On the road

By 1927, one in five Americans owned a car, a figure eight times higher than in any other country. The car appealed to Americans' restless natures. Many were even willing to cut back on necessities. When a farmer's wife was asked why she had a car but no bathtub, she answered, "Well, you can't get to town in a bathtub."

Never had so many people been so mobile. Cars meant that workers could live farther from their jobs, which fueled the growth of city suburbs.

The car also gave rise to a new fad — auto camping. Families could put a tent and some cans of food in the car and go exploring. They saw more of their country, and fellow Americans, than it had ever been possible before. "For the first time in history," wrote a popular newspaper columnist, C. P. Russell, in 1925, "the common, ordinary folks of the North and South are meeting one another on a really large scale, mostly by means of the national chariot — the Ford car."

Roadside industries were started to serve the new "autoists." By the end of the decade, there were more than 120,000 gas stations nationwide. Cheap hotels, called motels, lined major routes. Small towns set up free campgrounds for tourists.

The car might have given common people the means of moving, but the roads were still dangerous. A road system barely existed and basically had to be built from scratch. Only about 1 percent of country roads in 1920 were paved. The increasing number of auto owners put pressure on the government to build better and safer roads. By the end of the 1920s, 10,000 miles of roads were being built a year.

Road signs and maps also were new concepts. Their short supply provided plenty of material for jokes in popular magazines and radio shows of the day:

Driver: Do you know which road goes to Chicago?

Country boy: No.

Driver: Do you know which road goes to Joliet?

Country boy: No.

Driver: You don't know anything, do you?

Country boy: Yes, sir. I know I'm not lost.

At the same time, the car was blamed for many social ills. Critics blamed it for causing a decline in church attendance (too many Sunday drives), for increasing crime (too many quick getaways), and for corrupting the nation's youth (too much kissing in the backseat). Not surprisingly, kids quickly discovered the advantages of going out on auto dates. Before the car, it was tough for a young couple to get out from under the watchful eyes of parents. Now, though, kids could hop in the car and drive to a dance in a distant town. They could also "run out of gas" on a lonely country road on the way home. But love it or hate it, the car shook, rattled, rolled, and changed American society.

The humorist Will Rogers said it best at the time. "Good luck, Mr. Ford. It will take a hundred years to tell whether you have helped us or hurt us, but you certainly didn't leave us like you found us."

II. Look through the text again and answer the following questions:

1. What did cars mean for workers?

2. What fad did the car give rise to?

3. What road industries were served to new “autoists”?

4. What was the car blamed for?

5. Did the car shake, roll and change American society?

III. Match the words with their definitions and make up your own sentences with these words:

1. to appeal	a) a long large container for water in which a person sits to have a wash;
2. to cut back	b) to be attractive or interesting to smb.;
3. bathtub	c) to reduce;
4. fad	d) people from a particular country or region;
5. folks	e) a fashion, an interest;
6. to roll	f) to cover a surface with a flat stones or bricks;
7. to pave	g) to make smth. turn round and round;
8. to supply	h) to give smb. smth. that is need or useful;
9. getaway	i) an escape after a crime;
10. rattle	j) to make smb. nervous or worried;

IV. Read the following statements and discuss them with a partner:

1. The car appealed to Americans' restless natures.

2. The car also gave rise to roadside industries.

3. The car was blamed for many social ills.

4. The car contributed to building road system.

Giving your opinion you may find the following expressions helpful:

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Make a short report in front of the class.	\|	By the way as for me I’d like to know

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