One of the most common images of an advanced, Western-style culture is that of a busy, traffic-filled city. Since their first ______ on American roadways, automobiles have become a ______ of progress, a source of thousands of jobs and an almost inalienable right for citizens’ personal freedom of movement. In recent _______, our “l(fā)ove affair” with the car is being ________ directly to the developing world, and it is increasingly _______ that this transfer is leading to disaster.
American’s almost complete dependence on automobiles has been a terrible mistake. As late as the 1950s, a large ________ of the American public used mass transit. A ________ of public policy decisions and corporate scheming saw to it that countless ________ and efficient urban streetcar and intra-city rail systems were dismantled. ____________. Our lives have been planned along a road grid—homes far from work, shopping far from everything, with ugly stretches of concrete and blacktop in between. Developing countries are copying Western-style transportation systems down to the last detail. _________. Pollution control measures are either not strict or nonexistent, leading to choking clouds of smog. Gasoline still contains lead, which is extremely poisonous to humans. ____.In addition to pollution and traffic jams, auto safety is a critical issue in developing nations.
appearance symbol decades exported apparent percentage combination convenient Our air quality now suffers from the effects of pollutants emitted directly from our cars. The problems caused by motorized vehicles in the West are often magnified in developing nations. Movement in some cities comes to a virtual standstill as motorized traffic competes with bicycles and pedestrians.