Unit 1 Smart Cars

Text A Smart Cars

Part 1 Objectives Part 2 Background Part 3 Structure Study Part 4 Language Points

Objectives
a) Understand the main idea and structure of the text; b) Learn some techniques in expository writing (definition, quotes, a mixture of facts and opinions, etc.); c) Grasp the key language points and grammatical structures in the text.

Background
automobile industry: The automobile industry is one of the most important industries in the world, affecting not only economies but also cultures. It provides jobs for millions of people, generates billions of dollars in worldwide revenues. And provides the basis for a multitude of related service and support industries. Automobiles revolutionized transportation in the 20th century, changing forever the way people lives, travel, and business.

 The automobile has enabled people to travel and transport goods farther and faster, and has opened wider market areas for business and commerce. The auto industry has also reduced the overall cost of transportation by using methods such as mass production (making several products at once, rather than one at a time), mass marketing (selling products nationally and globally rather than locally), and globalization of production (assembling products with parts made worldwide). Between 1886 and 1898, about 300 automobiles were built, but there was no real established industry. A century later, with automakers and auto buyers expanding globally, automaking became the worlds largest manufacturing activity, with more than 53 million new vehicles built each year worldwide.

 Automobile manufacturers are among the largest companies in the world. These corporations are often multinational. These companies often share parts, or use parts made in foreign factories. The U.S. automobile industry produces 16.8 million vehicles in 1999. The three major automobile manufacturers in the United States General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and Daimler Chrysler AG provide three-fourths of the industrys total direct employment in the United States. At the start of the 21st century, the trends of global trade and manufacturing flexibility continue. Computerization continues to be a major part of part of auto design and manufacture, as do the search for alternative fuels and more efficient automobile designs.

 Global Positioning System (GPS): space-based radionavigation system, consisting of 24 satellites and ground support. GPS provides users with accurate information about their position and velocity, as well as the time, anywhere in the world and in all weather conditions. GPS determines location by computing the difference between the time that a signal is sent and the time it is received. GPS satellites carry atomic clocks that provide extremely accurate time. The time information is placed in the codes broadcast by the satellite so that a receiver can continuously determine the time the signal was broadcast. The signal contains data that a receiver uses to compute the locations of the satellites and to make other adjustments needed for accurate positioning.

 The receiver uses the time difference between the time of signal reception and the broadcast time to compute the distance, or range, from the receiver to the satellite. The receiver must account for propagation delays, or decreases in the signals speed caused by the ionosphere and the troposphere. With information about the ranges to three satellites and the location of the satellite when the signal was sent, the receiver can compute its own three-dimensional position. As of March 1994, 24 GPS satellites were in operation. Replenishment satellites are ready for launch, and contracts have been awarded to provide satellites into the 21st century. GPS applications continue to grow in land, sea, air, and space navigation. The ability to enhance safety and to decrease fuel consumption will make GPS an important component of travel in the international airspace system. Airplanes will use GPS for landing at fogbound airports. Automobiles will use GPS as part of intelligent transportation systems.

 Emerging technologies will enable GPS to determine not only the position of a vehicle but also its altitude. Intelligent Transportation System (ITS): advanced electronics, communications, and computer systems that increase the efficiency and safety of highway transportation. Originally known as Intelligent Vehicle/Highway System (IVHS), these technologies can provide real-time information exchange between drivers and the roads, giving rise to the terms smart cars and smart highways. As the technologies have expanded to include public transportation and commercial vehicles, this range of technologies has become known as the Intelligent Transportation System. Increasingly, drivers will have access to up-to-the-minute information on traffic conditions, alternate routes, and directions to unfamiliar destinations. Ultimately, vehicle control may be automated.

Text Structure
Parts Part 1 Paragraphs Par. 1-3 Main Ideas New technology will have a dramatic impact on cars and highways in the 21st century.

Part 2

Par. 4-9

With the aid of advanced technology, smart cars will be so designed that they can help eliminate traffic accidents, determine their own precise locations and warn of traffic jams.

Part 3

Par. 10-13 GPS and telematics will make it possible to build smart highways, which will benefit us in more than one way.

Language Points
New Words:
1.eliminate vt. :to remove or get rid of completely.
e.g. (1)

Can we ever eliminate hunger from the world?

(2) The police have eliminated all the other suspects (=

shown that they are not guilty), so only one now remains.
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(3)

Our team was eliminated (from the competition) in the first round.

2. alert

A. (vt.) : to make (some one) watchful and ready for

possible danger

e.g. (1) a campaign to alert the public to the dangers of smoking.

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(2) The manager alerted the staff to the crisis facing the company.
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(3) The teacher alerted the students to the danger of

swimming in the river.

B. (a.) : (be) alert (to sth.) : attentive & quick to think or act.
e.g. (1)

be alert to possible dangers.

(2)The alert listener will have noticed the error.
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C. (n.) :

i. a warning to be ready for danger e.g.

to sound the alert.

ii. on (the) alertagainst / for : in a state of being ready to

deal with danger, esp. after a warning. e.g. Police warned the public to be on the alert for suspected terrorists.
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3. convert

A. [I; T (to, into) ]: to (cause to) change into another form,

substance, or state, or from one purpose, system, etc. to another.

e.g. (1) Coal can be converted to gas.

(2)This sofa converts into a bed. (3)

to convert pounds into dollars

B. [I, T (form, to) ]: to (persuade to) accept a particular

religion, belief, etc.

e.g. (1) John was converted to Buddhism by a Chinese priest.
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(2) Anne has converted to Catholicism.

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(3)

Her daughter has converted her to pop music. 4.correlate vi&vt. : to (show to) have a close shared
relationship or connection of cause and effect. [~ (with sth.); ~ A and/with B.] e.g. (1) Smoking &lung cancer are closely correlated.

(2) We can often correlate age with frequency of illness.

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(3) A mothers smoking in pregnancy correlates with low

birth weight in her baby.

5. rotate A. [I, T]: to (cause to) turn around a fixed point or axis e.g. (1) The earth rotates / revolves once every 24 hours. (2)
The hotel has rotating / revolving doors.

B. to (cause to) take turns or come round in regular order e.g. (1) The chairmanship of the department rotates annually. (2) We rotate the crops, sowing wheat one year, sugar

beet the nest, and so on.

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Phrases:
1. start (sth.) up: (cause sth. to) begin or begin working, running, happening, etc.

e.g. (1) The engine started up suddenly. (2)

start up a new bus company (3) What started the argument up? (4)
We couldnt start the car up. 2. be/ get stuck in (sth.) : be unable to move or be moved. stuck adj. : fixed in position; impossible to move.

e.g. (1) I was stuck in the traffic yesterday for about one

hour. Thats why I missed the plane.

(2) I was stuck at home with flu.

(3)
His finger got stuck in the hole. 3. send sb./ sth. out: to send from a central point

e.g. (1) Make sure you send out the invitations in good time.
(2) The satellite is sending out radio signals.

(3) /
The order was/The goods were sent out from the

warehouse yesterday.
4. be poised to (do) : (of people, animals, etc.) in a state of

physical tension, ready for action

[] be poisoned in/ on /above/ for sth.

(1) The army was poised to attack. / for an attack.

(2) The automobile company is poised to launch its new advertising campaign.

(3) Poised on the edge of the swimming-pool, (i.e. ready

to jump in)