Future of Cars IELTS Reading General Training

Future of Cars IELTS Reading General Training

Reading Passage – 3

Future of Cars

Although the future is uncertain, predictions and estimations never seem to stop. Especially, when it comes to the automobile industry, the to-be list never ends. Big companies like Mercedes, Chevrolet, Volkswagen, Volvo and others are always seeking to add some brilliant features and mechanisms that ease down hassles of driving. Even tech-lover giants like Google and Apple have stepped in the car world to design really smart cars. Many companies are in talks with Apple to amalgamate Siri in their automobiles.

Driving is not just a need in the current framework of long distances and busy schedules but also a pleasurable feeling to wander freely for many. To make this experience a lasting one, companies are spending huge amounts on research and development. By 2020, fully autonomous cars are likely to be on roads: cars that are smart enough to detect when to speed up or apply the brakes, adjusting to the traffic and letting the drivers take some rest. These cars will even surpass drivers’ instructions when sensing some damage. Autonomous cars will also mean a much safer and efficient transportation as 95 percent of car accidents are accountable to human errors.

An expert has also stated that the Ford Company is looking forward to making sensors that will be inherent in the seat belt or steering wheel. These sensors, when detecting an emergency, can easily pair up with wireless devices and take action to tackle the situation. Furthermore, when you connect these cars to the internet, you may get customised location-based advertisements in the car display, very much similar to the ones that you see now on Facebook, Twitter and Gmail.

Science fiction stories like the Jetsons and Hollywood movies have always shown cars that are enhanced with Augmented Reality (AR) Dashboards. Car companies are putting forth efforts to incorporate this technology into the smart car design. So in future when you move in these cars, you can use AR and identify what objects are ahead and at what distance to avoid a collision. The augmented GPS system will get you through to the lane you should be in and also guide you further to remain on the right track without letting your eyes off the road.

These smart cars will even talk smart. This is exactly what the U.S. government and the car manufacturers are trying to achieve. This technology is called V2V wherein cars will communicate with each other via wireless signals information such as current location and speed, alerting them in advance about accidents or traffic jams, if any. Apart from this, researchers are also working towards V2I communication wherein the cars would be communicating even with road signs and traffic signals to enhance safety measures.

The key in these smart cars will be replaced with some sort of biometric systems. This means not only your smartphones but even your cars will now interpret your fingerprints or even retina. Even the safety device within the car, airbags, currently used as a passive tool to prevent car collision deaths is now being worked upon to turn into active mode. Airbags will be installed beneath the car, sensing chances of an accident in advance and will deploy instantly to prevent the car from crashing.

The power to run these cars will depend on multiple fuel sources. Engines governed by only conventional energies such as petrol and diesel will soon find other complementary products to rely on, such as solar power, water or even electricity. There are some models already manufactured which run on these energies but use on an extensive scale is yet to be witnessed. Apart from the power source, the car itself will turn more powerful with the launch of hybrid versions of the vehicle such as an SUV combined with the power of a truck.

These features are designed, so that road users enjoy driving without the anxiety of being hit by some car. But, as there are no free lunches in this world, these attributes too will come with a high price tag. Indeed, the world is waiting for these new tech-savvy cars at the price they can relish.

Questions 27-31
Choose the correct answer.

27. Car manufacturers intend to incorporate

A. easy mechanisms to manufacture cars.
B. tech-lover giants in cars.
C. easy driving features for the companies.
D. autonomous hi-tech features in similar to smartphones .

28. The author believes that autonomous cars will

A. follow drivers’ instructions.
B. have a sense of damage created by the driver.
C. help to increase road safety by reducing human error.
D. lead to 95% reduction in road accidents.

29. The author mentions science fiction in order to

A. illustrate cars of the future.
B. compare cars of the past and the present.
C. appreciate the smart car design.
D. assert the influence of stories and cinema on technology.

30. Existing safety devices will

A. be replaced completely.
B. be enhanced from active to passive tools.
C. use advanced features to prevent accidents.
D. work within the car.

31. It is possible that in future tech-savvy cars will

A. always remain expensive.
B. avoid road users’ anxiety.
C. become relatively affordable.
D. be waiting for a price.

Questions 32 – 37
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write the correct answer in the gap.

32. Car manufacturers invest in research to provide a _____________ to the user.
33. Smart cars are predicted to be on roads _____________ .
34. Ford Company plans to equip cars with _____________ .
35. Augmented Reality Dashboards can recognize _____________ and their _____________ from moving cars to avoid a collision.
36. The V2V technology uses _____________ .
37. Some _____________ may be incorporated to lock or unlock smart cars. ielts-reading.com

Questions 38 – 40
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading Passage?
Choose

TRUE              if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE             if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN   if there is no information on this

38. he current airbag device is inefficient.
39. ars have not run on alternative energy sources up until now.
40. It is possible to have a small vehicle with more efficiency in future

Future of Cars IELTS Reading Answers

27. D

28. C

29. A

30. C

31. C

32. lasting experience

33. by 2020

34. sensors-inherent sensors

35. objects, distance

36. wireless signals

37. biometric systems

38. NOT GIVEN

39. FALSE

40. TRUE

Also Check: Stepwells IELTS General Reading with Answers