A. IT B. ITS C. THEM D. THEIRII. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND CH...

15. A. it B. its C. them D. their

II. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE AND CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWERS TO THE

QUESTIONS:

A pioneering study by Donald Appleyard made the astounding discovery that a sudden increase in

the volume of traffic through an area affects people in the way that a sudden increase in crime does.

Appleyard observed this by finding three blocks of houses in San Francisco that looked much alike and had

the same kind of middle-class and working-class residents, with approximately the same ethnic mix. The

difference was that only 2,000 cars a day ran down Octavia Street (LIGHT street, in Appleyard’s

terminology) while Gough Street (MEDIUM street) was used by 8,000 cars daily, and Franklin Street

(HEAVY street) had around 16,000 cars a day. Franklin Street often had as many cars in an hour as Octavia

had in a day.

Heavy traffic brought with it danger, noise, fumes and soot, directly, and trash secondarily. That is,

the cars didn’t bring in much trash, but when trash accumulated, residents seldom picked it up. The cars,

Appleyard determined, reduced the amount of territory residents felt responsible for. Noise was a constant

intrusion into their homes. Many Franklin Street residents covered their doors and windows and spent most

of their time in the rear of their houses. Most families with children had already left.

Conditions on Octavia Street were much different. Residents picked up trash. They sat on their front

steps and chatted with neighbors. They had three times as many friends and twice as many acquaintances as

the people on Franklin.

On Gough Street, residents said that the old feeling of community was disappearing as traffic

increased. People were becoming more and more preoccupied with their own lives. A number of families had

recently moved and more were considering. Those who were staying expressed deep regret at the destruction

of their community.