2132

SUBJECT: Computer Lab

This memo presents the findings of my visit to the computer lab at Clark C252. In general, I felt that the lab needs much new equipment and renovation.

The inspection was designed to determine if the present equipment was adequate to provide graduate students with the technology needed to perform the tasks expected of them by their professors and thesis research.

I ran a series of tasks and recorded memory capacity and processing time for each task.

The inspection found that the hardware used to run the computers is outdated and that the computers are very slow.

This lab is inadequate for the everyday needs of graduate students in this department.

Four new computers running on Windows7 and a processing speed of at least 3 GHz should be purchased immediately.

SUBJECT: Project Schedule

This memo responds to your request that the weekly meeting be moved from 9am to 10am.

This request is satisfactory as long as it is approved by management. Management usually has no problem with the individual time changes in meetings, as long as meeting minutes are turned in by noon to Cathy.

I have asked Cathy if she thinks this would be a problem and she said no, so all we need to do now is get approval from Steve.

Analyse the structure of memo messages above. Mention if it is different for different types of memo.

7. Suggest what should be improved in the following memo to make it more efficient (use additional information under the text):

MEMO To: Katherine Callahan, Regional Manager From:Stephen Yang, Accounts department Date: 25 January 2011

Our department possesses 10 computers and 1 printer. Since the amount of printed documents required for commodity registration increased, we have difficulties with preparing the documents at the proper time.

Purchasing a new printer would enable our department to work more efficiently.

8. Compose your own memo basing on an imaginary or real situation.

PART VIII

PROBLEMS OF

ROAD TRAFFIC SAFETY

READING

6. Read the following words and learn them by heart:

crash – авария, крушение, столкновение

A crash involving two cars was reported on the late news. harm – вред, убыток, урон, ущерб

They have suffered serious physical harm. victim – жертва

All victims of this explosion were taken to the hospital. health – здоровье

Nature walk promotes good health. prior to – раньше, прежде, до

What construction was here prior to this supermarket? to injure – ранить, ушибить, повредить

He was injured in a car accident

property – имущество, собственность, состояние

They lost all their property in the fire. damage – вред, повреждение, убыток, ущерб

The storm did considerable damage to the city trees. safety – безопасность, сохранность

Everything should be done to insure the safety of the children rate – пропорция, соотношение, коэффициент

This road is considered to be the most dangerous as it has the highest rate of crashes per mile per year.

vulnerable – уязвимый, ранимый

Additional rules are worked out to protect vulnerable road users. speed hump – лежачий полицейский

Speed humps are used in locations where very low speeds are desired and reasonable.

to eliminate – исключать, устранять

Authorities seek to eliminate the causes of high crash rates. to drowse – быть сонным, дремать

To drowse while driving is very dangerous.

2. Guess the meaning of the following words:

a) basing on their phonetic and graphic similarity with the Russian words:

fatality, jurisdiction, criterion, to report, location, procedure; b) basing on the known English words:

to result, healthy, to prioritize, injury.

3.Read the text and answer the following questions:

1)How is harm of road traffic crash classified?

2)How is road safety measured?

ROAD TRAFFIC CRASH AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

A road traffic crash is an event involving a road vehicle that results in harm. Road traffic crashes are one of the world’s largest public health and injury prevention problems. The problem is all the more acute because the victims are overwhelmingly healthy prior to their crashes. According to the World Health Organization more than a million people are killed on the world’s roads each year.

There are three types of harm: fatality, injuries and property damage. Conceptually, the clearest type of harm in a road traffic crash is death – or a fatality. However, the definition of a road traffic fatality is far more complicated than a casual thought might indicate, and involves many essentially arbitrary criteria. In the United States, for example, the definition used in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) is a person who dies within 30 days of a crash on a US public road involving a vehicle with an engine, the death being the result of the crash. In America therefore, if a driver has a non-fatal heart attack that leads to a road-traffic crash that causes death, that is a road-traffic fatality. However, if the heart attack causes death prior to the crash, then that is not a road-traffic fatality.

To make matters more complex the definition of Road Accident Fatality can differ in the same country during different years. For example, fatality is defined in France as a person who dies in the 6 days (pre 2005) after the accident; in the 30 days (post 2005) after the accident.

It is highly uncertain exactly how many road traffic crash injuries occur in the world. Whether an injury is reported may depend upon compensation and medical procedures as well as on the amount of harm.

Data for property damage crashes is even more uncertain than for injuries. In some jurisdictions the criterion for reporting is damage exceeding some monetary amount specified by statute. Because of inflation, this requirement may include more and more minor crashes as time passes, until the amount is abruptly changed, thereby reducing the reported number of crashes. Drivers generally report single-vehicle property damage crashes only if they see some benefit in reporting them, regardless of legal obligations.

Road traffic safety aims to reduce the harm (deaths, injuries, and property damage) resulting from crashes of road vehicles. Harm from road traffic crashes is greater than that from all other transportation modes (air, sea, space, offterrain, etc.) combined.

