Life is a series of choices and we can't always foresee the consequences.

    Harry Saleen, an obese man with too much money and power, faced a(n) 1. Outside his office waited his personal 2, bringing him the important news about the 3 medicine that could save his life. On the other side of the world, one of his engineers waited for his decision on an important 4 of business.

    His secretary asked him 5 she could bring the doctor in. The billionaire businessman made his 6. "Business comes first," answered Saleen. 7 the health problem caused by his huge weight, he was still 8 about making money. He raised a 9 finger, and one of his staff 10 to switch on a large television set.

    On the screen appeared his engineer. They talked by satellite directly to each other although they were thousands of miles 11. "It's all ready to explode, Mr Saleen," he said, "just one 12." His engineer was standing above Pakan Valley in South America. A few months ago, it had been a rainforest. Then Saleen's men came, cutting down all the valuable trees and 13 the villagers to move out. 14 the valley, a dam had been built to provide power for the factories that Saleen planned to build in that area. The factories would bring him great 15. Seeing no reason to delay, he ordered the engineer to press the button. There, in the valley, a cloud of dust rose, followed by a dull explosion. A large river changed its 16 and water flooded into the valley.

    "Good, that's it. Now, get that doctor in here," he 17.

    The doctor came in with a worried look and started to examine his 18 patient. "You are doing very well, Mr Saleen. The only medicine is saving your life. But the difficulty is getting more of it."

    "Tell me what you need and we'll get it," Saleen said.

    The doctor said, "The medicine was made of a plant, which is 19. There is only one place in the world where the plant grows."

    "Where?" asked the businessman, 20.

    The doctor smiled, "Well, luckily, the plant comes from one of the lands you own, sir. It comes from a place in South America, known as Pakan Valley."

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    I was desperately nervous about becoming car-free. But eight months ago our car was hit by a passing vehicle and it was destroyed. No problem, I thought: we'll buy another. But the insurance payout didn't even begin to cover the costs of buying a new car—I worked out that, with the loan(贷款) we'd need plus petrol, insurance, parking permits and tax, we would make a payment as much as ￡600 a month.

    And that's when I had my fancy idea. Why not just give up having a car at all? I live in London. We have a railway station behind our house, a tube station 10 minutes' walk away, and a bus stop at the end of the street. A new car club had just opened in our area, and one of its shiny little red Peugeots was parked nearby. If any family in Britain could live without a car, I reasoned, then surely we were that family.

    But my new car-free idea, sadly, wasn't shared by my family. My teenage daughters were horrified. What would their friends think about our family being "too poor to afford a car"? (I wasn't that bothered what they thought, and I suggested the girls should take the same approach.)

    My friends, too, were astonished at our plan. What would happen if someone got seriously ill overnight and needed to go to hospital? (an ambulance) How would the children get to and from their many events? (buses and trains) People smiled as though this was another of my mad ideas, before saying they were sure I'd soon realize that a car was a necessity.

    Eight months later, I wonder whether we'll ever own a car again. The idea that you "have to" own a car, especially if you live in a city, is all in the mind. I live—and many other citizens do too—in a place that has never been better served by public transport, and yet car ownership has never been higher. We worry about rising car costs, but we'd be better off asking something much more basic: Do I really need a car? Certainly the answer is no, and I'm a lot richer because I dare to ask the question.

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