Still no flying cars?

The future promises something better

Level 2 l Intermediate
1 Warmer
Which of the following would you like to own and why?

an electric car

a driverless car

a flying car

2 Key words
Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. The paragraph numbers are given to
help you.
intriguing

congestion

carpooling

far-fetched

demographic

sustainable

underway

sophisticated

connectivity

commonplace

1. If something is ________________________, it is difficult to believe because it is very unlikely. (para 1)

2. ________________________ means relating to population. (para 1)
3. ________________________ is a situation in which a place is crowded with vehicles. (para 2)
4. ________________________ transportation uses methods that do not damage the environment. (para 3)
5. ________________________ is the ability of computers and other types of electronic equipment to connect
successfully with other computers or programs. (para 5)
6. If something is ________________________, it happens very often and is therefore not unusual. (para 9)
7. If something is ________________________, it is already in progress. (para 9)
8. If something is ________________________, it is very interesting, especially because it is strange or
mysterious. (para 10)
9. ________________________ is a system in which a group of car owners travel together so that they use only
one car. (para 12)
10. ________________________ technology is complicated and advanced in design. (para 14)

3 Find the information

Find the following information in the text as quickly as possible.
1. When did Google begin testing driverless cars?
2. What is the average age of cars on the road?
3. When was the film Back to the Future II made?
4. What is Uber?

NEWS LESSONS / Still no flying cars? The future promises something better / Intermediate

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

6. By what percentage has car use reduced among people born in the 1990s compared with members of
previous generations?

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5. What is Waze?

Still no flying cars? The future promises something better

Level 2 l Intermediate

2 As the transport infrastructure grows old, cities

across the US are forced to redefine what
transportation is. Urban planners, transportation
experts and scientists are now realizing that old
methods focused on reducing traffic congestion
arent enough to solve problems like population
growth and carbon emissions, and transportation
is now a key part of protecting the environment.
3 Big US cities like Los Angeles and Chicago
are working to make better use of their streets
by adding more bus lanes and pedestrian
walkways, and expanding rail networks. At
the same time, they are working on advanced
technologies that will allow a vehicle to drive
itself and communicate with other vehicles and
its environment. The most sustainable places to
live are places that have multi-modal transport
systems, Puentes said.
4 Here are three key ideas that experts predict will
influence transportation in the coming years.
Connectivity
5 Ride-sharing services like Uber taxis booked
via smartphone and apps like Waze, which
uses real-time traffic data to find the quickest
routes for drivers, are dramatically changing how
people move around and affecting the way traffic
moves through a city. Communication between
riders and drivers, between different vehicles
and between cars and infrastructure is bringing
transportation into a new era, according to Allan
Clelland, an expert on transportation technology.

7 People still driving cars are dealing with less

traffic thanks to Waze. Experts say the traffic
app has reduced congestion on motorways and
reduced travel times for drivers. But it has also
led to a problematic rise in cars moving through
residential neighbourhoods.
8 This trend could continue as vehicle-to-vehicle
data communication, as well as communication
between vehicles and the surrounding
infrastructure, grows. Currently, a traffic light
knows when a car is getting close but thats all.
Companies are working to develop technology
that will allow a vehicle to tell traffic control
systems not only that it is present but also where
it is going and how fast it is travelling.
Automation
9 Driverless cars have been in the headlines ever
since Google began road testing the vehicles
back in 2012 but no-one really knows when
driverless cars will become commonplace.
However, the partial automation of cars is already
underway. Automation will probably happen in
stages: first, there might be automated buses
with their own lanes, then perhaps lorries in
ports or mining towns: that is, vehicles that are
connected electronically and travel in single file.
10 The idea of a fully automated transportation
system is intriguing because it could improve
safety by removing human error. It could also
help reduce carbon emissions and traffic
congestion, and allow more people access to
cars. But, even if driverless technology were
ready to use now, it would take a long time to get
fully automated because the average age of cars
on the road is 11.5 years old.
11 To see what driverless cars might look like in
action, go to the video at: vimeo.com/37751380.
Environmental concern
12 As the world races to avoid catastrophic climate
change and countries and cities work to meet
ambitious emissions goals, these policies
could also have a big effect on the future of

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

NEWS LESSONS / Still no flying cars? The future promises something better / Intermediate

1 We may not yet be living in an age of flying

cars, as predicted in the 1985 film Back to the
Future II, but the rise of smartphones and other
new technologies is creating a reality that is just
as exciting and almost as far-fetched. Experts
agree that economic and demographic changes,
technological advances, and environmental
concerns are fundamentally changing
transportation. Its a very dynamic time, said
transport expert Robert Puentes. Theres a
tighter connection between transportation and the
economic health of cities and its impact
on people.

