单选题 They are{{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}along the major roads throughout the Northeast. Form the parking lots, they look like railroad or trolley cars, but the cheery curtains in the windows, the flower boxes on the window sills, and the "Come on in, we're open"{{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}on the doors{{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}something different. These are the diners, where eating is a{{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}restaurant experience.
The first diners appeared almost one hundred years ago.{{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}they were horse-drawn wagons filled with sandwiches, hot dogs, desserts, and coffee for people who wanted to eat{{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}after 8:00 p. m. Many restaurants were already closed{{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}that hour, but the diner stayed open.{{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}earning the nickname, "night owl"
It was not until 1897,{{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}, that the trolley design of the diner became popular. When Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City{{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}their horse-drawn trolleys with modern electric cars, the abandoned models were bought by{{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}} {{/U}}merchants for 15 or 20 dollars and{{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}into diners. It was also during this period, however, that the diners suffered a{{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}} {{/U}}of respectability. The dilapidated cars tended to drive{{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}respectable customers while{{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}} {{/U}}a less desirable clientele. At one point in their history, diners were even{{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}by city order in Atlantic City, New Jersey and Buffalo, New York.
{{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}the diners were saved from possible extinction by a man named Patrick (Pop) Tierny, who, in the early 1900s ,created a more elegant version of the old trolley diner.{{U}} {{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}by the railroad dining car, "Pop" added booths, small windows, and a barrel roof to his diners. During this same period, automobiles were growing{{U}} {{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}popularity-and long distance travel was becoming more common. Diners along the roadside provided both pleasant and convenient{{U}} {{U}} 20 {{/U}} {{/U}}places for hungry travelers.