METU / SFL
DBE
EPE READING PRACTICE 3
202 GROUP
(Student’s Copy)
Spring 2025
A Cars today are smart. They may not be smart enough to change their own oil or find the lost coins in their seats,
but they are smart and getting smarter. Even the mediocre car today has more computing power than the
1969 Apollo 11 spacecraft that carried the first astronauts to the moon. Every car produced today has at least
one computer for monitoring fuel consumption and controlling pollution. The average car uses twelve
computerized devices, and high-end cars have many more of them which control everything from the sunroof
to the braking system. In the near future, cars may be full of computer chips from the front fender to the tail
light. That is because motorists enjoy computerized gadgets, and providing these little devices is cheaper for
automakers than building a better engine or making other engineering changes that might actually be more
important.
B Many of the smart features are safety-related. Some are systems to avoid collisions. These may use sonar,
radar, lasers, computers, or video cameras, or some combination of these. These systems beep or warn drivers
with a voice signal if the vehicle gets too close to an object or another vehicle or if it strays out of its lane. The
system can suggest actions to the driver or even temporarily take control in order to avoid accidents. Another
safety device, which has just come onto the market, is a smart airbag system. To deploy airbags with the
minimum necessary force, sensors determine the size and weight of the passenger and the severity of impact.
This system should reduce the number of children which get hurt by airbags that open too vigorously.
C Another system can automatically notify emergency services that an accident has happened and, using a
Global Positioning System (GPS), can pinpoint the position of the vehicle for police and rescue units. This
"mayday system" can save precious minutes and many lives. One of the most convenient aspects of smart cars
is their ability to navigate. Drivers tell them where they want to go and then, with the help of a GPS navigation
device and computerized maps, smart cars can figure out the best ways to reach the drivers' destinations. The
cars can show the information on a map or give drivers voice directions. They can even correct drivers if they
make a mistake. Using communication devices that are connected to the Internet, cars can inform drivers of
problems ahead — construction work, traffic jams, and accidents — and then suggest different routes to the
driver.
D No matter how smart cars become, they cannot solve all the problems in this "car-crazy" world by themselves.
Anyone who has travelled by car in any city in the world knows that the problem of traffic congestion is
becoming worse every year. The traditional solution to this problem has been to simply build more roads.
However, another solution is self-driving vehicles which operate on automated "intelligent" roadways. What,
then, is an "intelligent" roadway? One type of automated highway would feature one or more lanes on, and
vehicles with special sensors and communications systems could travel on these lanes completely under
computer control. The vehicles would follow each other at closely spaced intervals in groups which are called
"platoons." Vehicles in platoons traveling on the automated lanes would be temporarily linked into
communications networks. These vehicles could then constantly exchange information about speed,
acceleration, braking, and so on.
E The technology which is required to operate an automated highway already exists and has been tested. On a
stretch of San Diego Expressway, a platoon of seven smart LaSabres travelled on a lane of intelligent highway.
The cars tailgated one another, and kept about 5 meters apart, at around 105 kilometres per hour. The drivers
sat back and sipped their coffees. They said that traveling that fast and that close together with no control was
a thrilling but frightening experience at first, but that, in a short time, it became rather standard.
F However, don’t plan on having your car drive you to work any time soon. For one thing, the cost would be
staggering. Even equipping one lane on the busiest urban expressways with the necessary technology would
be too expensive to do in the near future. Installing the required equipment on cars would also add thousands
of dollars to the cost of new cars. Besides, many people would not trust self-driven cars. Much of the public
has a high sense of risk. Some people refrain from flying even though studies show that flying is safer than
driving. That is because every plane crash is highly publicized, while individual automobile accidents are not.
Similarly, although automated cars would certainly be safer than standard cars, when an accident occurred, it
would probably involve hundreds of deaths and injuries. Even a few such accidents would probably cause the
public to call for the closing of automated roads.
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1. In paragraph A, which of the following is NOT given as a reason for adding more computerized
devices to cars?
a) To build a better engine with some changes
b) To please the drivers via some extra gadgets
c) To provide more gadgets at a cheaper price
2. What is the purpose of the smart airbag system mentioned in paragraph B?
a) To reduce the number of collisions and accidents
b) To prevent airbags from activating too vigorously
c) To detect the size and weight of objects near the vehicle
3. Which of the following is mentioned in paragraph C as a potential benefit of using a GPS navigation
device?
a) Taking control of the vehicle and drive it to the driver's destination.
b) Informing drivers of potential problems on the road ahead.
c) Communicating with emergency services in case of an accident.
4. What is the traditional solution to the problem of traffic congestion in paragraph D?
a) Encouraging the use of self-driving cars
b) Providing alternative routes
c) Limiting the number of cars on the road
5. Which of the following is TRUE about the automated highway test according to paragraph E?
a) The drivers’ hands were off the steering wheel of the car.
b) Drinks were offered to the drivers on the highway.
c) The test drive was not realistic enough to be dangerously fast.
6. Based on the information in paragraph F, how does the writer feel about the intelligent roadway
system?
a) Supportive
b) Indifferent
c) Critical
7. What does the word “construction” in paragraph C mean?
a) corruption
b) structure
c) inspection
8. What does the word “refrain from” in paragraph F mean?
a) avoid
b) defend
c) cooperate
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