101-1

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III. Complete the following lists with information from the text:

A d v a n t a g e s o f t h e c a r

1.Some people enjoy …

2.People can travel …

3.People are closer to …

4.Some people make money by …

D i s a d v a n t a g e s o f t h e c a r

1.Lots of traffic and …

2.Cars use more fuel than …

3.Beautiful land is replaced with …

4.Gasoline may no longer be …

IV. Is the below given information correct? Please, don’t forget to answer the questions to check your attentiveness.

1)The 1 passage says that cars are not only a means of transportation but also

pleasure.

You read about car races from the passage. Do you know any other car races?

2)Passage 4 informs us on the first Henry Ford‟s car which made trips quick

and easy.

3)The next passage suggests us car statistics in the U.S.A., partly in New York City and in California.

What is the speed (km/hour) in a usual traffic jam of New York City?

4)Passage 2 gives environmental information: some people believe that buses and trains save fuel and, thus, protect the nature.

Where can the prices for gasoline be studied?

5)The 7 passage is devoted to the different ideas: some people want to plant parks on the parking lots, the others can not imagine the life without a car.

What is gasoline made of?

6)The next passage gives information on the electric car‟s future. Such famous companies as General Motors and Toyota are interested in the development of new car technology.

Is “human - powered” and “solar - powered” similar?

7)The next passage describes the electric car. When did the idea of the electric car first appear?

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8) This passage deals with the idea that cars may change but cars will never disappear for they do our life easier.

To whom are cars more important, up to you?

V. Match the word combinations:

VI. Read the questions and express your opinion:

1)Is a car a means of transportation for you personally, or just a property to be proud of, or just a thing for pleasure?

2)The text says soon there will be no oil to make gasoline for gasoline – engined cars. What do you think about it?

3)Have you known about the electric car before?

4)What do you think about the new technology of electric cars?

5)Some people want to live without cars for they are a great source of pollution. Do you agree with them?

6)Do you believe that cars will disappear someday in the future?

VII. Enumerate the problems connected with cars and their usage. Make a list of them in writing. Comment upon each problem and suggest possible decisions.

VIII. Read the situations and discuss them (in groups).

1. Suppose you are an automobile designer. You‟re suggested to develop a new automobile which saves fuel and doesn‟t pollute the environment very much.

What will be your choice and why?

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2.A lot of people around the world prefer travelling easily and quickly, i.e. gasoline – powered cars. But you support environmentalists. What are advantages of electric cars, up to you, and disadvantages of gasoline – powered cars? Describe them.

3.An electric car is not a new idea. Why hasn‟t it developed? Explain, please, why gasoline – powered cars are much more popular than electric cars?

Unit XVI

I. Read the text:

Vehicle Emissions

Nature means all the things in the world which exist naturally and were not created by people. The environment means the land, water, and air that animal and plants live in.

Nowadays the environment is under attack. Through our daily activities, we manage to pollute and contaminate land, water and air.

a)Transport pollution. Fossil fuels provide the chief source of energy for transport. They are major source of air pollution, one which over the last two decades has grown enormously.

b)Replacing fertile territories, good for agriculture with motorways.

c)Traffic noise.

Car and lorry exhausts are a major source of air pollution. Almost half of

Britain‟s NO emissions come from road transport, while other pollutants include lead, smoke particulates, CO, VOC – mostly gaseous hydrocarbons – and SO. As well as the greenhouse potential of some of these gases, they also cause other problems. NO and VOC can react with each other and sunlight to form ground – level ozone, which at high concentrations may be potentially harmful to health. Some VOC, such as benzene, may also cause cancer, although background levels in Britain are well below the point at which there would be significant risks to the public.

Stringent emission standards for passenger cars were introduced at the end of 1992, which effectively require petrol – engined cars to be fitted with catalytic converters. These typically reduce emission by over 75 percent. Diesel cars are also

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subject to strict controls on particulate emissions. Since October 1994, vans have had to meet the same limit as cars. Stricter controls for heavy diesel vehicles, including lorries and buses, were introduced in 1993. Additional cuts in car emission limits have been agreed at EC level and will be introduced in 1997.

Compulsory tests of vehicle emission levels are a key element in Britain‟s strategy for improving air quality. Britain has introduced metered emission tests and smoke checks into the annual “MOT” test for cars and vans and into the annual roadworthiness test for lorries and buses.

