Somepessimisticexpertsfeelthattheautomobileisboundtofallintodisuse.Theyseeadayinthenot-too-distantfuturewhenallautoswillbeabandonedandallowedtorust.Otherauthorities,however,thinktheautoisheretostay.Theyholdthatthecarwillremainaleadingmeansofurbantravelintheforeseeablefuture.
Themotorcarwillundoubtedlychangesignificantlyoverthenext30years.Itshouldbecomesmaller,safer,andmoreeconomical,andshouldnotbepoweredbythegasolineengine.Thecarofthefutureshouldbefarmorepollution-freethanpresenttypes.
Regardlessofitspowersource,theautointhefuturewillstillbethemainprobleminurbantrafficcongestion(拥挤).Oneproposedsolutiontothisproblemistheautomatedhighwaysystem.
Whentheautoentersthehighwaysystem,aretractable(可伸缩的)armwilldropfromtheautoandmakecontactwitharail,whichissimilartothosepoweringsubwaytrainselectrically.Onceattachedtotherail,thecarwillbecomeelectricallypoweredfromthesystem,andcontrolofthevehiclewillpasstoacentralcomputer.Thecomputerwillthenmonitorallofthecar’smovements.
Thedriverwilluseatelephonetodialinstructionsabouthisdestinationintothesystem.Thecomputerwillcalculatethebestroute,andreservespaceforthecarallthewaytothecorrectexitfromthehighway.Thedriverwillthenbefreetorelaxandwaitforthebuzzer(蜂鸣器)thatwillwarnhimofhiscomingexit.Itisestimatedthatanautomatedhighwaywillbeabletohandle10,000vehiclesperhour,comparedwiththe1,500to2,000vehiclesthatcanbecarriedbyapresent-dayhighway.
Choosecorrectanswerstothequestion:
1.Onesignificantimprovementinthefuturecarwillprobablybe________.
2.Whatistheauthor’smainconcern?
A.Howtorenderautomobilespollution-free.
B.Howtomakesmallerandsaferautomobiles.
C.Howtosolvetheproblemoftrafficjams.
D.Howtodevelopanautomatedsubwaysystem.
3.Whatprovidesautoswithelectricpowerinanautomatedhighwaysystem?
4.Inanautomatedhighwaysystem,allthedriverneedstodois________.
B.waittoarriveathisdestination
C.keepinconstanttouchwiththecomputercenter
D.informthesystemofhisdestinationbyphone
5.Whatistheauthor’sattitudetowardthefutureofautos?
