Road Trip Vacation It’s summer. In the United States, it’s the season of swimming pools, barbeques (户外烤肉), camping and road trips. Road trip vacations where the car Journey is part of the fun are especially 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 (洗车旅馆) started, apppearing outside cities. By the 1950s, car ownership became the norm. Construction of the US interstate (州) highway system began in 1956 and motel and restaurant chains popped up (突然出现) 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 ear, 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 Hurricane (风暴) Katrina hit it last July. They crossed the country in two days and slept in their car in church parking lots. Roberts’ 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 (笔记本电脑) 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.\ When did motels suddenly appear everywhere
A. When driving trips became popular.
B. After the work to build the interstate highway system started.
C. After Internet became widely accessible.
D. After new cars were made.
Broken: Dreams of Rural Peace It was dusk in Tubney Woods, deep in rural Oxfordshire. The birds were singing at the end of another perfect day. The woman living at the edge of the forest could stand it no longer. She phoned the local noise pollution officer. "It’s the rooks (秃鼻乌鸦)," she said. "1 can’t bear that awful cawing (呱呱地叫) noise. Can you do something about it" The call was no surprise to officials at the Vale of White Horse District Council. (46) The countryside, as every country-dweller knows, can be a hellishly (可怕地) noisy place. Last week David Stead, a West Yorkshire farmer, appeared in court in Wakefield accused of allowing his cocks to break noise regulations by crowing (打鸣) at dawn, waking a neighbour. (47) Six months ago Corky, a four-year-old cock, was banned from crowing after complaints in the Devon village of Stoke. Complaints about noise reasonable or not - are at record levels in country areas. Environmental health officers say this is partly because of an increase in noisy activity. However, a significant number of complaints come from newcomers to the countryside. There are many sources of rural noise. (48) Mechanised grain driers, usually switched on for three weeks in September, can produce a maddening low-frequency hum. Mike Roberts, chief environmental health officer at Vale of White Horse, said noise often sounded worse in the countryside than in cities. With less background sound, unwelcome noises can seem louder and travel further. The oddest complaints, however, are the ones council officials can do nothing about. Vale of White Horse officials have been asked to silence not only nesting rooks. Pigeons and pheasants (雉鸡) have also caused concern. In Kent, council officials have been asked to silence baby lambs. (49) Another insisted he could hear an alien spaceship landing over the garden fence. "We get regular complaints. They usually come from retired people who have just moved into the country. We send them a polite letter." And the lady who complained about the rooks She was politely told she would have to put up with it." (50) " said Mr Roberts. "in the end, she accepted there was nothing much she could do - except move out." It is not recorded who won, the lady or the rooks. A Mr Stead said they were only doing what comes naturally. B We asked her what we were supposed to do, shoot the birds, or chop the trees down C They have heard every kind of complaint. D One man rang to say he was kept awake by the splashing of a fountain in the garden next door. E The council will ask the farmer to move it. F Farm machinery is a common cause.