Waterways
From the earliest days up until the railroad became dominant after the Civil War, travel by water was the favorite means of transportation for both passengers and freight. It is no accident that most of America’s largest cities first grew around ocean harbors, along rivers, or later, by canals. “Downtown” once meant exactly that: down where the ground was the lowest, near the harbor docks or by the river where the first houses and buildings were constructed. The Americans had a great advantage when it came to boats and ships, whether for the inland waterways or the oceans. From 1820 until the Civil War, the United States was the leading maritime nation.
The greatest achievement of American merchant shipbuilding was the clipper. The first true clipper ships were built in the mid-1840s, these ships traveled very fast. The three decades before the Civil War saw the domination of merchant shipping by American clippers. But the era of the steamship soon put an end to this romantic period of fast and elegant wooden sailing ships. The first commercially successful steamboat in the world was Robert Fulton’s Clermont, which appeared on the Hudson River in New York in 1807. Steamboats were an important means of transportation which helped to expand the frontier further and further west. Canals also did a great deal to open up the interior of America, to take settlers and immigrants to new areas, to carry their farm goods to city markets, to move freight at low cost, and to transport manufactured products and materials.
Railroads
As early as 1833, a railroad in South Carolina and Georgia was running trains over a route of more than 200 km, the longest in the world at that time. Because of greater speed and directness, the railroad was beginning to win out over the steamboat. Trains could go where boats and ships could not. This was especially important west of the Mississippi, where there were fewer large rivers. The government supported many railroads by giving them land for building tracks and lending them money at a low rate of interest. Millions of immigrants reached the new territories with the help of the railroads. Later, trains transported the goods they produced. Fresh meat, fruits, and vegetables could be transported more quickly. As a consequence, food became less expensive in the urban areas. The materials needed for constructing railroads stimulated the iron and steel industries.
While the early decades of the 20th century were the “golden age” of the railroads in America, their significance for passenger service has declined since then. In 1971, Congress created Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, to provide a balanced transportation system by developing and improving intercity rail passenger service. Compared with railroad passenger transport in Germany, France or Britain, however, Amtrak is of relatively little importance. The Amtrak system works best and most profitably in densely populated areas where distances are short and getting to and from airports is convenient and expensive. On the longer distances, Amtrak has a hard time competing with the airplane. Freight trains, by contrast, are still very important, especially for the transportation of ‘bulk goods’ such as coal or grain. And, after many problems in the 1980s, the largest railroads are now much more competitive. In fact, when measured by tons carried per mile, the railroads transport 37 percent of all American freight compared with about 27 percent for trucks (and 16 percent of freight on inland waterways). Trains are now both cheaper and more efficient than trucks.
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The Car Culture
America B. C. (Before the Car) was a much different place than it was after all those Fords and Chevys became available to millions of Americans. Soon the average “man next door”, and his teenage son and daughter as well as his wife, could afford a car. Figures show that the United States has developed an enormous modern transportation system, an extensive network of roads and highways which enables Americans to travel freely and comfortably wherever they want without having to give up their independence, consult timetables, or wait for connections. For example, the American interstate highway system – the non-stop, interconnected “motorways” – stretches for over 72,000 km. In the U. S. there are more cars and trucks and buses per person than anywhere else.
One could easily reach the conclusion that America is one big parking lot, clogged by cars and trucks, stinking of exhaust, covered by concrete, and marred by service stations. Such images, however, are highly misleading. Urban areas in the United States, towns and cities, large and small, only take up less than 2 percent of the country’s total land area. It is sometimes forgotten that in the U. S. today – a country over 30 times the size of Italy and over 40 times that of the United Kingdom – one third of the land is still covered by forests.
Public, state-supported mass transportation systems – buses, commuter trains, streetcars, subways – only make sense in economic and practical terms for those parts of the U. S. that are densely settled. For example, 53 percent of all New Yorkers use the mass transit, public transportation system. Cities such as Chicago, Boston, Washington D. C., Philadelphia, and San Francisco are also examples of cities where public transportation plays an important role. Experience has shown, however, that many people still prefer to go by car, and would continue to do so, even if public transportation were more readily available and less expensive.
The most extensive and one of the least expensive means of transportation in America is the bus. Both city traffic and intercity transportation are largely provided by bus companies, public and private. Intercity and suburban bus companies operate between some 15,000 cities, towns, and villages. America’s intercity buses transport more than 350 million passengers every year, more than Amtrak and all airlines combined. This cheap way to cover long distances in the U. S. is used by many American and foreign travelers.
