Ex. 2. Translate the following sentences into English in writing. Make use of the Vocabulary notes, if necessary
a) Транспорт был всегда существенным фактором в культурном и экономическом развитии человечества.
b) Нации развивались благодаря наличию транспорта и не развивались, когда он отсутствовал.
c) Те регионы, которые начали развиваться раньше и быстрее других, имели хорошо развитый транспорт.
d) Крупные города мира всегда располагались там, где были водные пути большой протяжённости, и имели хорошо развитый водный транспорт.
e) Там, где не было хорошо развитого водного транспорта, экономическое и культурное развитие начиналось лишь с появлением новых видов транспорта.
f) Африканский континент до сих пор ещё недоступен из-за отсутствия хорошо развитого транспорта.
g) Единственными дорогами, обеспечивающими доступ к африканским деревням, сельскохозяйственным и производственным районам, являются грунтовые дороги. Но они, как правило, функционируют только во время сухого сезона. Значительная же часть парка транспортных средств бездействует в течение длительного времени.
h) Железнодорожная сеть Африки состоит из нескольких коротких, не связанных друг с другом национальных сетей с различной шириной колеи. Средняя эксплуатационная скорость железнодорожного транспорта в Африке составляет только 40 км/час.
i) В области воздушного транспорта только 20% всех авиа перевозок приходится на прямые рейсы между африканскими странами.
j) Объём морских торговых перевозок увеличился незначительно. Из-за низкого уровня грузоподъемности флота Африки большая часть морских торговых перевозок осуществляется иностранными судами. Всё это неблагоприятно сказывается на экономическом развитии Африки.
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Ex. 3. The extracts below describe the early stage of the development of transport. Read them and make a comparison with the development of transport in Africa.
A revolutionary improvement in the efficiency of transport was an essential element in the achievement of great productive expansion. Such improvement was brought about mainly by applying mechanical power to the movement of men and goods. In some of the wealthier countries many non-mechanical improvements in transport were introduced in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. New roads with better surfaces, more smoothly running carts and carriages to use them, river-improvement schemes and the cutting of artificial inland waterways, larger and faster sailing ships were among the contributions of economic improvement. They facilitated and cheapened the movement of both passengers and freight, particularly over fairly short distances, though better sailing-ships improved communication across the Atlantic, and the European roads could carry a bigger volume of traffic than before.
Ex. 4. Basing your answer on the text speak on the history of motor cars.
When Karl Benz traveled those few hesitant yards in the world’s first petrol-driven car in October 1885, who could have foreseen the tremendous impact this strange machine was to make on the 20th century way of life? Yet within thirty years there were four million motor cars in existence: the prototype horseless carriage had been transformed into a practical, essential means of transport.
The First World War saw the motor car in an entirely new role. Thousands of people came in contact with motor vehicles in the war effort, and peace brought with it an unprecedented demand for cars. The Twenties witnessed the car at a peak in individual character, with a quality of workmanship unequalled in later years when mass production dominated. The variety in design was astonishing, ranging from the utilitarian Austin Seven to the magnificent super-luxe models such as Rolls-Royce, Cadillac and others.
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Ex. 5. Read the following texts and discuss the situation in the car markets of Europe and Asia. Use current press material.
When Mercedes announced that it would build a cheaper car, the company’s chief executive pointed to a changed world in which pollution and traffic congestion make small cars beautiful. Even so, hours of choking in traffic jams have not persuaded Thai drivers of small cars’ virtues. And they are not alone. Throughout South-East Asia, where demand is growing at rates Europeans and Americans have long forgotten, old-fashioned luxury is still very much in fashion.
Although modest Japanese cars still dominate Thailand, large and luxurious European marques are increasing their sales faster than any others. Compared with an expansion of overall car sales of 82% in Thailand last year, BMW’s sales double. Sales of Mercedes increased by 135%, reaching 5,649 – worth well over $500m. In Thailand’s poverty-stricken neighbours, Vietnam and Cambodia, the prospect of satisfying even a fraction of such demand leaves aspiring dealers salivating. In Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, the bicycle-taxi remains the most common form of transport. But a BMW showroom has joined Mercedes’ franchise on the town’s main street.
The surge in foreign-car sales in Thailand is explained partly by a general reduction in the country’s tariffs and taxes. But only partly: an import tax of more than 200% remains, leaving a Mercedes in Thailand breathtakingly expensive by European standards. A Mercedes 280E, not even top of the range, sells there three times its price in Germany. The full explanation lies in South-East Asians’ belief that you are what you drive. Up-and-coming businessmen think that a flashy car is essential to their commercial standing. But not only the rich aspire to luxury; so does a “high-taste, but low-income” class, willing to borrow heavily in order to drive in style.
Consumer preferences like this might persuade Mercedes to reconsider its new, faintly puritanical line. The emerging economies of Asia still represent small markets for the world’s car makers, but their populations are growing at a remarkable rate. Over the past decade the number of people per car has remained steady in Europe and America, but it has double in Asia. Mitsubishi Research, a consulting firm, thinks that the car market in South-East Asia will double over the coming decade. With many of the region’s cities already clogged with traffic, the stage is set for luxurious gridlock.
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