Alison Moodie
2 November, 2015

6 According to a recent study, car travel has

reduced among people born in the 1990s
compared to previous generations. According to
the study, people born in the 1990s are making
4% fewer car trips and travelling 18% fewer miles
per year, on average, than members of previous
generations did at the same stage in their lives.

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Still no flying cars? The future of

transit promises something
even better

Still no flying cars? The future promises something better

Level 2 l Intermediate
transportation. Concern about the environment
could lead to everything from zero- and
low-emission vehicles to apps that encourage
more walking, biking and carpooling.
13 When considering the future of transportation, its
also important to keep in mind why people travel:
they may be going to work, to meet friends or
family, or to do the shopping. Technologies that
reduce the need for those trips for example,
virtual meetings or telecommuting could also
have a big effect on transportation.

14 In the past, the idea of a flying car represented

the best in innovation but the technologies that
people are imagining and developing now are
possibly even more sophisticated and more
useful in solving the social and environmental
problems that we face in the coming decades.
Guardian News and Media 2015
First published in The Guardian, 02/11/15

4 Comprehension check
Are these statements true (T) or false (F) according to the text?
1. Driverless cars are already commonplace.
2. The first vehicles to be fully automated will probably be lorries.
3. Reducing emissions will lead to more walking, biking and carpooling.
4. People born in the 1990s are using cars less than people from previous generations.
5. We are already in the age of flying cars.
6. Traffic lights know where cars are going and how fast they are travelling.

5 Find the word

Find the following words or phrases in the text.
1. a verb meaning change the meaning of something (para 2)
2. a verb meaning make something larger (para 3)
3. an adjective describing an area where most of the buildings are houses (para 7)
4. a two-word noun phrase meaning a line of people or things in which one is directly behind the other (para 9)
5. a two-word noun phrase meaning a mistake made by a person controlling a machine or process rather than
something wrong with the machine or process itself (para 10)
6. an adverb meaning completely (para 10)
7. an adjective meaning created by computers or appearing on computers or the internet (para 13)

NEWS LESSONS / Still no flying cars? The future promises something better / Intermediate

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

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8. a noun meaning the invention of news ideas, methods, equipment etc (para 14)

Still no flying cars? The future promises something better

Level 2 l Intermediate
6 Two-word noun phrases
Match the words in the left-hand column with those in the right-hand column to make noun phrases from
the text.
1. urban

a. time

2. carbon

b. lane

3. bus

c. walkway

4. traffic

d. emissions

5. travel

e. congestion

6. pedestrian

f.

planner

7 Word-building
Complete the table using words from the text.
noun
1.

technology

2.

environment

3.

economy

4.

problem

5.

resident

6.

catastrophe

adjective

8 Discussion

Petrol and diesel vehicles should be made illegal because they damage the environment.

Everyone should use public transport and cars should be banned.

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

NEWS LESSONS / Still no flying cars? The future promises something better / Intermediate

Driverless cars are the perfect solution. What could possibly go wrong?

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Discuss the following statements.

Still no flying cars? The future promises something better

Level 2 l Intermediate
KEY
2 Key words

6 Two-word noun phrases

1. far-fetched
2. demographic
3. congestion
4. sustainable
5. connectivity
6. commonplace
7. underway
8. intriguing
9. carpooling
10. sophisticated

31. f
32. d
33. b
34. e
35. a
36. c

3 Find the information

11. 2012
12. 11.5 years
13. 1985
14. a ride-sharing service
15. an app that uses real-time traffic data to find the
quickest routes for drivers
16. 4%

7 Word-building
37. technological
38. environmental
39. economic
40. problematic
41. residential
42. catastrophic

4 Comprehension check
17. F
18. F
19. T
20. T
21. F
22. F

5 Find the word

NEWS LESSONS / Still no flying cars? The future promises something better / Intermediate

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

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23. redefine
24. expand
25. residential
26. single file
27. human error
28. fully
29. virtual
30. innovation