J.
Pause K. quite L. stand by M. standstill N.traffic O. trapped Electricity is such a part of our everyday lives and so much taken for granted nowadays that we rarely think twice when we switch on the light or turn on the radio. At night, roads are brightly lit, enabling people and (31)__________ to move freely. Neon lighting used in advertising has become part of the character of every modern city. In the home, many (32)__________ devices are powered by electricity. Even when we turn off the bedside lamp and are (33)__________ asleep, electricity is working for us, driving our refrigerators, heating our water, or keeping our rooms air-conditioned. Every day, trains, trolley-buses, and trams take us to and from work. We rarely (34)__________ to consider why or how they run until something goes wrong. In the summer of 1959, something did go wrong with the power plant that provides New York with electricity. For a great many hours, life came almost to a (35)__________ .Trains refused to move and the people in them sat in the dark, powerless to do anything; lifts stopped working, so that even if you were lucky enough not to be (36)__________ between two floors, you had the unpleasant task of finding your way down (37)__________ of flights of stairs. Famous streets like Broadway and Fifth Avenue in an instant became as gloomy and uninviting (38)__________ the most remote back streets. People were afraid to leave their houses, for although the police had been ordered to (39)__________ in case of emergency, they were just as confused and (40)__________ as anybody else. (1.0分)