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Americans started relatively early giving thought to the problems caused by cars. In the 1950s, some cities began to ban cars from their central shopping areas. So-called malls were built within cities, changing traffic-filled streets to areas reserved for pedestrians, landscaped with grass, flowers and trees. Many universities forbid students to have cars on campus, unless, of course, they are handicapped. Programs such as car-pooling or “share-the-ride” and “park-’n-ride” are also common approaches.
In most U. S. states the national speed limit of 55 mph (about 88 km/h) is in effect, but outside a several kilometer radius of larger cities, a speed limit of 65 mph (about 104 km/h) is allowed on major rural interstate highways. Some Americans, of course, always try to go just a little bit faster, but overall, most adhere to speed limits. This general acceptance is helped along by the police, who strictly enforce speed limits in and outside the cities. Studies show that there is less pollution at lower speeds, gas is saved, and, perhaps most importantly, there are fewer lives lost. Americans are sometimes surprised to learn that they have a reputation of being polite and courteous drivers. Much tougher drinking-and-driving laws in many states have meant that in some areas traffic deaths have dropped as much as 30 percent in one year. There are very strict laws, rigidly enforced, for protecting school children. Children have special crossing areas and school zones in which the maximum speed limits for cars are usually from 5 to 15 mph (8 to 44 km/h). American courts have little sympathy for those who speed near school zones or pass school buses as children are getting out. Automatic fines of up to $500 for first-time offenders are not uncommon.
Tasks
1. Read the text for detailed understanding. Translate the following paragraphs of the text: 1, 2, 4, 7.
2. Give the summary of the text
3. Retell the text as if you were:
1) a Russian tourist in America;
2) an American who likes to travel;
3) a driver;
4) the head of the bus company.
Vocabulary
1) to become dominant – стать преобладающим
2) means of transportation – транспортные средства
3) to grow around – возникать возле
4) harbor – гавань (порт)
5) downtown – центр города
6) inland waterways – внутренние водные пути
7) maritime nation – морская нация
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8) clipper – клипер
9) merchant shipping – торговый флот
10) steamship – пароход
11) to expand the frontier – расширять границу
12) to open up the interior – открывать внутренние районы страны
13) freight – груз/товарный поезд, to move ~ at low cost – перевозить грузы по низкой стоимости
14) manufactured products – промышленные товары
15) to run trains over a route of – направлять поезда по маршруту
16) to win out over – одерживать верх над
17) to give smb. land for building tracks – давать землю для строительства железной дороги
18) a low rate of interest – низкая процентная ставка
19) to transport the goods – перевозить товары
20) urban areas – городские территории
21) to stimulate the iron and steel industries – стимулировать развитие металлургической и сталелитейной промышленности
22) to provide a balanced transportation system – обеспечивать сбалансированную систему транспорта
23) to improve intercity rail passenger service – улучшать услуги в сфере междугородних перевозок пассажиров по железной дороге
24) to work profitably – работать прибыльно
25) densely populated (densely settled) areas – густонаселенные территории
26) bulk goods – товары, перевозимые крупными партиями
27) competitive, efficient – конкурентоспособный, эффективный
28) an extensive network of roads and highways – разветвленная система дорог и скоростных шоссе
29) to consult timetables – сверяться с расписанием
30) interconnected “motorways” – взаимосвязанные автострады
31) parking lot – стоянка
32) clogged by cars – забитый (переполненный) машинами
33) marred by service stations – испорченный обилием станций техобслуживания
34) take up – занимать
35) commuter trains – пригородные поезда
36) subway – метро
37) suburban bus companies – компании пригородного автобусного сообщения
38) to ban – запрещать
39) mall – торговый центр
40) traffic-filled streets – переполненные транспортом улицы
41) pedestrians – пешеходы
42) handicapped (Syn. disabled, physically challenged)– инвалиды
43) car-pool/car pooling – автомобильный пул (для поездок на работу): группа автовладельцев-соседей, живущих в пригороде, каждый из которых по очереди возит остальных на работу на своей машине.
44) adhere to speed limits – подчиняться ограничению скорости
45) enforce speed limits in and outside the cities – заставлять соблюдать ограничение скорости в городах и за их пределами
46) pollution, to pollute – загрязнение, загрязнять
47) tougher drinking-and-driving laws – более жесткие законы о вождении в нетрезвом виде
48) crossing areas – пешеходные переходы
49) speed (v, n) – превышать скорость, скорость
50) automatic fines – автоматические штрафы
51) first-time offenders – правонарушители, совершившие преступление впервые