Answer the questions. The vocabulary list below will help you to avoid difficulties of understanding

The vocabulary list below will help you to avoid difficulties of understanding.

Reading and comprehension

Change the following into shortened relative clauses and complete them yourselves.

e.g.: People who live/ are living in Edinburgh… – People living in Edinburgh…

1) People who lived 10,000 years ago…

2) The cars which driving in our towns…

3) The experts who talk about the future…

1 Guess from the title: what is the name of this train?

bump (n) – столкновение

concept (n) – понятие, идея, общее представление

levitation (n) – подъем

track (n) – путь, трасса

maintenance (n) – содержание и техническое обслуживание

steep (adj) – крутой

friction (n) – сила трения

THE TRAIN WITH NO WHEELS

You are sitting in a train at London’s Euston Station. You feel a little pressure on your back as the train starts to move. After that, nothing: no bumps, nothing. Half an hour later you are in Bristol, 190 kilometres from London. What’s the secret? Your train has no wheels – that’s the secret.

The world’s first commercial “no wheels” railway has been operating in Birmingham between the local airport and the National Exhibition Centre for several years now. The basic concept is called maglev (magnetic levitation). It uses magnets to lift the train about one centimeter above the track, so that it has no contact with the track. This is what makes it so comfortable. The maglev has one further advantage: as there is no contact between rail and track, there is no friction.

In fact, there are no moving parts anywhere in the train, and so there is little need for expensive maintenance and repairs. In addition, it is faster and can climb steeper hills than normal trains.

The Birmingham railway is less than a kilometre in length and a top speed of 60 kilometres per hour. But in Germany engineers have developed their own maglev train. Their test track is 31 kilometres long and they plan to reach speeds of up to 400 kilometres per hour. They intend to develop and sell all over the world a train that will carry passengers long distances at high speeds. At present this system is used in Los Angeles, Monreal and Saudi Arabia.

1) The maglev train has no wheels. Explain how it is possible.

2) Why is maintenance cheap on the maglev train?

3) Over what distances do you think a maglev train will be best? Compare it with underground trains and aeroplanes.

4 Are these sentences about the text true or false?

– The maglev train travels on a track that is one centimeter high.

– The main commercial development of the maglev is taking place in Germany.

– Normal trains cannot climb hills as well as maglev trains.

5 Here are notes on the main points of “The Train with No Wheels”. Make full sentences and write a paragraph using the conjunction.

maglev train: (so) (also) (therefore) (Birmingham) (but) (however) (Germany) (in fact) (and)

magnets to lift itself above track no contact train and track train very fast; climb steep hill journeys= quick, comfortable at present only one train operating commercially track short, top speed only 60 km/h engineers developing much faster train hope reach speed of up to 400 km/h plan sell train all over world

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