2. When did it have its popularity?

An Electric Car

1.1. Answer the questions.

1. What is an Electric car?

2. When did it have its popularity?

3. Why does it help to reduce city pollution?

4. Are Electric cars the same as hybrid cars?

1.2. Read the text and check your answers with the information from the text.

A. An electric car is a plug-in battery powered automobile which is propelled by electric motor(s). An electric car is an alternative fuel automobile that uses electric motors and motor controllers for propulsion, in place of more common propulsion methods such as the internal combustion engine (ICE). Electric cars are a variety of electric vehicle intended for use as a road-going automobile. Electric cars are commonly powered by on-board battery packs, and as such are battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Other on-board energy storage methods that are expected to come into use in the future include ultracapacitors, or a spinning flywheel, which stores energy as potential energy.

B. Although electric cars often give good acceleration and have generally acceptable top speed, the lower specific energy of production batteries available in 2010 compared with fossil fuels means that electric cars have relatively low range between charges, and recharging can take significant lengths of time. For shorter range commuter type journeys, rather than long journeys, electric cars are practical forms of transportation and can be inexpensively recharged overnight. Longer range journey options are currently being pursued by installing battery swapping station infrastructure throughout several pilot cities such as Tokyo.

С. Electric cars have the potential of significantly reducing city pollution by having zero tail pipe emissions Vehicle greenhouse gas savings depend on how the electricity is generated. With the current U.S. energy mix, using an electric car would result in a 30% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Given the current energy mixes in other countries, it has been predicted that such emissions would decrease by 40% indie UK, 19% in China, and as little as 1% in Germany. Electric cars (are expected to have a major impact in the auto industry given advantages in city pollution, less dependence on oil, and expected rise in gasoline prices. World governments are pledging billions to fund development of electric vehicles and their components. The U.S. has

pledged US$2.4 billion in federal grants for electric cars and batteries. China has announced it will provide US$15 billion to initiate an electric car industry. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosin has predicted that one in 10 cars globally will run on battery power alone by 2020.

F. Electric cars enjoyed popularity between the mid-19th century and early 20th century, when electricity was among the preferred methods for automobile propulsion, providing a level of comfort and ease of operation that could not be achieved by the gasoline cars of the time. Advanced in ICE technology soon rendered this advantage moot; the greater range of gasoline cars, quicker refueling times, and growing petroleum infrastructure, along with the mass production of gasoline vehicles by companies such Ford, which reduced prices of gasoline cars to nearly 50% of that of equivalent electric cars, effectively killed off the electric car in important markets such as the United States by the 1930s.

G. In recent years, increased concerns over the environmental impact of. gasoline cars, along with reduced consumer ability to pay for fuel for gasoline cars, has brought about renewed interest in electric cars, which are perceived to be more environmentally friendly and cheaper to maintain and run, despite high initial costs. Electric cars currently enjoy relative popularity in countries around the world, though they are notably absent from the roads of the United States, where electric cars briefly re-appeared in the late 90s as a response to changing government regulations. The hybrid car has become the most common form of electric car, combining a gasoline powertrain with supplementary electric motors to run the car at idle and low speeds, making use of techniques such as regenerative braking to improve its efficiency over comparable gasoline cars, while not being hampered by the limited range inherent to current battery electric cars. Hybrids are now sold by most major manufacturers, with notable models including the Toyota Prius and the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid which uses a fully electric drivetrain supplemented by a gasoline-powered electric generator to extend its range. As of 2009, the world's most popular battery electric car is the REVAi, which is produced by an Indian company and sold in a number of countries in Europe and Asia.

1.3. Match the headings with the paragraphs.

1. Historical facts.

2. Advantages.

3. Description.

4. Nowadays facts.

5. It helps the environment.

1.4. Find the words in the text to the following definitions.

1. To move, drive, push smth. forward.

2. To put a new supply of electricity into a battery.

3. The process of making air, water etc. dirty and dangerous.

4. The device that includes the engine, transmission, drive axles and drive shaft

5. The effect or influence that an event, situation etc. has on someone or something.

1.5. Find the sentences with the words from 1.4. and translate them.

1.6. Write down advantages and disadvantages of an Electric vehicle and compare with a gasoline vehicle.

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