11．We all remember seeing hitchhikers（搭便车者）．They stood by the side of the road，thumb sticking out，waiting for a lift．But hitchhiking is getting rare nowadays．What killed it？S（81）afety is often mentioned as a reason．Movies about hitchhiking killers and real-life crimes have stopped many drivers from picking up hitchhikers．No single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester．This fact show people's fear：a large，strangely dressed man is though to be a d（82）angerousperson． But the reason my be more complex（复杂的）：hitchhiking happens where people don't have cars and transport services are p（83）oor．Plenty people still hitchhike in some countries．Perhaps the rising level of car ownership in the U．K．makes the few hitchhiking people look strange．Why can't these people a（84）affordcars？Why can't hey take the bus or the train？ Three-quarters of the UK population have cars； many of those that have no cars are quite old．So the potential（潜在的） hitchhiking population is small．Yet on my way to Manchester，I got a lift from several people．My t（85）tripproves that it's still possible to hitchhike．Those who picked me up i（86）includea lawyer，a retired doctor，a tank commander，a worker，a man who lives in a lonely farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains．Most people just wanted to do someone a favour； a few said they were so surprised to see a hitchhiker that they couldn't help stopping． The future of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing which is organized over the Internet．But for now，you can still stick your thumb out a（87）actually，I didn't do much of that．I preferred to hold up the sign of the place I wanted to go） and people-wonderful，caring，sharing，unafraid people-will stop． In the UK，with its cheap buses and reasonable railway service，I don't think I'll form a habit of hitchhiking．
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