中級閱讀模擬測驗　第三十四回

Ten years ago the houses along Maple Street were rarely locked. Then a series of small 11 changed the mood: bicycles, garden tools and even a lawn mower disappeared. Rather than wait for the police, the neighbors decided to 12 once a month in the church hall. They agreed on simple rules: lights on at dusk, a phone call to anyone whose curtains stay shut for days, and no 13 about who might be to blame. Nobody claims the street is now perfectly 14, but reported crime has fallen and people know their neighbors' names again. The change cost almost nothing; all it needed was people willing to 15.

Doctors who work in emergency rooms rarely argue about 16. In one large study, riders who wore one were far less likely to become a serious 17 after a fall. Yet many cyclists still leave theirs at home, saying that helmets look silly. Cities have tried to 18 riders in different ways. Fines work for a while; free helmets at bike stations work better. The most successful campaigns did something simpler: they asked well-known athletes to be photographed wearing one. Within two years, helmet use in those cities rose by half. To 19 that the habit lasts, several schools now inspect safety 20 at the start of every term.