From January 1996, in-service limits are to be further tightened. Roadside checks of smoke emissions from heavy diesel – engined vehicles are also carried out. Over 11,000 roadside checks were carried out in 1993 - 94. In October 1996 a roadside enforcement campaign concentrating on the city centers was announced. The worst offenders can be taken off the road.

As a result of these measures, a marked and progressive decline in regulated pollutants is expected for several years to come.

Sales of unleaded petrol have risen from virtually nothing in the mid – 1980s to over 58 per cent of all petrol sold. This is mainly to:

-a gradual increase in the differential in duty between leaded and unleaded

petrol;

-the requirement for all new cars from October 1990 on unleaded petrol;

-the necessity for cars fitted with catalytic concerters to use unleaded petrol. These measures have contributed to a 70 per cent reduction of lead in the air. Regulations were introduced in 1994 which for the first time set compulsory

limits to the volatility of petrol. The expected benefits include a reduction in VOCs. The regulations also introduce a new EC standard on low sulphur diesel fuel, which will further reduce particulate emissions from the whole diesel fleet.

SO – sulphur dioxide

VOC – volatile organic compounds EC – European Community catalitic converters

III. Find the English equivalents in the text:

IV. What is the difference between the words? vehicle – van – car – lorry – bus

harm – harmful – to harm pollution – pollutant

V.Translate the sentences into English:

1)Транспорт – главный источник загрязнения воздуха.

2)Загрязнители вступают в реакцию между собой и солнечным светом, образуя наземный озон.

3)В Британии выброс вредных веществ сведен к минимуму.

4)Впервые допустимый уровень выброса вредных веществ был представлен в 1992 году.

5)Программа борьбы за качество воздуха согласована на уровне Европейского Сообщества.

6)Британцы ввели ряд проверок на транспорт, в числе которых проверка объема выбросов.

7)Нарушителей этих проверок будут удалять с дорог.

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VI. Answer these questions:

1)What is the main source of the air pollution?

2)Half of all the emissions in Britain come from road transport, doesn‟t it?

3)What pollutants did you learn from the text?

4)What troubles can these pollutants cause?

5)When did the Britains start the war for air quality?

6)What were/are the measures against air pollution?

7)Does EC take part in the above – mentioned programme?

8)How often are tests of vehicle emission level taken?

9)What other road tests are there in Great Britain?

10)What happens to the worst offenders?

11)Why is the unleaded petrol so popular in Great Britain?

VII. Fill in the table:

Clean Fuels – Summary of U.K. Situation

Interest in cleaner, less polluting vehicles and fuel has grown in the UK over recent years. This is because of three factors:

-increasing awareness of the environmental effect of vehicle use;

-the financial savings that vehicle operators can make by switching to cleaner vehicles;

-increasingly stringent emission legislation.

Read on to find out more about LPG, Natural Gas, Battery Electric, Hybrids, and Fuel Cells.

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Unit XVII

Text 1

I. Read the text:

LPG

LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) is a mixture of propane and butane which, as well as occurring naturally in gas fields, is also produced during the oil refining process. LPG is a gas at room temperature and pressure, but is stored as a liquid under pressure both on-board vehicles and at depots.

Apart from the fuel storage and delivery mechanisms, LPG engines are very similar to petrol engines, and deliver similar performance. In fact, almost all LPG vehicles sold in the UK are bi-fuel, allowing the driver to change from LPG to petrol and visa versa at the flick of a switch.

The low rate of duty on gaseous fuels in the UK, and the availability of Government funded Powershift grants for approved vehicles, makes LPG vehicles significantly cheaper to run than their petrol or diesel equivalents, and explains why hundreds of UK companies have LPG cars or vans in their fleets.

I. Find the Russian equivalents: oil refining process

bi-fuel

fuel storage rate of duty

II. Answer the questions:

1)What is “LPG”?

2)Why is LPG stored under pressure?

3)What makes LPG vehicles cheaper than their petrol equivalents?

Text 2

I. Read the text:

Natural Gas

Natural gas, which is the main gas that we are all familiar with for cooking and heating purposes, can also be used as a vehicle fuel. It is approximately 92 %

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methane (CH4), with the remainder being a mixture of nitrogen, ethane, propane and other gases. Natural gas, unlike LPG, does not liquefied at approximately minus 190 degrees centigrade.

