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Forget Cyclists, Pedestrians are Real Danger
We are having a debate about this topic. Here are some letters from our readers.
■Yes, many cyclists behave dangerously. Many drivers are disrespectful of cyclists. But pedestrians are probably the worse offenders.
People of all ages happily walk along the pavement with eyes and hands glued to the mobile phone, quite unaware of what is going on around them. They may even do the same thing while crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing or elsewhere. The rest of us have to evade (避让) them or just stand still to wait for the unavoidable collision.
The real problem is that some pedestrians seem to be, at least for the moment, in worlds of their own that are, to them, much more important than the welfare of others.
——Michael Horan
■I love the letter from Bob Brooks about cyclists (Viewpoints, May 29). I am afraid they seem to think they own the roads.
I was walking across Altrincham Road one morning when a cyclist went round me and on being asked what he was doing he shouted at me.
The government built a cycle lane on the road but it is hardly used.
The police do nothing. What a laugh they are!
The cyclists should all have to be made to use the cycle lanes and wear helmets, fluorescent (发荧光的) jacket and lights at night and in the morning they should pay some sort of tax and be fined for not wearing them.
——Carol Harvey
■Cyclists jump on and off pavements (which are meant for pedestrians), ride at speed along the pavements, and think they have a special right to go through traffic lights when they are on red.
I was almost knocked down recently by a cyclist riding on the pavement when there was a cycle lane right next to him.
Other road users, including horse riders, manage to obey the rules so why not cyclists?
It's about time they had to be registered and insured, so when they do hit a pedestrian or a vehicle, or cause an accident, at least they can be treated and there might be an opportunity to claim.
——JML
Write to Viewpoints of the newspaper.
【小题1】Michael Horan wrote the letter mainly to show that _______.

A．drivers should be polite to cyclists

B．road accidents can actually be avoided

C．sine pedestrians are a threat to road safety

D．walking while using phones hurts one's eyes

【小题2】Carol Harvey suggests that cyclists should _______.

A．be provided with enough roads

B．be asked to ride on their own lanes

C．be made to pay less tax for cycling

D．be fined for laughing at policemen

【小题3】What is a complaint of JML?

A．Very few drivers are insured.

B．Cyclists ride fast on pavements.

C．Pedestrians go through red traffic lights.

D．Horse riders disrespect other road users.

【小题4】The underlined word "they" in the third letter refers to ______.

A．accidents	B．vehicles
C．pedestrians	D．cyclists

【小题5】The three letters present viewpoints on _______.

A．real source of road danger

B．ways to improve road facilities

C．measures to punish road offences

D．increased awareness of road rules

短文改错

Nowadays, with the growing popular of computers, more and more people are paying less and less attention to their handwriting. According to recent survey, about 85.8 percent of middle school students think of that their handwriting is poor. And for various reasons, many students don’t want to improve his handwriting. 51.5 percent of the students thought that they can just use a computer, so there is no need to waste time improve their handwriting. Which the saying goes, “Writing style shows the man.” Beautiful and neat handwriting is beneficial, especial for middle school students. However, in my opinion, more emphasis should be placed on this aspect in future.

   How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments -mostly for entertainment purposes - is fair and respectful? Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. However, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats.
Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural homes. Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range.
The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don’t usually take care of the animals’ natural needs. The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusually and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis. A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.
Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered. Captive breeding (圈养繁殖) of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?
Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats.
【小题1】How would the author describe the animals’ life in zoos?

A．Dangerous.	B．Unhappy.
C．Natural.	D．Easy.

【小题2】In the state of zoochosis, animals _________.

A．remain in cages	B．behave strangely
C．attack other animals	D．enjoy moving around

【小题3】What does the author try to argue in the passage?

A．Zoos are not worth the public support.

B．Zoos fail in their attempt to save animals.

C．Zoos should treat animals as human beings.

D．Zoos use animals as a means of entertainment.

【小题4】The author tries to persuade readers to accept his argument mainly by _________.

A．pointing out the faults in what zoos do

B．using evidence he has collected at zoos

C．questioning the way animals are protected

D．discussing the advantages of natural habitats

短文改错

Nowadays many people cross streets without watch traffic lights. So traffic accidents often happen to those who didn't follow traffic rules. Why don't people follow traffic rules？Because they haven't realized an importance of traffic safety. Besides, some people are such busy that they don't want to wait for the green light. How do we solve the terribly situation？First of all, we should develop into the habit of following traffic rules. Secondly, who breaks traffic rules should punished. Lastly, we should teach kids how to cross streets safe. If we do that, there will be fewer traffic accident and we will live a better life.

短文改错
Dear Editor,

I’m writing to tell you about discussion we recently had about if it is good or not for families to own cars.

As the development of people’s living conditions, more and more people have our own cars. Some of us think it’s good to own a car. Firstly, it’s a convenient, fast, and comfortable mean of transportation. Secondly, it shows that people are becoming richer, and the country much strong. It also makes relative businesses and industries to develop faster.

Others have different opinions. They think that cars give off waste gases and polluted the environment. Too many cars will have some bad effects, such as more accidents. Beside, the limited parking space is another big problem.

In my view, people should think careful before they buy a car.

Yours truly,

Li Hua