Discussion

Read the text about the car of the future and do the tasks that follows.

THE CAR OF THE FUTURE

It is a cold winter morning but your car is waiting for you, warm and comfortable, at exactly the temperature you like. You open the door by pressing your finger against the lock and your car greets you with a friendly “Hi, how are you?” you sit down and computer reminds you of your schedule. You start the car. You now have a joystick, steering-by-wire, braking-by-wire. The old mechanical parts are gone. As you back out of your drive way, warning sensors warn you about objects and pedestrians in your way. Using voice commands you programme your rout, check your emails and dictate answers, ask for local and international news, look up phone numbers, and play the music.

The car also looks after your health. Sensors in your seat and armrest tell your weight and blood pressure, while sensors in the dashboard notice if you are drowsy and vibrate the joystick to wake you.

Many of the old worries associated with driving are gone. Traffic jams don’t happen any more because your car automatically avoids crowded roads. Collision avoidance sensors prevent accidents. Speeding tickets are also a thing of the past – sensors pick up signals and automatically adjust your speed or stop your car. And breaking down is no longer a problem. Your car diagnose s any potential faults or worn parts and warns you and the service station. When you arrive at the service station, the spare parts are already waiting for you.

Your car can even park itself. Just stop at any parking place (your car knows, of course, if parking is permitted here) and operate the automatic parking system. The car scans the size and the shape of the available space and then reverses in.

4 Find words and expressions in the text which match these definitions:

– Spoken instructions to the car

– Possible problems

– A recognition system which stops your car from hitting another car

– Slightly sleepy

– Congested roads

– A list of your appointments for the day

– Fines for driving too fast

– People on foot

1 Are these sentences about the text true or false?

– You’ll still need a key to open the car door.

– You’ll no longer have a steering wheel.

– Sensors in the dashboard will measure your blood pressure.

– You won’t be able to fall asleep while driving.

– You won’t need to read traffic signs any more.

– You’ll still need good parking skills.

2 Which of the technical features described are already present in a car today, and which still have to be developed? Make a list.

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