Задание 18 из ЕГЭ по английскому языку: задача 12

Hydra: the Greek Island That Banned Wheels

On my final morning in Hydra, I woke up early and ambled down to the waterside to watch the weekly deliveries. Docked at the stone harbour walls was a barge that brings over islanders’ orders from the mainland. Patiently queuing to board the boat were several donkeys. Groups of three or four would climb aboard then return a few minutes later bearing household items, packages and even bags of cement in woven baskets strapped to their backs. The donkey drivers — all moustachioed island men — quickly led their charges away up alleys leading off the port and out of sight.

Hydra's archaic reliance on donkeys for transport stems from a 1950s presidential decree that is intended to preserve the Greek island’s architecture and character. It includes a rule that wheeled vehicles — cars, motorbikes and even bicycles — cannot be used there. Since the town is built on steep, amphitheatre-like hills rising from its horseshoe-shaped harbour, donkeys are the only form of transport that can climb the steep steps and narrow alleyways up to many residents’ homes.

Municipalities around the world are currently looking at ways to reduce reliance on private cars, or even ban them from certain parts of a city altogether. Indeed, the London borough I live in has recently introduced a “low traffic neighbourhood,” a scheme that uses number-plate recognition cameras to restrict through-traffic so only residents can drive there. So, towards the end of an island-hopping holiday through the Greek islands, I was intrigued to see what a place that had never permitted cars was like.

On first impressions, car-free island life felt idyllic. In towns on other Greek islands, I’d found myself regularly pressed up against walls on pavement-less roads to let mopeds buzz by. In Hydra, by contrast, I could wander around at my own pace, gawping at pink bougainvillea cascading down whitewashed walls, citrus and pomegranate trees in gardens, and pretty squares framed by red pantile-roofed buildings.

Despite the presidential decree, visitors to the island may occasionally see a handful of vehicles, including a town rubbish truck. And while forbidden for adults, bicycles are allowed for children up to the age of 12 — but they can only be ridden in the winter months and not during the tourist-heavy summer.

It was also remarkably quiet; none of the screeching brakes or roaring engines typical of towns and cities elsewhere. Occasionally I heard a donkey honking or church bells clattering, but otherwise silence reigned.

The town also felt very human in scale. Walking up the maze of narrow streets and alleys to get a view over the harbour, I frequently saw groups of friends and neighbours greeting one another, chatting and gossiping in the middle of the road. One evening, a group of kids ran past my table as I drank a beer by the port, bashing each other with balloons, their parents with no anxiety about traffic. Even the countless stray cats, a familiar feature of Greek islands, seemed unusually relaxed — often sprawling out lazily in the middle of thoroughfares.

The fact there are no cars is, in many ways, a big driver of the island’s economy. Hydra is only about 90 minutes by boat from the busy metropolitan sprawl of Athens, yet it feels a world away. Tourists come precisely because it’s so peaceful. Hydra is also much wealthier than other islands in the Saronic archipelago to which it belongs. This is, at least in part, driven by the fact that outsiders like how quiet it is.

Earlier on in my visit to Hydra, I’d headed west out of the town along the cobblestone “road” that hugs the coast. It eventually fizzled out into a quiet track, where the incense of pine lingered in the air and the only sound was the pleasant buzz of cicadas and the swish of the sea. With no cars in sight and little sign of development, it was like stepping back into another time, with nothing but my feet to transport me.

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What does the author think is the main reason why tourists come to the island?

1. The island is not far from the capital.
2. The island is richer than other islands.
3. The island is peaceful and quiet.
4. The island is safe for kids.