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Reading Text a. Cars Driving Us Crazy?

1.Read and translate.

Technology has given us plenty of things that improve our lives: computers, calculators, mobile phones, CDs… It has also given us cheaper and faster cars that most people in western countries can afford. Cars improve our lives in lots of ways but they also cause problems.

My own car

Lots of teenagers dream of the day when they will be old enough to learn to drive (at age 17 in the UK) and have their own car. There are plenty of reasons why. They will be able to go out where they like, when they like. They won’t have to ask their parents to take them. They won’t have to go home early because the last bus leaves at half past ten. They will be able to give their friends a lift. Passing their driving test is a very important day in many teenagers’ lives. Cars are also a big status symbol. If you own a big, fast car, you must be rich and successful.

The problems

Cars cause a lot of problems. Here are some of them. Put them in order from 1 to 6 (1 for the biggest problem, 6 for the smallest problem, in your opinion).

  • The roads are too busy. People driving in cities or on the motorway often have to sit in traffic jams.

  • Towns are often designed for cars, not for people. On some roads, pedestrians have to use dark, dirty subways to get across the road.

  • The noise of traffic causes stress for people who live and work near busy roads.

  • Finding a parking space in cities and towns is often almost impossible.

  • Cars create a great deal of pollution. Air pollution is getting worse because more and more people own cars.

  • Every time you get into a car you risk having an accident.

Solutions from around the world

Different countries have different ways of reducing traffic. Tick the ones that you think are good ideas.

  • In Britain, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has asked the government to increase the price of petrol.

  • In Paris, France, when the pollution is really bad the underground, buses and trains are really free.

  • In Bern, Switzerland, drivers have to get a permit to park in the city. This has reduced traffic in the city by 15 per cent since 1992.

  • In Toronto, Canada, Highway 407 uses cameras to read car registration numbers. Then computers charge drivers for the number of kilometres they travel on the highway.

  • In Singapore, car drivers have to pay to enter the city. There is also a limit on the number of new cars every year.

  • In Cuba, not many people can afford to own a car. People who are on their own in a car have to stop and take passengers.

  • In the Netherlands, there isn’t such a big problem with traffic as in other countries. This is because every town and city has plenty of cycle lanes, so people travel on bicycles much more.

_______________________

technology

status

in your opinion

motorway

design

pedestrian

subway

parking space

accident

free

charge

highway

cycle lane

техніка

соціальний стан

на вашу думку

автострада

планувати

пішохід

підземний перехід

місце для парковки

аварія

безкоштовний

брати плату

автострада

доріжка для їзди на велосипеді

2.Say what new you have learnt from the text