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Transport for Tomorrow

One thing is certain about the public transport of the future: it

must be more efficient than it is today. The time is coming when it

will be quicker to fly across the Atlantic to New York than to travel

from home to office. The two main problems are: what vehicle shall

we use and how can we plan our use of it?

There are already some modern vehicles which are not yet in

common use, but which may become a usual means of transport in

the future. One of these is the small electric car: we go out into the

street, find an empty car, get into it, drive to our destination, get

out and leave the car for the next person who comes along. In fact,

there may be no need to drive these cars. With an automatic guidance system for cars being developed, it will be possible for us to select our destination just as today we select a telephone number, and

our car will move automatically to the address we want.

For long journeys in private cars one can also use an automatic

guidance system. Arriving at the motorway, a driver will select the

lane^ he wishes to use, switch over to automatic driving, and then

relax — dream, read the newspaper, have a meal, flirt with his passenger — while the car does the work for him. Unbelievable? It is

already possible. Just as in many ships and aircraft today we are pi132

loted automatically for the greater part of the journey, so in the future we can also have this luxury in our own cars.

A decade ago, the only thing electronic on most automobiles

was the radio. But at present sophisticated electronics is playing a

big part in current automotive research. For example, in every

gasoline-powered^ car that General Motors Corporation makes

there is a small computer continuously monitoring the exhaust.

The device, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, adjusts the vehicle carburetor fuel intake^ to get the best fuel economy. Ford cars

are equipped with an electronic instrument panel that, among

other things^, will calculate how far one can drive on the fuel left

in the tank. It will also estimate the time of arrival at destination

and tell the driver what speed he has averaged^ since turning on

the ignition.

According to specialists these features made possible by microelectronics are only the beginning. Radar may control the brakes to

avoid collisions, and a display screen may show the car's position

on the road. Recently a radar to be mounted on lorries and cars has

been designed in the USA. The radar aerial looks like a third headlight placed directly above the bumper. Having summed up the information about the speed and distance of various objects ahead, the

computer detects all possible dangers and their nature. A third component in the system is a monitor on the instrument panel. The radar

only observes objects ahead of the vehicle. It is automatically turned

on when the speed exceeds ten miles an hour. The green light on the

panel indicates that the system is on. The yellow light warns of stationary objects ahead, or something moving slower than the car. The

red light and buzzer warn that the speed should go down. Another

red light and sound signal make the driver apply the brakes.

A Japanese company is designing a car of a new generation.

When completed, the new model will have a lot of unusual characteristics. The car's four-wheel control system will ensure movement diagonally and even sideways, like a crab, at right angles to

the longitudinal axis. This is especially important when leaving the

car in parking places. To help the driver get information while concentrating on the road, the most important data will be projected

on the wind screen. A tourist travelling in such a car will not lose

his way even in Sahara with its impassable roads: a navigation Earth

satellite will indicate the route.

A new ceramic engine has been developed in Japan. Many important parts as pistons, pressure rings^, valves and some others

133

have been made of various ceramic materials, piston rings'^ made of

silicon materials being in many respects better than those of steel.

They withstand temperatures up to 1,000 °C. Therefore, the engine

does not need a cooling system.

Просмотрите текст 7А и ответьте на вопросы.

1. What is the text about? 2. What kind of a car may be in common use in the near future? 3. How will a public electric car operate?

4. How will it operate on a motorway? 5. What electronic devices

are there in a modern car? 6. What electronic devices does General

Motors Coфoration offer for a car? 7. What electronic devices are

Ford cars equipped with? 8. Can a radar be used in a car? What will

its functions be? 9. What functions will a Japanese car of a new

generation have? 10. What materials do the Japanese offer to use

for car motors?

kristinka140320    1   03.12.2020 14:48    38