
练习：
- Which of the following statements is NOT true of American college students?
A They have little money.
B They like traveling by bike.
C They like to explore the country.
D They often have plenty of free time.
- What will Hawkins do when he sees something interesting on a road trip?
A He will turn back.
B He will drive around.
C He will stop to explore.
D He will stop exploring.
- When did motels suddenly appear?
A After the work to build the interstate highway system started.
B When driving trips became popular.
C After many roads were paved.
D After new cars were made.
- Which of the following words can best describe Hawkins’trip to New Orlends?
A Eventful. B) Colourful. C) Delightful. D) Unforgettable.
- The word blizzard in paragraph 12 can be replaced by
A)snow storm. B) hurricane. C) mist. D) fog.
答案：1.B 2.C 3.A 4.D 5.A
第四十四篇： 路面旅行假期
夏天到了。在美国，这是一个游泳，户外烤肉，露营和路面旅行的好季节。
路面旅行假期的部分乐趣来自开车旅行，这种通过路面旅行度过假期尤其在大学生中特别盛行。这种低廉的旅行方式对学生来说比较理想，他们往往有足够的空闲时间，却没有多少钱。
“从上大学以来，我周游了很多地方，去探索这个国家，”奥斯丁.霍金斯，一个来自纽约的19岁的大学生这样说。今年夏天，霍金斯和他的朋友花了几个周末时间前往新英格兰旅游。
开车旅行最好的部分，霍金斯说，就是你可以是自发的。“当你在路面旅行中一路看到有趣的东西时，你可以停下来仔细看看。”
马特. 罗伯茨，一位来自俄亥俄州的20岁的大学生，曾开车到过加拿大的蒙特利尔，同意这一观点。“路面旅行你不必事先计划，只需坐上汽车开走就是了。”
即使油价高企，与朋友开车旅行还是比乘飞机便宜。罗伯茨支付了约40美元的邮费，但开回机票费用将近400美元。
驾车旅行首次流行于20世纪20年代。新建道路和汽车性能的提高使人们有可能进行较长距离的旅行。汽车旅馆开始在城外出现。
到了20世纪50年代，汽车拥有成为常态。始于1956年的美国洲际公路系统的建设以及汽车旅馆和连锁餐厅在各地的突然出现使德长途旅行更加容易。
今天，美国在世界上具有最高的汽车拥有率。根据最近的美国国情调查，只有百分之八的国家家庭没有汽车。
虽然许多大学生没有车的，但是大多数都可以弄到一辆。在霍金斯的许多次旅行中，他们用的是借来的火车。
霍金斯最值得记忆的路面旅行发生在春假。他和两个伙伴开车从纽约到新奥尔良做志愿者服务，去帮助他们重建去年7月被卡特里娜飓风毁坏的家园。他们在两天之内横穿美国，困了就睡在停在教会停车场的他们的汽车里。
罗伯茨去年冬天到加拿大的路面旅行更是充满变数。刚一抵达蒙特利尔，他们就在暴风雪中迷了路，在零下25度的天气里冻得发抖。为了找旅馆，他们打开笔记本电脑，然后一圈一圈地转，最后终于发现了一个因特网覆盖的区域。
“我知道我们本应该计划更好些，但我们还年轻。现在，当我们看到这些家伙我总是说：”记住我们迷失在暴风雪的日子！““ 我永远不会忘记这一点。”