128

UNIT 9. LESSON 3

Read the text without a dictionary.

9B. THE COMING REVOLUTION IN TRANSPORTATION

You ride toward the city at 90 miles an hour, glancing through the morning newspaper while your electrically powered car follows its programmed route on an automated "guideway". You leave your car at the city's edge - a park-like city without streets - and enter a small plastic "people capsule". Inside, you dial your destination on a sequence of numbered buttons and settle back. Smoothly, silently, your capsule accelerates to 80 miles an hour. Guided by a distant master computer, it slips down into the network of tunnels under the city and takes precisely the fastest route to your destination.

Far-fetched? Not at all. Every element of this fantastic system is already within range of our scientists' skills. Indeed, the system utilizes only a few of the exciting new people-moving machines that have reached or passed the experimental stage.

Many companies are experimenting with guideways. In some systems, the car's power comes from an electric transmission line built into the road. In others, vehicles would be carried on a high speed conveyer, or perhaps in a container.

Computer-controlled highways are useful, for when the human element is removed, vehicles can travel with greater safety at faster speeds, closer together. In fact, most experts believe that each lane of automated highways could move the traffic of three or four of today's uncontrolled lanes.

Automated Autos. At the General Motors Technical Centre the Unicontrol car is being developed which is one step along the way to the automated family sedan. In the car, a small knob next to the seat replaced steering wheel, gear-shift lever, accelerator and brake pedal. Moving that knob sends electronic impulses to a "baby computer" in the car's trunk. From these signals the computer activates the proper servomechanism - steering motor, power brakes or accelerator.

Although this strange control method is easy to handle the car does have to be driven. There are several research laboratories which work at the automated highways that would relieve the driver of all responsibilities except that of choosing a destination.

Automated highways - engineers call them guideways - are technically feasible today. General Motors successfully demonstrated an electronically controlled guidance system. A wire was embedded in the road, and two pick-up coils were installed at the front of a car to sense its position in relation of that wire. The coils sent electrical signals to the steering system, to keep the vehicle automatically on course. They tested a

129

system that also controlled spacing and detected obstacles. It could slow down or stop an overtaking vehicle until the road was clear.

Most transportation experts don't consider underground highways extravagant at all. Why not put all roads underground and, in that case, why not dig the tunnels to accomodate computer-controlled capsules instead for people to travel farther than their neighbourhood?

For example, a bus line picks up passengers practically at their doors (for a monthly charge) and carries them directly to their destination. In future, such personalized commuter services may be provided by mini-buses. One proposal calls for special metal plates connected to a central computer, installed throughout a neighbourhood. When someone pushes a plate, it signals the computer which orders the nearest mini-bus to pick him up.

COMPREHENSION TEST

I. Put the following sentences in order to make up a plan of a text. Make corrections if needed.

1.Usefulness of computer-controlled guideways.

2.Scientists are able to create automated guideway.

3.Research on automated vehicles.

4.Computer-controlled mini-buses.

5.Programmed routes on an automated guideway.

6.Automated highway concept.

7.Experimenting with guideways.

8.Underground highways.

9.Unicontrol car design.

10.Transportation within a city of the future.

II.Find the answers to the following questions.

1.What are the daring dreams of the motorcar experts?

2.What will the city of the future look like?

3.Can you explain what an automated "guideway" means?

4.What is a "people capsule"?

5.What are people-moving machines like?

6.When will they become commonplace?

7.What is a small computer used in the automated autos intended for and where is it placed?

8.How was the guidance system demonstrated by General Motors work?

9.What are the advantages of automated highway lines as compared to uncontrolled

130

lanes?

10.What are the advantages of the underground highways as compared to the surface highways?

11.What services may be provided by mini-buses in the future city?

Translate the text into English. Entitle the text.

TEXT 9C

В наш век от инженера требуется изучение необходимых техническ приемов. Он должен получить необходимые знания для решения сложных задач.

Это значит, что ему следует достичь высоких результатов в нескольких почти не связанных областях.

Прежде всего он должен иметь глубокие знания в современной математике. Затем ему необходимо знать работу систем и их компонентов. И наконец, ему надо быть знакомым с возможностями и ограничениями всех типов современных компьютеров.

Автоматика - это процесс, происходящий с минимальным вмешательством человека. Он является саморегулирующимся процессом. Автоматическое управление освобождает человека от однообразной деятельности. Оно также способно выполнить функции, находящиеся за пределами способностей человека. Автоматическое управление находит применение в промышленном процессе.

9D. ROAD TO THE UNMANNED ENGINEERING PLANT

Japan's engineers designed a prototype of a small unmanned factory. The plant contained machine tools, assembly machines, one or more laser beaming rays to several laser-cutting stations, testing modules that comprised TV cameras which viewed finished products, and a forge that made lumps of metal of standard shapes that were later machined or cut to make the completed goods. The plant's components were built from standard modules so that workers could take machines apart on the shop floor, reassembling them to make different equipment. In this way, the labour force was able to alter parts of its plant - for instance by fitting a new spindle head to a milling machine - so it could make a range of goods of different sizes and shapes.

The "minifactory" was controlled by computers. But the Japanese took an unorthodox approach by deciding on the software - the instructions that run the computers - only after they had designed the physical outline of the factory. Most Western production engineers usually approached the task the other way around, tackling the software issue first. Details about the software in the Japanese system were

131

worked out a year ago. The plant was able to turn out about 45 different kinds of products, for instance cogs and shafts for gearboxes.

The "minifactory" programme represented a shift in emphasis from a more grandiose government project, called Methods for Unmanned Manufacturing, that started in the early 1970s. Under this, engineers were to build a complete, fully-automated factory by the early 1980s. But government officials realized, first, that the technology involved was very difficult, and secondly that unmanned plants could lead to social problems if they came too quickly. Further, the government committed more resources to energy research, leaving less money for factories. So the project was slimmed down. "The idea of the next plant is not so much to establish a model plant, but demonstrate the technologies that will be required in the future," said one member of the development team. "It's a smaller project, but we are convinced that small is beautiful."

I. Translate the text using the dictionary.

II. Give the main idea in 2-3 sentences.

III. Make up a short plan of the text.

LISTENING COMPREHENSION. TEXT 9E

Listen to the text and correct the sentences.

1.Electronics is the branch of science and technology which is concerned with the study of phenomena of nature of electricity.

2.Rapidly advancing technology has made critical the need for larger nuclear components.

3.The advantages gained in using transistors were: no heater of filament required, very high operating voltages, low power consumption, short life, resistance to damage from shock or vibration, and extreme flexibility in circuit design.

I.Give the main idea of the text.

II. Render the text into Russian.

III. Retell the text.