The safety performance of roadways is almost always reported as rates. That is, some measure of harm (deaths, injuries, or number of crashes) divided by some measure of exposure to the risk of this harm. Rates are used so the safety performance of different locations can be compared, and to prioritize safety improvements.

Common rates related to road traffic fatalities include the number of deaths per capita, per registered vehicle, per licensed driver, or per vehicle mile or kilometer traveled. Simple counts are almost never used. The annual count of fatalities is a rate, namely, the number of fatalities per year.

There is no one rate that is superior to others in any general sense. The rate to be selected depends on the question being asked – and often also on what data are available. What is important is to specify exactly what rate is measured and how it relates to the problem being addressed. Some agencies concentrate on crashes per total vehicle distance traveled. Others combine rates. The State of Iowa, for example, selects high accident locations based on a combination of crashes per million miles traveled, crashes per mile per year, and value loss (crash severity).

4.Give definitions to the following words using the text:

7)A road traffic crash is … .

8)A road traffic fatality is … .

9)A road traffic crash injury is … .

10)Propertydamage is … .

11)Road traffic safety is … .

12)Arate is … .

5.Explain the difference between the following words:

13)Harm and injury;

14)Death and fatality;

15)Crash and accident;

16)Rate and count;

6.Find synonyms to the following words in the text: damage, security, quantity, choose, yearly.

Which of these words has two synonyms in the text?

7. Find out which of mentioned in the text rates contains a loan word from Latin. Give some other examples of loaned words, word combinations or abbreviations if possible.

8. Complete the following table with the missing forms and then complete each sentence with the correct word. Use one form of each base and do not repeat any words.

1)After the crash … people were taken to the hospital.

2)Careless driving causes considerable … .

3)This … accident aroused great public indignation.

4)Only … characteristics can be used as a base of a rate.

5)20 people … in yesterday’s traffic crash.

6)Crash avoidance systems and devices are designed to improve vehicle … .

9.Read the following texts and choose suitable titles for them from the following ones:

1)Modern construction technologies and Road traffic safety

2)Road traffic safety problems of large cities

3)Road traffic safety and public policy

4)Road traffic safety in different types of areas

I

For road traffic safety purposes it can be helpful to classify roads into ones in built-up area, non built-up areas and then major highways.

Pedestrians and cyclists are among the most vulnerable road users, and in some countries constitute over half of all road deaths. Interventions aimed at improving safety of non-motorised users in build-up area:

sidewalks of suitable width for the expected pedestrian traffic;

pedestrian crossings close to the desire line which allow pedestrians to cross roads safely;

segregated pedestrian routes and cycle lanes away from the main highway;

overbridges (tend to be unpopular with pedestrians and cyclists due to additional distance and effort);

underpasses (these can pose heightened risk from crime if not designed well, can work for cyclists in some cases);

traffic calming and speed humps;

low speed limits that are rigorous enforced, possibly by speed cameras;

pedestrian barriers to prevent pedestrians crossing dangerous locations;

shared space schemes giving ownership of the road space and equal priority

to all road users, regardless of mode of use.

Shared space is a comparatively new approach. These schemes rely on human instincts and interactions, such as eye contact, for their effectiveness, and are characterised by the removal of traditional traffic signals and signs, and even by the removal of the distinction between carriageway and footway.

At the other end of the spectrum from build-up area roads are motorways, which may be called freeways, limited access highways. Motorways improve safety by:

limited access from properties and local roads;

grade separated junctions;

median dividers between opposite-direction traffic to reduce likelihood of head-on collisions;

removing roadside obstacles;

prohibition of more vulnerable road users and slower vehicles;

placements of energy attenuation devices (e.g. guardrails, wide grassy areas, sand barrels);

eliminating road toll booths.

Although these roads may experience greater severity than most roads to due higher speeds in the event of a crash, the probability of a crash is reduced by removing interactions (crossing, passing, slower and opposing traffic), and crash severity is reduced by removing massive, fixed objects or surrounding them with energy attenuation devices (e.g. guardrails, wide grassy areas, sand barrels).

Motorways are far more expensive and space-consumptive to build than ordinary roads, so are only used as principal arterial routes. The improved safety and fuel economy of motorways are common justifications for building more motorways. However, the planned capacity of motorways is often exceeded in a shorter timeframe than initially planned, due to the underestimation of the extent of the suppressed demand for road travel. In developing nations, there is significant public debate on the desirability of continued investment in motorways.

