Ex. 1. Mind the new words and expressions
1. approach – подход; подъезд
2. avoidance – избежание, уклонение
3. to back – поддерживать, подкреплять
4. collision – столкновение
5. to encourage – поощрять, поддерживать
6. to enforce – обязывать, вводить в действие
7. grade –уровень, степень
8. image-recognition – распознавание изображений
9. interchange – пересечение (дорожно-транспортное)
10. intersection – перекресток, пересечение
11. grade-separated intersection – дорожная развязка в двух уровнях
12. junction – перекресток, пересечение дорог
13. grade junction – пересечение дорог на одном уровне
14. lane – полоса движения;
15. HOV –High Occupancy Vehicle – машина, в которой едут два и более человека, включая водителя;
HOV lane – полоса движения, выделенная для машин, в которых едут два и более человека включая водителя
16. obstruction – препятствие, затруднение продвижению
17. offending - нарушающий
18. rush hour – час пик
19. ticket –(зд): квитанция за нарушение правил уличного движения
20. to issue ticket - печатать квитанцию
21. time-consuming – отнимающий много времени
22. turnpike road – главная магистраль
23. underneath - под
24. underpass – подземный переход, тоннель, путепровод
25. overtake –обгонять
Ex. 2. Match the word with the appropriate definition.
Highway (AmE), rush hour, junction, collision, motorway (BrE), ticket
1. a wide main road that joins one town to another.
2. a main road for fast-moving traffic, having limited access, separate carriageways for vehicles travelling in opposite directions, and usually a total of four or six lanes.
3. a period at the beginning and end of the working day when large numbers of people are travelling to or from work.
4. a violent impact of moving objects; crash.
5. a piece of paper, cardboard, etc., showing that the holder is entitled to certain rights, such as travel on a train or bus, entry to a place of public entertainment, etc.
6. a point on a motorway where traffic may leave or join it.
Ex. 3 Choose the right variant for each word combination.
7.
| 1) limited access road | a) зеленая волна |
| 2) collision avoidance | b) интенсивность движения в час пик |
| 3) speed-measuring device | c) отнимающий много времени |
| 4) green wave | d) дорога с ограниченным движением |
| 5) posted limit | e) разметка полос |
| 6) business days | f) установленные ограничения |
| 7) traffic congestion | g) дорожная развязка в двух уровнях |
| 8) four-way flashing lights | h) пересечение дорог в одном уровне |
| 9) rush-hour traffic intensity | i) избежание столкновения |
| 10) lane marking | j) устройство измерения скорости |
| 11) grade-separated intersection | k) пробки на дорогах |
| 12) grade junction | l) рабочие дни |
| 13) minimum speed signs | m) знаки ограничения минимальной скорости |
| 13) time-consuming | n) аварийная сигнализация |
8.
Ex. 4. Look at the title and say what information the text gives. Read the text attentively for the details.
Rush Hours
The higher the speed of a vehicle, the more difficult collision avoidance becomes and the greater the damage if a collision does occur. Therefore, many countries of the world limit the maximum speed allowed on their roads. Vehicles are not supposed to be driven at speeds which are higher than the posted maximum.
To enforce speed limits, two approaches are generally employed. In the USA, it is common for the police to patrol the streets and use special equipment (Typically a RADAR Gun) to measure the speed of vehicles, and "pull over" any vehicle found to be in violation of the speed limit. In Brazil and some European countries, there are computerized speed-measuring devices spread throughout the city, which will automatically detect speeding drivers and take a photograph of the license plate (or number plate), which is later used for applying and mailing the ticket.
Another interesting mechanism that was developed in Germany is the Grüne Welle, or green wave, which is an indicator that shows the optimal speed to travel for the synchronized green lights along that corridor. This encourages drivers to travel at the posted limit in order to minimize stopping.
During business days in most major cities, traffic congestion reaches great intensity at predictable times of the day due to the large number of vehicles using the road at the same time. This phenomenon is called rush hour, although the period of high traffic intensity may exceed one hour.
Some cities adopt policies to reduce rush-hour traffic and pollution and encourage the use of public transportation. For example, in São Paulo, Brazil each vehicle has a specific day of the week in which it is forbidden from traveling the roads during rush hour. The day for each vehicle is taken from the license plate number, and this rule is enforced by traffic police and also by hundreds of strategically positioned traffic cameras backed by computerized image-recognition systems that issue tickets to offending drivers.
In the United States and Canada, several expressways have a special lane (called an "HOV Lane" - High Occupancy Vehicle Lane) that can only be used by cars carrying two (some locations-three) or more people, and several cities offer a public telephone service where citizens can arrange rides with others depending on where they live and work. The purpose of these policies is to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads and thus reduce rush-hour traffic intensity. Uncontrolled traffic occurs in the absence of lane markings and traffic control signals. On roads without marked lanes, drivers tend to keep to the appropriate side if the road is wide enough. Drivers frequently overtake others. Obstructions are not uncommon.
In large cities, moving from one part of the city to another by means of ordinary streets and avenues can be time-consuming since traffic is often slowed by at-grade junctions, tight turns, narrow marked lanes and lack of a minimum speed limit. Therefore, it has become common practice for larger cities to build expressways or freeways, which are large and wide roadways with limited access, that typically run for long distances without at-grade junctions.
The words expressway and freeway have varying meanings in different jurisdictions and in popular use in different places; however, there are two different types of roads used to provide high-speed access across urban areas:
The freeway (in USA usage) or motorway (in UK usage) is a divided multi-lane highway with fully-controlled access and grade-separated intersections (no stops). Some freeways are called expressways, super-highways, or turnpikes, depending on local usage. Access to freeways is fully controlled; entering and leaving the freeway is permitted only at grade-separated interchanges.
The expressway (when the name does not refer to a freeway or motorway) is usually a broad multi-lane avenue, frequently divided, with some grade-level intersections (although usually only where other expressways or arterial roads cross).
Motor vehicle drivers wishing to travel over great distances within the city will usually take the freeways or expressways in order to minimize travel time. When a crossing road is at the same grade as the freeway, a bridge (or, less often, an underpass) will be built for the crossing road. If the freeway is elevated, the crossing road will pass underneath it.
Minimum speed signs are sometimes posted (although increasingly rare) and usually indicate that any vehicle traveling slower than 40 mph (~65 km/h) should indicate a slower speed of travel to other motor vehicles by engaging the vehicle's four-way flashing lights. Alternative slower-than-posted speeds may be in effect, based on the posted speed limit of the highway/freeway.
Ex. 5. Provide answers to the questions below.
1. What is the first approach employed in the USA?
2. What mechanism was developed in Germany to enforce speed limits?
3. How do the authorities in São Paulo, Brazil reduce rush-hour traffic and pollution?
4. What is HOV Lane?
5. What is difference between freeway and expressway?