3. Match the words with their definitions:

cast iron	a part of an engine consisting of a short solid piece of metal inside a tube, which moves up and down to make the other parts of the engine move
alloy	the part of a vehicle that produces power to make it move (motor)
handbrake	a type of iron that is hard, breaks easily, and is shaped in a mould
vehicle	a metal that consists of two or more metals mixed together
piston	a wheel that you turn to control the direction of a car
engine	a machine with an engine that is used to take people or things from one place to another, such as a car, bus, or truck
vapour	in a car that you pull up with your hand to stop the car from moving when it is parked [= emergency brake Am. Eng]
steering-wheel	mass of very small drops of a liquid which float in the air, for example because the liquid has been heated

4. Give two forms of the following verbs make up sentences of your own with them. Try to use different tense forms.

Drive

move

use

change

contain

turn

cover

5. Write an essay called “The car: dream machine or nightmare”. It should have the following structure:

• Modern society couldn’t exist without the car. Give some ways in which cars determine our lifestyle.

• The car brings a lot of benefits.

• However, we pay a heavy price for it.

• Give some ways in which we can reduce the problems that cars cause.

• Your own thoughts about cars.

Text 12.

THE HISTORY OF THE AUTOMOBILE

(B) Before World War II Vauxhall, still very much with us as General Motors British subsidiary was as eager as any maker of sports cars to provide its products on the racetrack. The company wanted to show that a relatively ‘ordinary’ car could reach the magic figure of 161kph. Their KN was designed to cheat the wind with its tube body and disc wheels. A radiator mounted sideways-on was kept cool via plentiful louvers in the hood, although the hot air that blew back into the cockpit was not fun for the driver. A lot of modifications were made, but the best the car could manage was 161.6kph until it was suggested that driving the gearbox and rear axle of all but a splash of oil, would reduce weight. Vauxhall was making around 200 cars a year at that time, and the KN paved the way for the launch of Prince Henry.

The Gyro car was an attempt to marry car and motorcycle. To make up for the balance usually bestowed on a 2-8wheeler by its rider, it used a huge gyroscope to keep it upright – quite a task for the 2.7-ton, 5-seater contraption. Some 10 percent of the engine output was developed to powering a dynamo and electric motor. An alarm bell rang if rotating speed dropped too low to keep the car upright and tiny support wheels were automatically lowered either side to stop it toppling over. It could reverse and partly maneuvered like any conventional 4-wheeler. It caused a sensation in London in 1914.

The Italian Mario Ricotti’s idea that popular cars of the future would be highly aerodynamic ‘one box’ people carriers was extraordinarily prescient. The teardrop lines of the one-off car are softly profiled, with the wind-cheating front section completely enclosing the engine and the tail of masterful proportion. The bodywork was made from aluminum paneling, while the elongated windshield section at the front consisted of three separate pieces of curved glass. The limits of contemporary technology, however, were clearly visible. The substantial side members and primitive suspension of the 40-60hp were obvious. With the engine and radiator inside the body contours, the driver had to sit over three feet behind the windshield, with visibility impeded by the side windows. Ricotti may have been eccentric, but he was not stupid. He removed the body. The body itself survives in Alfa Romeo’s Museo Storico.