Natural gas is an excellent engine fuel, but neither form of on-board fuel storage is as convenient as the storage of petrol or diesel. For this reason the majority of natural gas vehicles in the UK are heavy – duty trucks and buses, as larger and heavier fuel tanks pose less of a problem for these vehicles.

In the appropriate situations natural gas vehicles are an excellent choice as they are generally quieter, cleaner and cost less to run than their diesel equivalents. The financial savings are possible because, as with LPG, the rate of duty on natural gas is low in the UK, and because Government funded Powershift grants are available for approved vehicles. Many local authorities and companies, including well – known household names, operate natural gas vehicles in the UK.

I.a) What is the difference between the words:

Liquid – liquefy – liquefied

b) What adjectives are used in a comparative degree?

natural, familiar, excellent, convenient, large, heavy, little, quiet, clean

II. Answer the questions:

1)What does natural gas consist of?

2)How is it stored?

3)What UK vehicles are fitted with natural gas engines?

4)What are the advantages of natural gas vehicles?

Unit XVIII

Text 1

I. Read the text:

Battery Electric

Battery electric vehicles produce no emissions themselves and are generally charged from the national grid via standard three pin sockets.

Several different battery technologies exist including lead-acid (now quite dated), nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride, and lithium ion. The majority of

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electric vehicles sold in the UK today are Peugeots or Citroens, which use nickelcadmium cells and achieves ranges of approximately 50 miles between charges, and have their top speeds limited at 56 mph.

With their limited ranges, battery vehicles are not appropriate to replace conventional vehicles for the majority of applications, but they are appropriate for certain niche markets such as urban delivery vehicles. Operating costs for battery electric vehicles are extremely low.

I. Make plural: operating cost three pin socket charge technology

nickel-cadmium cell

II. Answer the questions:

1)What is the main advantage of electric vehicles?

2)What is the most popular battery technology?

3)What is the average speed of electric Peugeots or Citroens?

Text 2

I. Read the text and answer the question: What does “hybrid” mean?

Hybrids

The term “hybrid” usually refers to a vehicle that has both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine (ICE). These have traditionally been either “series hybrids” in which the ICE acts as a generator producing electric current for the motor, or “parallel hybrids” in which both the electric motor and the ICE can drive the wheels.

Later this year, two hybrid vehicles will go on sale in the UK which more advanced systems that combine aspects of the two: Both the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight make use of innovative new hybrid technology and produce impressive fuel economy and emissions results.

II. Write all types of questions to the first sentences of each passage of the text.

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Unit XIX

I. Read the text:

Fuel Cells

A fuel cell is a conversion device that combines hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the air to produce electricity, heat and water.

While there are different types of fuel cells, proton exchange membrane or

“PEM” fuel cells are now used in most prototype fuel cell vehicles. Each PEM fuel cell uses a thin catalyst – coated membrane that is enclosed between graphite or ceramic plates. One side of the membrane acts as an anode, and is exposed to hydrogen gas. The other side of the membrane serves as the cathode, and is bathed in air to provide oxygen. At the anode side, a catalytic reaction occurs, causing the hydrogen to be separated into protons and electrons. The protons diffuse through the membrane and reach the cathode. The electrons, however, cannot pass through this membrane and go round the membrane to reach the cathode thus causing an electric current as they travel. Once the electrons reach the cathode, another catalytic reaction takes place as the recombined hydrogen atoms join with oxygen to produce water.

Individual PEM fuels cells are assembled together to form fuel cell stacks which produce enough electricity to run a car, minivans, sport utility vehicles and transit buses.

Although, fuel cell vehicles emit only water, the source of the hydrogen as fuel can be less pollution free.

There are several methods of supplying hydrogen: centrally located hydrogen production plants could distribute the hydrogen in liquid form to local fuel stations who could then dispense it to fuel cell vehicles capable of storing the hydrogen in either liquid or gaseous form in tanks on the vehicle. (Liquid hydrogen must be stored at extremely low temperature whereas gaseous hydrogen must be stored at very high pressure).

Some companies are now working on alternatives to these specialized storage tanks including a metal hydride storage device that absorbs hydrogen. This will increase the amount of hydrogen that can be stored on the vehicles.

Fuels such as natural gas, methanol, ethanol, propane and petrol all have hydrogen as part of their molecular structure. By using an on-board “reformer” it is