US highway transportation in 1972

Task 1. Read and translate the text using the active vocabulary and the vocabulary of the previous lessons. Find in the text passive structures.

During 1971 the dominant issues in US highway transportation were congestion, accidents, pollution, and the means of reducing them. More than one-quarter of the world's 200,000 annual road deaths occurred in the United States, although West Germany had the highest road-death rate. In the United Kingdom accident costs for the year were estimated to be $1 billion. In Tokyo automobile exhaust pollution in city streets was so high that computers were used to predict dangerous concentrations, and traffic policemen wore oxygen cylinders to give relief from the carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbons, and nitric oxides in the atmosphere.

Governments increased legislative efforts to control engine pollution and improve safety. Automatically adjusting seat belts were adopted, and tests continued on air bags and crash cushions to protect automobile occupants. However, at an international conference on restraint systems held in Dearborn, Michigan, in January, researchers from seven nations questioned whether the dummies used in the tests really simulated the behavior of human bodies in accidents.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration[21] ordered two experimental safety vehicles (ESV's) for delivery in 1971. The ESV is an average-sized, five-passenger, four-door sedan whose design emphasizes crashworthiness. Its front bumper is designed to minimize the damage resulting from frontal collisions (most collisions involve frontal impact), and its roof is designed not to collapse if the vehicle rolls over. Other safety features include a fuel system, which avoids spillage and features to prevent crushed structure from entering the passenger compartment. The results of ESV development, which is still in the initial stages, is likely to greatly influence automobile design in the years ahead.

Many small, clean, and quiet electric cars suitable for use in cities were demonstrated this year. One vehicle, designed by the Enfield Company of England, is a four-seater with a range of 65 miles, and it costs less than $1,800. In Koblenz, West Germany, 100-passenger electric buses were introduced into service in March. They have become very popular with passengers.

Task 2. Work in pairs. Ask and answer questions using the active vocabulary and the information in the text above.

1. What were the dominant issues in US highway transportation during 1971?

2. How many road deaths occurred in the United States in 1971?

3. Which country had the highest road-death rate in 1971?

4. What was the environmental situation in Tokyo during 1971?

5. What were the US government legislative efforts to improve automobile occupants safety?

6. Why were dummies used in safety tests?

7. What were safety features of the two experimental vehicles ordered for delivery in 1971 by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration?

8. What distance could the electric vehicle designed by the Enfield Company of England travel?

9. Were electric buses introduced into service in West Germany in the 1960s popular with passengers?

Task 3. Put in the right preposition from brackets and translate the sentences into your mother tongue. Consult the text above.

1. Accident costs (at, for) this year have been estimated to be $1 billion.

2. (At, on) the conference (for, on) restraint systems held (at, in) Kyiv last year researchers from Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway University questioned whether the dummies used (in, on) the tests really simulated the behavior of human bodies (in, for) accidents.

3. In the 1960s electric buses were introduced (to, into) service in West Germany. They were popular (for, with) passengers.

4. Tests (for, on) air bags and crash cushions are been continued.

5. The dominant issue in present-day highway transportation is the means (of, with) reducing congestion, accidents, and pollution.

6. The front bumper of this sedan is designed to minimize the damage resulting (in, from) frontal collisions.

7. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered two experimental safety vehicles (for, on) delivery in 1971.

8. These electric cars are suitable (for, in) use in cities.

9. This research is still (on, in) the initial stages.

10. This vehicle is designed (with, by) the Enfield Company of England.

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