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Collins Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language

Student Book

Chapter 9

9.1

Maria: Hi Luca, I’m writing an article about transport for the school magazine. Can I ask
you some questions?

Luca: Hi Maria! Yes, of course. What do you want to know?

Maria: Ok, well – what do you think about the bus service to school?

Luca: Well … in my opinion, it isn’t very good. It used to be quite quick, but now it’s really
slow. Yesterday, for example, it took an hour to get here. The journey usually takes
twenty minutes, so I was very late for my lesson.

Maria: Why did it take so long?

Luca: The main road into town is being made bigger and wider. There are road works, so
at the moment it takes a really long time to get through.

Maria: Okay – but I suppose you would have had the same problem if you’d come by car,
wouldn’t you?

Luca: Yes, I would. I think that generally the roads are just too busy. I mean, they’re
making the road bigger because there are more cars and other vehicles using it
than there used to be. Although it might make a difference now, I don’t think it will
help in the future. In my opinion, people should try different ways of getting into
town, that don’t cause so much congestion and pollution.

Maria: So, what would you do?

Luca: Me? I’d prefer it if everyone cycled to school! It’s cheap, it’s fun, and it’s good
exercise! I usually cycle everywhere.
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9.2

Hello, and welcome to the show. Today we are talking about green transport. I believe that
everyone should be interested in new forms of transport, as we have to find solutions to the
problems of too much traffic and pollution on our roads today.

You might be able to cycle to work instead of using a car, but for long distance travel there's
no way to reduce your carbon footprint. Until now. The Hyperloop is a project straight out
of science fiction. It's a pod, or a ‘train’ of pods that are propelled at high speeds through a
vacuum tube. Elon Musk, its inventor, is planning a route between San Francisco and Los
Angeles that would take just 35 minutes with the pods travelling at 760 miles per hour. As
the Hyperloop will be powered by electricity, in theory, that could be generated by solar
panels on the top of the tubes, which would mean almost zero emissions. While travelling
long distances in a short time has an obvious appeal, would you mind not being able to walk
around or go to the toilet? And until it's tested on humans, who knows how our bodies will
react to flying through a tube at 760 miles per hour!

The next design is quite unusual – have you ever flown in a helicopter? This machine is a bit
like being outside a helicopter! The Volocopter is designed for a single user making short
journeys, but you don’t have to go by road. It was developed by a team of German engineers
and paragliding enthusiasts and it took its first manned flight in March 2016. It only flew for
three minutes, a few metres off the ground, but the makers plan for it to fly up to 30 metres.
It can be flown easily using a joystick and at the moment, it can stay in the air for up to 30
minutes – this time will increase as the design develops. It also uses electric power, so it
doesn’t produce pollution.

The final design I want to look at takes a different approach to travelling altogether. Passing
Cloud is an idea developed by the slow transport movement. It offers an alternative method
of transport for people who may not have a fixed destination or timetable, but who simply
want to experience the joy of moving through the clouds. The design consists of a group of
nylon-covered balloons, made into the shape of a cloud by a steel frame that supports the
structure. It has been developed in the USA, and the suggestion is that people could get on
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and off as they choose by using extending ladders. It moves along as the wind takes it, so
passengers can experience the sensation of floating.

9.3

Welcome to online Inventors Today – my chance to tell you about the latest inventions
designed to help our planet. This time, we’re going to see three new forms of transport. Do
you think they’ll ever catch on?

First, we have the Bamboo Ajiro Bicycle. This was designed by an Australian student called
Alexander Vittouris. The reason he made it from bamboo is that it’s a sustainable material.
Other advantages of using bamboo are that it is strong and light and grows quickly. This
amazing new design of bicycle is powered by human energy, so it has zero emissions and
doesn’t cause any pollution.

The next invention we are going to look at is called the Adhoc Canoe. This has been
developed by Israeli designer Ori Levin. The advantages of this canoe are that it is very light
and can be carried in a backpack. How can that be? Well, it’s made from a special material –
a waterproof synthetic fabric called ‘aramid’, which is also heat resistant and can be folded
up. The canoe is powered by human energy, so again it has zero emissions. No petrol or
diesel for travelling up the river here.

And finally, we come to the City Aquatic Transport (CAT) water taxi. This is the invention of
an Irish designer called Cal Craven. Cal has made his vehicle from lightweight metal. As well
as being lightweight, other advantages are that the taxi is very comfortable to travel in, with
internet connection, power sockets, seats and tables. It uses the waterways which run
through large cities as existing routes, so there’s no need to build new infrastructure. Unlike
our other inventions, this one uses electrical energy, with the option to drive yourself or set
to automatic mode. So perhaps not quite as environmentally friendly in terms of power
source, but think of the savings – no new roads needed and less congestion on existing
roads.
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9.4

For many years, human beings have looked up into space and dreamed of travelling up to
the stars. This has now become a reality, because of the development of vehicles that can
make this journey.

These days, we can send spacecraft into outer space, either with or without humans on
board. Human spaceflight has been carried out by the Russian Soyuz program, the US space
shuttle program, the Chinese space program, including Project 921, and the International
Space Station. There are also many craft in outer space that are unmanned, such as
communication satellites.

There are many reasons for space flight – the main one is the desire for exploration, but
there are also commercial reasons such as space tourism, which is becoming a popular idea
for the future, and satellite telecommunications, which many of us take for granted in the
mobile devices we use every day.

Space travel requires a lot of special equipment. A rocket is needed to propel the spacecraft
up into space and away from the force of gravity, which would pull it back down to Earth.
The rocket may be carrying satellites or tools and supplies for the space station, so it will
need a great deal of thrust and power. This is done from a special launch pad, which has a
large tower, a hole to catch the flames from the igniting engine, and many other features.

By exploring outer space, scientists’ main hope is to find out more about other planets and
perhaps other life forms in our universe. They are also hoping that in the future they might
be able to discover planets where we can find precious minerals or metals to help us on
Earth as we use up the world’s resources. They also think they may be able to develop space
tourism so we can all have the opportunity to visit outer space ourselves.

© HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017