II

Poor pavement construction can lead to safety problems. If too much asphalt or bitumenous binder is used in asphalt concrete, the binder can “bleed” or “flush” to the surface, leaving a very smooth surface that provides little traction when wet. Certain kinds of stone aggregate become very smooth or polished under the constant wearing action of vehicle tires, again leading to poor

wet-weather traction. Either of these problems can increase wet-weather crashes by increasing braking distances or contributing to loss of control. If the pavement is insufficiently sloped or poorly drained, standing water on the surface can also lead to wet-weather crashes. To avoid this many roads are cambered (crowned), that is, made so that they have rounded surfaces, to reduce standing water and ice, primarily to prevent frost damage but also increasing traction in poor weather. Some sections of road are now surfaced with porous bitumen to enhance drainage; this is particularly done on bends. As well as that, there are often grooves cut into the surface of cement highways to channel water away. These are just a few elements of highway engineering.

Better motorways are banked on curves in order to reduce the need for tiretraction and increase stability for vehicles with high centers of gravity. Modern safety barriers are designed to absorb impact energy and minimize the risk to the occupants of cars, and bystanders. For example, most side rails are now anchored to the ground, so that they cannot skewer a passenger compartment, and most light poles are designed to break at the base rather than violently stop a car that hits them. Some road fixtures such as road signs and fire hydrants are designed to collapse on impact. Highway authorities have also removed trees in the vicinity of roads; while the idea of “dangerous trees” has attracted a certain amount of skepticism, unforgiving objects such as trees can cause severe damage and injury to any errant road users.

Most road signs and pavement marking materials are retro-reflective, incorporating small glass spheres or prisms to more efficiently reflect light from vehicle headlights back to the driver’s eyes.

Lane markers in some countries and states are marked with cat’s eyes or Botts’ dots, bright reflectors that do not fade like paint. Botts’ dots are not used where it is icy in the winter, because frost and snowplows can break the glue that holds them to the road, although they can be embedded in short, shallow trenches carved in the roadway, as is done in the mountainous regions of California.

In some countries major roads have “tone bands” impressed or cut into the edges of the legal roadway, so that drowsing drivers are awakened by a loud hum as they release the steering and drift off the edge of the road. Tone bands are also referred to as “rumble strips”, owing to the sound they create. An alternative method is the use of “raised rib” markings, which consists of a continuous line marking with ribs across the line at regular intervals. They were first specially authorised for use on motorways as an edge line marking to separate the edge of the hard shoulder from the main carriageway. The objective of the marking is to achieve improved visual delineation of the carriageway edge in wet conditions at night. It also provides an audible/vibratory warning to vehicle drivers, should they stray from the carriageway, and run onto the marking.

10. Look at the following pictures and guess which of road safety devices mentioned in the text above they represent:

What road safety devices are used in your city, in other cities that you visited?

11.Express your opinion about safety means for pedestrians and cyclists suggested in the text above. Speak about their advantages and disadvantages, their cost and efficiency.

12.Fill in the crossword:

11

1)To forbid something.

2)Things owned by a person.

3)To be on the verge of sleeping.

4)Freedom from danger.

5)The state of being free from disease or pain.

6)Any physical damage to someone or something caused by violence or accident etc.

7)One of frequently used traffic calming methods is a speed … .

8)To cause damage or affect negatively.

9)A serious accident (usually involving one or more vehicles).

10)A quantity or measure divided by another quantity or measure.

11)Capable of being wounded; susceptible external injuries.

12)A person who suffers from some adverse circumstance.

13.Carry out a survey to find out what roads and intersections in your city are the most hazardous. Analyse the collected data and draw a conclusion what most of the accidents are caused by. Suggest some measures to improve the situation. Present the results of your survey using PowerPoint. (Project work)

14.Read the text and make up a conclusion what basic types of vehicle safety improving can be distinguished:

VEHICLE SAFETY FEATURES

Safety can be improved by reducing the chances of a driver making an error, or by designing vehicles to reduce the severity of crashes that do occur. Most industrialized countries have comprehensive requirements and specifications for safety-related vehicle devices, systems, design, and construction. These may include:

passenger restraints such as seat belts – often in conjunction with laws requiring their use – and airbags;

crash avoidance equipment such as lights and reflectors;

driver assistance systems such as Electronic Stability Control;

crash survivability design including fire-retardant interior materials, standards for fuel system integrity, and the use of safety glass;

sobriety detectors.

Sobriety detectors are interlocks which prevent the ignition key from working if the driver breathes into one and it detects significant quantities of alcohol. They have been used by some commercial transport companies, or suggested for use with persistent drink-driving offenders on a voluntary basis.

Safety can be improved by methods that encourage safe behavior, or reduce the chances of driver error. Some of these include:

compulsory training and licensing (although this is often a once-off requirement some countries require periodic retests and others will require drivers convicted of offences to undergo certain training and retests before being allowed back on the roads);

restrictions on driving while drunk or impaired by drugs;

restrictions on mobile phone use while on the move;

compulsory insurance to compensate victims;

restrictions on commercial vehicle driver hours, and fitting of tachographs;

conventional and automated enforcement of traffic laws, including red-light

running cameras and photo-radar.

Reasons suggested for young and inexperienced drivers being more likely to be in an accident include inexperience combined with over-confidence, peer pressure, a desire to show off, and incomplete neurological development. It has