Cycling-in-the-City

CyclingintheCityAHowmuchtimedoyouspendstuckintrafficindieselfumes,asyoucommutetoworkortocollegeeveryday?Trafficcongestioninthebigcitiesisoneofthekeyissuesfacingcityplannersthesedays.Ithasonlycontinuedtogetworse,despitetheattemptstosolvetheseproblems.Expensivesolutionssuchasnewflyovers,bus-onlylanesandpark-and-rideoptionsareallunderconsiderationinmanybigcities.Buttheseareallcar-friendlysolutions.Whataboutthehumblebicycle?BCyclingisakeywayofreducingtrafficcongestion,andhasotherbenefitsaswell.Itsavesfuel,ishealthierforthecyclists(iftheysurvivethetripunharmed)andreducesairpollutionforallothercommuterswhowalkortravelonotherformsoftransport.Itprovidesamorecost-effectiveandefficientuseofcityspacebyreducingtheneedforenormousparkingbuildingsandinnercitymotorways.Anotherpointisthatcyclingisacheaperalternativethancarownershipwithitsregistrationfees,fuelcosts,andregularmechanicalexpenses.Atpresent,manypeopledriveoverrelativelyshortdistancesthatcouldequallybetravelledbybike.However,oftenthefearofcyclinginheavycommutertraffickeepssuchpeopleofftheirbikes.CTakeamomenttothinkaboutthosewhoriskthedangersofbusycityroadsonabicycle.Cyclistsarethemostvulnerablepeopleinheavytraffic.Theymovefast,theyarebalancedontwowheels,andtheyhavenooutermetalshelltoprotectthem.Iftheyareontheirwaytowork,theymaywellbecarryingwork-relateddocumentsinabackpackorpannier,whichincreasesthebalanceproblem.Ascyclistsaremuchsmallerthanvehicles,driversfrequentlydonotevennoticethemandaccidentsarecommon.Often,especiallyinhotweather,cyclistsonlywearlightclothing,whichmeanstheinjuriestheysufferarelikelytobeserious.Evenhelmetscannotalwayspreventfatalheadinjuries.DWhatneedstohappenforcycliststofeelcomfortablecyclingtowork?Thefirstmajorrequirementischangingourideassothatcyclingbecomesasensibletransportchoiceandcyclistsaresafeontheroads.Publiceducationisanessentialpartofthis,toensurethatotherroadusersaremoreconsideratetocyclistsandlearnhowtodrivesafelywhenbicyclesaresharingtheroads.Employersalsoneedtobeawareofcyclists’needs.Theseusuallyrangefromsecurecyclerackstopreventtheft,totheprovisionofshowersandlockers,sopeoplecanchangefromcyclingtobusinessclothesoncetheyarriveatwork.Largecompaniesmightalsofindthatproviding‘fleetcycles’toenableemployeestogoonerrandsduringworkhoursisaneffectivepolicy.EThesecondmajornecessityisthedevelopmentofasafe,convenientnetworkofcyclingpathwaysthatlinkdifferentpartsofthecity,butideallyareseparatefromtheregularroadsystem.Thesecyclepathsshouldalsoallowforsomeseparationofcyclistsandpedestrians,aspeoplewalkingcanbebadlyinjuredorevenkilledifacyclistcollideswiththem.Inareaswherethisisnotpossible,citystreetsshouldhaveclearlymarkedcyclelaneswithrestrictionstopreventdriversfromusingthem.FSomecities,forexample,CopenhagenandAmsterdam,havemadeaparticularefforttoachievethis.Theyhavedevelopedareasthatareeithercar-free(onlyforpedestriansandcyclists)or‘pedestrianpriority’,wherepedestriansandcyclistshavetheright-of-wayandcarsareonlypermittedtomoveatlowspeeds.Plannersbelievethatthepresenceofcyclistsatallhoursofthedayandeveningkeepsthecitysafer.Since1995,therehasbeenacitybikesysteminCopenhagenwhichallowsanyonetoborrowabikefromoneof110bikestandsaroundthecityforasmalldeposit.Oncethebikeisreturnedtothesameoranotherstand,thismoneyisrefunded.Therehasalsobeenanactivepolicyofestablishingbikelanes,addingbikecrossingstointersectionsandreducingthenumberofcarparkstodiscouragecarsinthecentralcity.Currently,about34%ofcommutersinCopenhagencycletowork.GCyclingisclearlyahealthyandeffectivealternativetotheprivatecarinourcongestedcities.Thegreatertheproportionofcycliststoothervehicles,thesafercyclingbecomes.Assomeforward-thinkingcitieshavedemonstrated,therearemanywaysinwhichlocalcitygovernmentscanactivelyencourageandsubsidizecyclingasapositiveoptionforcommuters.Themostimportantoftheserequiresomebravedecisionstocurbthedominanceoftheprivatecar,andthegridlockexperiencedinallmajorcitiesshowsthatsuchactionhasbecomeessential.IELTSTypeQuestionsHeadingsThereadingpassagehassevenparagraphs,A-G.Choosethecorrectheadingforeachparagraphfromthelistofheadingsbelow.Therearemoreheadingsthanparagraphs.ListofHeadingsiCyclistsatRiskiiNecessityforActioniiiEducatingDriversandEmployersivReasonsforCyclingvPlanningtoReduceTrafficCongestionviProblemsofTrafficCongestionviiExamplesofEffectiveCycle-friendlyDevelopmentsviiiSafeCyclingNetworks1.ParagraphA_________2.ParagraphB_________3.ParagraphC_________4.ParagraphD_________5.ParagraphE_________6.ParagraphF_________7.ParagraphG_________MultipleChoice8.Trafficplannersarethinkingaboutnewsolutionstotrafficcongestion.WhichTWOofthefollowingareNOTdescribedinthereading?ChooseTOWletters,a-e.a.overbridgesforvehiclesb.expansionofroadnetworksc.makingstreetswiderd.speciallanesforbusese.parkingareasformotoriststochangetopublictransport9.Thetextdescribessomereasonsforencouragingcycling.WhichONEofthefollowingisNOTlisted?a.tolowerthenumberofcarsonthestreetsb.tomovequicklythroughheavytrafficc.tolessenpollutionofcityaird.toprovideanoptionthatcostslessthanusingacare.tolessenn