COMMUTING IS THE PRACTICE OF TRAVELLING A LONG DISTANCE TO...
EXERCISE 6
Commuting is the practice of travelling a long distance to a town or city to work each day, and
then travelling home again in the evening. The word commuting comes from commutation
ticket, a US rail ticket for repeated journeys, called a season ticket in Britain. Regular
travellers are called commuters.
The US has many commuters. A few, mostly on the East Coast, commute by train or subway,
but most depend on the car. Some leave home very early to avoid the traffic jams, and sleep in
their cars until their office opens. Many people accept a long trip to work so that they can live in
quiet bedroom communities away from the city, but another reason is ‘white flight’. In the 1960s
most cities began to desegregate their schools, so that there were no longer separate schools
for white and black children. Many white families did not want to send their children to
desegregated schools, so they moved to the suburbs, which have their own schools, and
where, for various reasons, few black people live.
Millions of people in Britain commute by car or train. Some spend two or three hours a day
travelling, so that they and their families can live in suburbia or in the countryside. Cities are
surrounded by commuter belts. Part of the commuter belt around London is called the
stockbroker belt because it contains houses where rich business people live. Some places are
becoming dormitory towns, because people sleep there but take little part in local activities.
Most commuters travel to and from work at the same time, causing the morning and evening
rush hours, when buses and trains are crowded and there are traffic jams on the roads.
Commuters on trains rarely talk to each other and spend their journey reading, sleeping or
using their mobile phones, though this is not popular with other passengers. Increasing
numbers of people now work at home some days of the week, linked to their offices by
computer, a practice called telecommuting.
Cities in both Britain and the US are trying to reduce the number of cars coming into town each
day. Some companies encourage car pooling (called car sharing in Britain), an arrangement for
people who live and work near each other to travel together. Some US cities have a public
service that helps such people to contact each other, and traffic lanes are reserved for car-pool
vehicles. But cars and petrol/gas are cheap in the US, and many people prefer to drive alone
because it gives them more freedom. In Britain many cities have park- and-ride schemes, car
parks on the edge of the city from which buses take drivers into the centre.
Questions
Question 1: Which of the following definitions of commuting would the author of this passage
most probably agree with?
A. Travelling to work and then home again in a day within a rural district.
B. Travelling for hours from a town or city to work in the countryside every day.
C. Regularly travelling a long distance between one’s place of work and one’s home.
D. Using a commutation ticket for special journeys in all seasons of the year.
Question 2: The word “repeated” in paragraph 1 most probably means .
A. buying a season ticket again. B. happening again and again.
C. saying something again. D. doing something once again.
Question 3: The passage mentions that many Americans are willing to travel a long distance to
work in order to be able to live in .
A. quiet neighbourhoods B. comfortable bedrooms
C. city centres D. noisy communities
Question 4: Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. The US has considerably more commuters than Britain.
B. Commuting helps people in the US and Britain save a lot of time.
C. Britain has considerably more commuters than the US.
D. Both the US and Britain have a great number of commuters.
Question 5: Which of the following is NOT true about the London commuter belt?
A. It surrounds London.
B. It is in central London.
C. It is home to some wealthy business people.
D. It is like “bedroom communities” in the US.
Question 6: It can be inferred from the passage that dormitory towns in Britain are places
where people ...
A. stay for the night
B. contribute to the local community
C. are employed locally
D. take part in local activities
Question 7: As mentioned in the passage, commuters usually ...
A. talk to each other during train journeys B. go to work at different hours
C. go home from work at different hours D. cause traffic congestion on the roads
Question 8: The phrase “linked to” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ...
A. shared with B. satisfied with C. connected to D. related to
Question 9: All of the following are measures to reduce the number of cars coming into town
each day in the US and/or Britain EXCEPT ...
A. traffic lanes for car pooling B. free car parks in the city centre
C. park-and-ride schemes D. car pooling/sharing
Question 10: The word “it” in the last paragraph refers to ...
A. travelling together B. car pool C. driving alone D. petrol/gas