Still no flying cars?

The future promises something better

Level 1 l Elementary
1 Warmer
Which of the following would you like to own and why?

an electric car

a driverless car

a flying car

2 Key words
Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. The paragraph numbers will help you.
ageing

pedestrian

emission

congestion

concern

1. ________________________ is a feeling of worry about something. (para 1)

2. If something is ________________________, it is getting older. (para 2)
3. ________________________ is when a place is crowded with vehicles. (para 2)
4. An ________________________ is a gas that goes into the air. (para 2)
5. A ________________________ is someone who is walking, especially in a town or city, instead of driving or
riding. (para 3)
era

connectivity

carpooling

commonplace

app

6. ________________________ is the ability of computers and other types of electronic equipment to connect
successfully with other computers or programs. (para 5)
7. An ________________________ is an application for use on a mobile phone. (para 5)
8. An ________________________ is a period of time that has a particular quality or character. (para 5)
9. If something is ________________________, it is not unusual. (para 8)
10. ________________________ is when a group of people travel together so that they use only one car.
(para 11)

3 Find the information

Find the following information in the text as quickly as possible.
1. When was the film Back to the Future II made?
2. What is Uber?
3. What is Waze?
4. Who uses their cars more, people born in the 90s or the older generations?

NEWS LESSONS / Still no flying cars? The future promises something better / Elementary

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

6. What is the average age of cars on the road?

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5. When did Google begin testing driverless cars?

Still no flying cars? The future promises something better

Level 1 l Elementary
Still no flying cars? The future of
transit promises something
even better
Alison Moodie
2 November, 2015
1 We do not yet live in an age of flying cars, as
predicted in the 1985 film Back to the Future II,
but smartphones and other new technologies
are creating exciting possibilities. Experts agree
that economic and population changes, new
technology, and environmental concerns are
having a big effect on transportation.
2 With an ageing transport infrastructure, cities
in the US have to change and improve their
transportation. Experts and scientists now realize
that old ways of reducing traffic congestion arent
enough to solve the problems of population
growth and carbon emissions, and transportation
is now an environmental problem.
3 Big US cities like Los Angeles and Chicago are
adding more bus lanes and pedestrian walkways,
and expanding rail networks. At the same time,
they are creating advanced technologies that will
allow a vehicle to drive itself and communicate
with other vehicles and its environment.
4 Here are three of the key ideas that experts
predict will change transportation in the future.
Connectivity
5 Taxi-sharing services like Uber and apps like
Waze, which finds the quickest routes for
drivers, are completely changing how people
move around and affecting the way traffic
moves through a city. Communication between
riders and drivers, between different vehicles
and between cars and infrastructure is bringing
transportation into a new era.
6 According to a recent study, people born in the
1990s are using cars less than older generations.
According to the study, people born in the 1990s
are making 4% fewer car trips and travelling 18%
fewer miles per year, on average, than older
generations did at the same time in their lives.
And, people who still drive cars are experiencing
less traffic thanks to Waze.

to tell traffic control systems not only that it is

present but also where it is going and how fast it
is travelling.
Automation
8 We have known about driverless cars ever
since Google began testing the vehicles in
2012 but no-one really knows when driverless
cars will become commonplace. But, there is
already some automation of cars. Automation
will probably happen in stages: first, there might
be automated buses with their own lanes, then
perhaps lorries in ports or mining towns: vehicles
that are connected electronically and travel one
behind another.
9 The idea of a fully automated transportation
system is interesting because it could improve
safety peoples mistakes wont cause accidents
any more. It could also help reduce carbon
emissions and traffic congestion. But, it will take
a long time to get fully automated because the
average age of cars on the road is 11.5 years old.
10 To see what driverless cars might look like on the
road, go to the video at: vimeo.com/37751380.
Environmental concern
11 The world is trying to slow down climate change
and countries and cities are trying to reduce
emissions. These things could have a big effect
on the future of transportation and lead to
zero- and low-emission vehicles and apps that
encourage more walking, cycling and carpooling.
12 When thinking about the future of transportation,
its also important to think about why people
travel: they may be going to work, to meet friends
or family, or to do the shopping. Technologies that
reduce the need for those trips for example,
online meetings or online work could also have
a big effect on transportation.
Guardian News and Media 2015
First published in The Guardian, 02/11/15

NEWS LESSONS / Still no flying cars? The future promises something better / Elementary

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

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7 Traffic congestion is improving in other ways,

too. At the moment, a traffic light knows when
a car is getting close but thats all. Companies
are developing technology that allows a vehicle

Still no flying cars? The future promises something better

Level 1 l Elementary
4 Comprehension check
Match the beginnings with the endings to make statements about the text.
1. Apps like Waze find

a. using cars less than older generations.

2. Traffic lights know

b. will probably be buses.

3. The first driverless vehicles

c. for people to use their cars to travel to work or

go shopping.

4. A fully automated transport system could

d. the quickest route for drivers.

5. People born in the 1990s are

e. improve safety.

6. Technology may reduce the need

f.

when a car is getting near.

5 Chunks
Rearrange the words to make phrases from the text.
1. the city way traffic through a moves
2. transportation new a into bringing era
3. recent according a study to
4. lives time at in their the same
5. will time it long a take
6. to going they work be may

6 Adjective + noun phrases

Match the words in the left-hand column with the words in the right-hand column to make expressions
from the text.
1. climate

a. age

2. older

b. route

3. average

c. change

4. big

d. technology

5. quickest

e. effect
generation

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

NEWS LESSONS / Still no flying cars? The future promises something better / Elementary

f.

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6. advanced

Still no flying cars? The future promises something better

Level 1 l Elementary
7 Compound words
Complete the words using the words in the box.
way

common

phone

net

less

line

1. _______work
2. smart_______
3. driver_______
4. on_______
5. walk_______
6. _______place

Should petrol and diesel vehicles be illegal? Why? Why not?

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

NEWS LESSONS / Still no flying cars? The future promises something better / Elementary

Are driverless cars a good idea? Why? Why not?

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8 Discussion

Still no flying cars? The future promises something better

Level 1 l Elementary
KEY
2 Key words

6 Adjective + noun phrases

1. concern
2. ageing
3. congestion
4. emission
5. pedestrian
6. connectivity
7. app
8. era
9. commonplace
10. carpooling

29. c
30. f
31. a
32. e
33. b
34. d

3 Find the information

11. 1985
12. a taxi-sharing service
13. an app that finds the quickest route for drivers
14. the older generations
15. 2012
16. 11.5 years

7 Compound words
35. network
36. smartphone
37. driverless
38. online
39. walkway
40. commonplace

4 Comprehension check
17. d
18. f
19. b
20. e
21. a
22. c

5 Chunks

NEWS LESSONS / Still no flying cars? The future promises something better / Elementary

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

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23. the way traffic moves through a city

24. bringing transportation into a new era
25. according to a recent study
26. at the same time in their lives
27. it will take a long time
28. they may be going to work