ВУЗ:
Составители:
Рубрика:
public transportation saves fuel and helps to protect the
environment. Many people are unhappy with car traffic and
pollution, as well as with the use of beautiful land for building
new roads. One environmentalist, Jan Lundberg, left his
Mercedes-Benz in Los Angeles and moved to the forests of
northern California. There he works on the Auto-Free Times, a
newspaper that teaches people how to live without driving.
Lundberg travels on foot, on bicycle, or by bus. Before he
decided to live without a car, Lundberg worked for the oil
companies, studying the prices of gasoline.
Lundberg and other environmentalists dream of turning
parking lots into parks and replacing cars with bicycles, but
most people around the world believe that the car is a necessary
part of life in today's world. Still, there is an important question
that must be answered: What kind of fuel will we use when
gasoline is no longer available? Lundberg believes that by the
year 2021, there will no longer be oil for gasoline makers to use.
To solve this problem, car companies in Korea, Japan, Europe,
and the United States are trying to develop an electric car that
will not require gasoline at all.
The electric car is not a new idea. In had success with
American women in the early 1900s. Women liked electric cars
because they were quiet and did not pollute the air. Electric cars
were also easier to start than gasoline-powered ones. But
gasoline-powered cars were faster, and in the 1920s they
became much more popular.
The electric car was not used again until the 1970s, when
there were serious problems with the availability of oil. Car
companies began to plan for a future without gasoline. The
General Motors Company had plans to develop an electric car
by 1980; however, oil became available again, and this car was
never produced.
Today there is a new interest in the electric car, which is
partly related to a passion for speed and new technology. In
1977, engineer Paul MacCready, designed a human-powered
airplane that successfully completed a three-mile flight. A
similar airplane crossed the English Channel in 1977, followed
by a solar-powered airplane. In 1987, the Sunraycer, a solar-
powered car, won a 2,000-mile race in Australia. As a result of
this success, the General Motors Company began new work on
the development of the electric car. The Toyota Company
recently decided to spend $800 million a year on the
development of new car technology. Many engineers believe
that the electric car will lead to other forms of technology
being used for transportation.
Cars may change, but their importance will not. Cars are
important to nearly everyone, including engineers,
businesspeople, environmentalists, and even poets. Poet Curt
Brown believes that cars are part of our passion for new places
and new experiences. According to Brown, this "very, very
comfortable flying chair" will continue to bring us travel and
adventure, no matter how it changes in the future.
II. Reading for main ideas.
1. Number the following main ideas in the right order.
1. To some people cars are more the transportation
2. Cars will always be important
3. People in the US need cars to go to school, work, places
of entertainment.
4. Soon there will be no oil to fuel cars.
5. Cars can cause different various problems.
6. Some people think of how to live without cars.
Страницы
- « первая
- ‹ предыдущая
- …
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- …
- следующая ›
- последняя »
