Vehicles and parts of a vehicle

sports/estate car bus coach van trunk (AmE)/ boot (BrE) truck (AmE)/ lorry(BrE) engine gears gearshift wheel steering wheel clutch

hood (AmE)/bonnet (BrE) headlights tail‑light (AmE)/rear light (BrE) license (AmE)/number (BrE) plate windshield (AmE)/windscreen (BrE) tire (AmE)/ tyre (BrE) dashboard brake pedal front/rear seat

People

bus driver mechanic

chauffeur bus‑conductor

Places and facilities

garage service station gas (AmE)/petrol (BrE) station

parking lot (АmЕ)/ саr park (BrE) highway (AmE)/motorway(BrE)

Word Combinations

to drive a car to start a car to keep to the speed limit to stop for speeding to slow down to overtake

to shift (AmE) change (BrE) gear to go _ _ miles per gallon (AmE)/do _km to the litre(BrE) to fill up with unleaded/regular /premium gas (AmE)petrol(BrE)

Text 1 Travelling and Transportation in the usa

The average American employee usually has three or four weeks of paid vacation during the summer, but this varies considerably. Some American families spend their vacations at home. Others might own or rent a cottage near a lake or in the mountains. Locations where swimming, fishing and other water sports are available are especially popular. A great many Americans take to the road to "see America first". Every year more than 60 million Americans visit their National Parks, which give Americans opportunities "to get away from it all", to escape from the worries of the urban world. Camping and hiking, which have become extremely popular throughout the country, also afford a chance to travel on a limited budget. Some Americans take a trip to Europe or Africa, tour Asia or South America, and have a good time travelling.

Often it is cheaper to fly than to go by car, bus or train. Travelers can simply step aboard planes, which leave every hour from Boston, New York and Washington, without advance reservations, and without luggage check‑in. The airplane has virtually eliminated the railroad as a means of carrying passengers on inter‑city links. The few long‑distance trains that still survive are run by Amtrak (the name of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation subsidized by federal funds). Today, Amtrak's system links over 500 cities in 47 states. Most trains run along the northeast corridor – Boston – New York – Philadelphia – Washington. But outside the northeast corridor travel is almost ail by car, air or bus, and the passenger train has not much more of a part in the modern world than the old stagecoach.

The most extensive and one of the least expensive means of transportation is the bus. Bus companies, public and private, operating between some 55,000 cities and towns, largely provide both inner city traffic and outer city transportation. Two major bus operators, Greyhound Lines and Trailways, cover the whole nation, with hundreds of convenient and inter­connecting services, including branch routes from the main trunk centers. America’s inter‑city buses transport more passengers every year than Amtrak and all airlines combined. This cheap way to cover long distances in the US is used by many American and foreign travellers.

American culture is often referred to as a Car Culture. Mass ownership of automobiles has been a major factor in determining the nation's way of living, in particular the growth of suburbs. The ability to move around, to choose where to go has become an accepted element in the people's heritage. Today in America there are more cars in relation to people than in any other country: about six cars for every ten people.

Standard size cars are very big and comfortable and cost less than similar cars in Europe. But several new factors have upset the old self‑confidence of the car industry. Big cars tend to be "gas‑eaters". In the late 1970s a new nationwide speed limit of 90 km per hour was imposed and new cars are required to be built to economize the use of fuel.

Although cheap gas and the availability of space have always favoured the Car Culture in the USA, Americans started relatively early giving thought to problems caused by cars. Some cities banned cars from their central shopping areas. Many universities forbade students to have cars on campus, unless, of course, they were handicapped.

Programs such as car pooling or "share the ride", and "pack‑'n‑ride" are also common approaches that are now put info practice elsewhere outside the United States.

The strict US pollution and exhaust regulations for cars and trucks are now well‑known outside the US. Along with introduction of unleaded gas and catalytic converters in 1975, these measures are now often taken as international standards and goals.

Film and television make it seem that Americans are fascinated by speed, but in real life aggressive driving is unusual. The death rate due to car accidents is the lowest in the world.

Drivers obey the rules, though most exceed the speed limit a little. Americans who drive cars in Europe are horrified by the behavior of the local drivers there.