THE TEXT:

CUTE buses: a new direction

for public transport
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It seems like a normal bus, except that it moves almost
silently, and it does not give off any exhaust fumes.
Instead, a small cloud of white steam emerges from the
roof. But this is no ordinary vehicle. It is part of an
experiment that could revolutionise public transport in our
cities, providing sustainable, non-polluting transport from
renewable energy resources

A Urban transport is a major problem in the countries of the European Union,

where over 75% of the population lives in towns and cities. It is becoming
increasingly difficult to reconcile invidual needs and expectations of personal
mobility with the preservation of the fabric of out cities and with the quality of life
of their inhabitants. Transport is already one of the chief contributors to health and
environmental problem in urban regions, and increasing levels of congestion mean
that in some cities the average speed of traffic at peak times is slower than it was in
the days of the noise and cart. In addition, exhaust fumes are a major contributor to
rising levels of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere, as well as being a source of
carbon monoxide and particulate matter. With expers forecasting an increase of 30%
in the total number of kilometers travelled by 2030, urban transport systems have to
face the challenge of meeting citizens’ needs for mobility through the development
of innovative and sustainable methods of transport.

B To address this problem, the European Commission has allocated $ 18.5m to a

project entitled CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe), one of the most
ambitious experiments in energy and transport taking place today. The aim of the
project is to investigate the role that hydrogen and fuel cells could play in providing
a safe, clean and efficient means of public transport. In order to do this, the nine
participating cities have each been supplied with three buses which are powered by
hydrogen rather than by diesel fuel. The buses, produced by Mercedes Benz Citaro,
contain tanks of compressed hydrogen in the roof, which supply fuel cells. Here, the
hydrogen molecules are split and electricity is produced to power the bus, together
with pur water which escapes into the atmosphere as stream. The buses only need
refueling once a day and can travel at speed of up to 100kph.

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C The nine participating cities vary widely in their lacal conditions and the type
of operating systems they use, allowing data to be collected and comparisons to
be made between the different systems. One decision the transport authorities in
each city have to make is the source of the hydrogen they use for fuel. This may be
produced either from renewable resources, or from fossil fuels. At present only
around 40% of the energy required for the production of hydrogen on the project
comes from renewable resources such as wind power. Amsterodam and Hamburg
both use energy from this source to produce the hydrogen for their buses. Stockholm
also uses a renewable resource, in this case hydro power, while make use of solar
power. In case such as these it may be possible to have a zero emission system, with
no harmful by products given off at any stage of the project. However, other cities
such as Porto and London use natural gas or other non-renewable resources to
produce the hydrogen.

D In addition to deciding on the means of production, the cities also have to

decide on the location where the production of hydrogen is to take place. The
on-site production of hydrogen removes the need for its transportation by truck in
liquid or gas form, which is again an advantage in ecological and financial terms;
this solution is used by sereval cities including Madrid. In London, however, in
order to make the hydrogen available to other users, the authorities decided against
on-site production plant is some way from the bus depot.

E The varying geographical and climatic conditions of each city also

allow information to be collected on a range of operating
conditions for the buses. In some cities, such as London, buses have to be able to
perform in congested traffic, while in Madrid and Porto in summer they have to be
able to contend with the hot climate in addition to this. Bus transport in Porto also
has to cope with extreme geographical conditions since the city is built on a steep
hillside, and the same is true of Luxembourg anf Bacelona. In Stuttgart, on the other
hand, which has a widespread population, the buses’ ability to travel long distances
is tested.

F The overall remit of the project therefore involves comparision of performance

and costs involved in three main areas; the production of hydrogen, the
organization of infrastructure (for example, the location of hydrogen refilling
stations), and the use of the buses in varying operational conditions. There is still
some way to go before hydrogen buses will be replacing ordinary public transport on
a large scale- at present running costs are ten times higher, which does not make
them a commercial proposition – but it is beginning to look as if the days of the
diesel driven bus are numbered.

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 MY REFLECTION
The text is about buses-a popular kind of public transportation and it is
written for people that show interest in this means or want to update their own
knowledge. To attract readers' attention, the text's author emphasizes the new and
special features of normal buses, and then clarifies them. His way of giving topic
really is clever and proper; the structures of the text are very logic and conherent. In
my opinion, we (foreign language learners) should practice it in writing skills.
An excellent thing of this text is clues and explanations that the author
used to support his opinion-clear and scientific. For example, there are specific
numbers to persuade readers to believe the content of the text as well as this new
information, such as "an increase of 30% in the total number of kilometers travelled
by 2030", "at speed of up to 100kph" or "only around 40% of the energy".
However, a problem which I am not satisfied with this passage is that the
author made many repeatations of words. For example, there are many phrases
“renewable resources” and words “hydrogen”. Sometimes, the previous sentence
has a word or phrase, the following sentence has it again, such as: “major
contributor” in A or “production of hydrogen” in D, etc… this makes readers feel
boring. Morever, this passage is long and has rather lots of new words, especially
specialist words.
In general, reading passages always brings me more. This is of no
exception, I really feel excited about it because buses are very popular and
significant public means of transportation and I also go to university by bus
everyday. The content of this test is very good. It also has many useful phrases or
structures that are new to me.

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The origin of the

text
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Book: Focus on Academic Skills
for IELTS
Author: Thanh Hai
Publishing House: Transportation

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Vocabulary
Reconcial /’rekənsai/ Make compatible with Hòa giải, giảng
(v) Structure: to ~ sb to sb hòa.
hòa giải ai với
ai
Mobility (n) /mou’biliti/ The quality of moving freely Tính chuyển
Ant: im ~ động, lưu động.
(to) congest /kən’dʒεst/ Become or cause to become Làm đông nghịt,
obstructed tắc nghẽn
Syn: clog, choke, etc…
Peak (adj) /pi:k/ Of a period of maximal use or Đỉnh, cao điểm.
demand or activity
Particulate Composed of distinct particles Thuộc hạt.
(adj) Ant: non ~
Innovative /'inouveitəri/ Ahead of times, advanced, Có tính chất đổi
(adj) forward-looking, morden mới.
Sustainable /səs’tεinəbl/ Capable of being sustained Có thể chống đỡ
(adj) được.
Depot (n) /’dεpou/ 1. where transport vihicles load 1.ga (xe lửa), bến
or unload passengers or (xe bus)
goods 1.kho hang, kho
2. A depository for goods chứa.
Compress /kəm’prεs/ (v): make more compact by or as if (v): đè, nén.
(v+n) by pressing; squeeze or press
together (n): gạc (y học).
(n): a cloth pad or dressing (with or
without medication) applied firmly
to some part of the body (to relieve
discomfort or reduce fever).
Emerge (v) /i’mə:dʒ/ Come out into view, as from Nổi lên, hiện ra;
concealment; come out of. (vấn đề) nảy ra.
Steep (adj) /sti:p/ Having a sharp inclination Dốc
Remit (v) 1. send payment for Tha, xá (tội);
2. hold back to a later time hoãn, đình lại;
làm thuyên giảm.
Ecological /,ekə’lodʒik 1. characterised by the Thuộc sinh thái
(adj) əl/ interdependence of living học.
organisms in an
environment.
2. (biology) of or relating to the
science of ecology.
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Revolutionise /,revə'lu:ʃnai Make revolution. Cách mạng hóa
(v) z/
Overall (adj) /'ouvərɔ:l/ Whole, entire, all. Toàn bộ,tất cả,
rộng lớn

Student: NGUYỄN THỊ HỢP

Class : 081E14