Are the statements true or false according to the text?

1) Urban productivity is highly dependent on the efficiency of its transport system to move officials between multiple origins and destinations.

4) People are spending a lot of time driving between their residence and workplace.

6.1. Look through Text A and find the international words or their derivates and guess their meanings: accumulate, space, satisfaction, public, mobile, product, efficient, freight, terminal, urban, contribute, traffic, parking, to prevail, agglomeration, motorization, diffusion, infrastructure, cargo, circulation, double, resident, trend, isolation, adequate, comfort, print, finance, deficit, generate, provide, contra, intense, fatality, circulation.

Study the highlighted words in Text A Part 1 and define their speech part: a noun, a verb, an adjective.

1) Place; 2) to connect, to link; 3) to deal with, to cope with; 4) to relate; 5) to annoy continually; 6) well known, considerable; 7) to maintain; 8) need, an urgent request; 9) excessive crowding; 10) to widen, to enlarge, to extend; 11) consuming, use; 12) duty, responsibility; 13) a regular journey of some distance to and from your place of work; 14) availability; 15) to take place; 16) to bring smth. or smb. to some other place, change location; 17) number of transported passengers; 18) profit; 19) to deal with; to keep up with; 20) to believe, to think, to suppose; 21) beyond ones strength.

Which of them are the most / least notable transport problems? Put them in order of their importance (in your opinion).

10. Read Part 2 and match the titles from the list in Activity 9 to the paragraphs of the text. Is your order of problems the same as in the text?

Urban transport difficulties are either the outcome of intense traffic, where the mobility of pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles is impaired, but also because of a blatant lack of consideration for pedestrians and bicycles in the physical design of infrastructures and facilities.

The majority of roads are publicly owned and free of access. Increased traffic has adverse impacts on public activities which once crowded the streets such as markets, agoras, parades and processions, games, and community interactions. These have gradually disappeared to be replaced by automobiles. In many cases, these activities have shifted to shopping malls while in other cases, they have been abandoned altogether. Traffic flows influence the life and interactions of residents and their usage of street space. More traffic impedes social interactions and street activities. People tend to walk and cycle less when traffic is high.

Pollution, including noise, generated by circulation has become a serious impediment to the quality of life and even the health of urban populations. Further, energy consumption by urban transportation has dramatically increased and so the dependency on petroleum. Yet, peak oil considerations are increasingly linked with peak mobility expectations where high energy prices incite a shift towards more efficient and sustainable forms of urban transportation, namely public transit.

Growing traffic in urban areas is linked with a growing number of accidents and fatalities, especially in developing countries. Accidents account for a significant share of recurring delays. As traffic increases, people feel less safe to use the streets.

The territorial imprint of transportation is significant, particularly for the automobile. Between 30 and 60% of a metropolitan area may be devoted to transportation, an outcome of the over-reliance on some forms of urban transportation. Yet, this land consumption also underlines the strategic importance of transportation in the economic and social welfare of cities.

Globalization and the materialization of the economy have resulted in growing quantities of freight moving within cities. As freight traffic commonly shares infrastructures with the circulation of passengers, the mobility of freight in urban areas has become, increasingly problematic. City logistics strategies can be established to mitigate the variety of challenges faced by urban freight distribution.

Study the vocabulary. Put the words into the categories relating to the traffic problems mentioned in Text A (Part 1, Part 2).

Outcome, pedestrians, a blatant lack, publicly owned, free of access, feel less safe, adverse impacts on, impedes, underlines the strategic importance, shifted to, city logistics strategies a growing number of accidents and fatalities, abandoned, disappeared to be replaced, the quality of life, share, dramatically increased, incite, sustainable forms, over-reliance, community interaction, be devoted, recurring delays, resulted in, mitigate, freight traffic, to impair.

Talk about the urban traffic problems using key words and active vocabulary.

1) Can you say the urban transport problem is more serious and important than you have ever thought?

2) Can you predict the prospects of the problem in the nearest future / in 10 years / 20 years?

15. Read Text B. Here are some ideas to reduce the number of cars in cities. Which do you think is the most efficient one? Which one is suitable for your city?

A Amsterdam: everyone has a bicycle. The narrow streets and cannel paths are easier for bikes than for cars. Thirty years ago, a Dutch anarchist, Lut Schimmelpennick, organized a system of free bicycles, with the agreement of the city authority. The bicycles were white. The idea of a ‘car-free’ city was simple: take a bike when you need it, and leave it at your destination. Then someone else can use it. For a few weeks, the idea was a great success, but then thieves stole nearly all the bicycles. One of them is actually in the Museum of Modern Art in Moscow. Later Schimmelpennick persuaded the Amsterdam city authority to try the idea again. The new system is different and hi-tech. it depends on ‘smart card’ technology. Bicycle users carry a smart card with their personal details. The user swipes the card and types in his or her destination. This opens the lock on the bicycle and the user can ride it away.

B Washington DC (and other American cities): after 4 pm in the afternoon, you can drive out of the city along faster lanes with less traffic if there are more than two people in your car.

C Athens, Greece: on certain days of the week, only cars with certain numbers can enter the city. For example, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the car number must end in an even number (2, 4 etc.). The following week, these cars can only enter the city on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. On Sunday, there are some areas of the city where no one can drive.

D Singapore: driving a car is very expensive in Singapore and public transport is cheap and efficient. There is a charge to drive along most roads. All cars contain a computer chip. Drivers pay automatically when they pass computers in the street. The computers deduct money from their bank accounts.

Что вызывает тренды на фондовых и товарных рынках Объяснение теории грузового поезда Первые 17 лет моих рыночных исследований сводились к попыткам вычислить, когда этот...

ЧТО И КАК ПИСАЛИ О МОДЕ В ЖУРНАЛАХ НАЧАЛА XX ВЕКА Первый номер журнала «Аполлон» за 1909 г. начинался, по сути, с программного заявления редакции журнала...

Живите по правилу: МАЛО ЛИ ЧТО НА СВЕТЕ СУЩЕСТВУЕТ? Я неслучайно подчеркиваю, что место в голове ограничено, а информации вокруг много, и что ваше право...

ЧТО ПРОИСХОДИТ, КОГДА МЫ ССОРИМСЯ Не понимая различий, существующих между мужчинами и женщинами, очень легко довести дело до ссоры...

Не нашли то, что искали? Воспользуйтесь поиском гугл на сайте: