Transportation Technology Trends in Europe

KEY TERMS High-speed trains Automatic systems Network backbone Magnetic field Friction Magnetic suspension TEXT SUMMARY

Industrial countries are going through significant changes which provide new opportunities for economic growth. Not long ago, the railway seemed to be losing against airline and private car competition until the amazing success of the TGV (high speed train). The evolution of the transport system is determined by high-speed trains, high service frequencies, hub-and-spoke system, highway safety improvement, and automated urban transport systems. High-speed trains are more acceptable than air and road travel in terms of economy, safety, service quality and environmental protection. In the 1970s the Paris-Lyon line of the French railways needed to be quadrupled due to great demand. The costs of expanding seemed high enough to justify the construction of a new high-speed railway, while the existing lines could be preserved for freight traffic, local and night passenger traffic. The recognized success of the South-East TGV was the basis for construction of more high-speed infrastructures. German and Japanese engineers demonstrated that it was technically possible to construct systems running at high speeds, guided and driven by magnetic fields thereby realizing every engineer’s dream of eliminating friction between moving parts.

TEXT EXERCISES 1) Choose the correct answer

a) Economic growth of the industrial countries is enabled by a the expansion of the existing transportation infractructure b new advancements in transportation technology c government subsidies for the transportation sector

b) Before the amazing success of the TGV, the railway seemed to be losing the battle against a maritime and air transport b maritime and road transport c road and air transport

c) Transportation system is evolving towards higher speeds, higher service frequency and higher safety.

a True b False

d) The construction of the TGV was induced by a the obsolete infrastructure b the great demand and the cost of expansion c the stricter environmental protection laws

e) After the construction of the TGV, the existing lines a were removed due to envirnomental reasons b were abandoned dues to high costs c were preserved for freight traffic and local and night passanger traffic

2) Find and correct the mistakes in the text

Developing countries are going through minor changes which provide new opportunities for economic growth. Not long ago, the railway seemed to have an advantage over airline and private car competition until the failure of the TGV (high speed train). The revolution of the transport system is determined by high-speed trains, high service frequencies, hub-and-spoke system, highway safety improvement, and automated urban transport systems. High-speed trains are more acceptable than air and road travel in terms of service quality and environmental protection, but fail horribly in terms of economy and safety. In the 1990s the Rome-Venice line of the Italian railways needed to be tripled due to great demand. The costs of expanding did not seem high enough to justify the construction of a new high-speed railway, but the existing lines could not be preserved. The failure of the South-East TGV was the reason for the postponement of building more high-speed infrastructures. Russian and American engineers demonstrated that it was technically possible to construct systems running at high speeds, guided and driven by magnetic fields thereby realizing every driver’s dream of eliminating friction between moving parts.

VOCABULARY EXERCISES

1) Do the crossword

ACROSS 4 The state of being available for use 6 To make something available 8 To have something bad or unpleasant as a problem or possibility: to be confronted by something 9 A type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks 10 To indicate that something is needed or should be done 11 The levitation of a vehicle above or below a suitable guide rail by means of magnetic repulsion or attraction, often with the vehicle being propelled by a linear induction motor: maglev

12 The way you think and feel about someone or something DOWN 1 A form of electric motor in which the stator and the rotor are linear and parallel. It can be used to drive a train, one part of the motor being in the locomotive, the other in the track 2 The correct or desired result of an attempt 3 To be the cause of or reason for something 5 A developed country or "more developed country" MDC, a state that has a highly developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less developed nations 7 Good enough for a particular purpose: acceptable

2) Unjumble the expressions from the text, first and last letter of each word are correct a) sngiifianct

b) ipcamt

c) oourtnitppy

d) eouoltivn

e) fqrcenuey

f) irveopenmmt

g) ctoipmoiten

h) eavnnetroinml

i) irunturctfrase

j) cortiotsuncn

k) isenevntmt

l) aetvrinltae

GRAMMAR – COMPOUND NOUNS A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words. A compound noun is usually [noun

+ noun] or [adjective + noun], but there are other combinations (see below). It is important to understand and recognize compound nouns. Each compound noun acts as a single unit and can be modified by adjectives and other nouns.

There are three forms for compound nouns: open or spaced - space between words (tennis shoe) hyphenated - hyphen between words (six-pack) closed or solid - no space or hyphen between words (bedroom)

Here are some examples of compound nouns: noun + noun bus stop Is this the bus stop for the number 12 bus?

fire-fly In the tropics you can see fire-flies at night.

football Shall we play football today?

adjective + noun full moon I always feel crazy at full moon.

blackboard Clean the blackboard please.

software I can't install this software on my PC.

verb(-ing) + noun breakfast We always eat breakfast at 8am.

washing machine Put the clothes in the red washing machine.

swimming pool What a beautiful swimming pool!

noun + verb(-ing) sunrise I like to get up at sunrise.

haircut You need a haircut.

train-spotting His hobby is train-spotting.

verb + preposition check-out Please remember that check-out is at 12 noon.

noun + prepositional phrase mother-in-law My mother-in-law lives with us.

preposition + noun underworld Do you think the police accept money from the underworld?

noun + adjective truckful We need 10 truckfuls of bricks.

Pronunciation Compound nouns tend to have more stress on the first word. In the phrase "pink ball", both words are

equally stressed (as you know, adjectives and nouns are always stressed). In the compound noun "golf ball", the first word is stressed more (even though both words are nouns, and nouns are always stressed). Since "golf ball" is a compound noun we consider it as a single noun and so it has a single main stress - on the first word. Stress is important in compound nouns. For example, it helps us know if somebody said "a GREEN HOUSE" (a house which is painted green) or "a GREENhouse" (a building made of glass for growing plants inside).

British/American differences Different varieties of English, and even different writers, may use the open, hyphenated or closed form

for the same compound noun. It is partly a matter of style. There are no definite rules. If you are not sure which form to use, please check in a good dictionary.

For example we can find: container ship / container-ship / containership Plural forms of compound nouns In general we make the plural of a compound noun by adding -s to the "base word" (the most

"significant" word). Look at these examples: singular plural

a tennis shoe three tennis shoes

one assistant headmaster five assistant headmasters

the sergeant major some sergeants major

a mother-in-law two mothers-in-law

an assistant secretary of state three assistant secretaries of state

my toothbrush our toothbrushes

a woman-doctor four women-doctors

a doctor of philosophy two doctors of philosophy

a passerby, a passer-by two passersby, two passers-by

Note that there is some variation with words like spoonful or truckful. The old style was to say

spoonsful or trucksful for the plural. Today it is more usual to say spoonfuls or truckfuls. Here are some examples:

old style plural (very formal) new style plural

teaspoonful 3 teaspoonsful of sugar 3 teaspoonfuls of sugar

truckful 5 trucksful of sand 5 truckfuls of sand

bucketful 2 bucketsful of water 2 bucketfuls of water

cupful 4 cupsful of rice 4 cupfuls of rice

Some compound nouns have no obvious base word and you may need to consult a dictionary to find

the plural: higher-ups, also-rans, go-betweens, has-beens, good-for-nothings, grown-ups

Note that with compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the first noun is like an adjective and therefore does not usually take an -s. A tree that has apples has many apples, but we say an apple tree, not apples tree; matchbox not matchesbox; toothbrush not teethbrush.

With compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the second noun takes an -s for plural. The first noun acts like an adjective and as you know, adjectives in English are invariable. Look at these examples:

long plural form becomes › plural compound noun [noun + noun]

100 trees with apples 100 apple trees

1,000 cables for telephones 1,000 telephone cables

20 boxes for tools 20 tool boxes

10 stops for buses 10 bus stops

4,000 wheels for cars 4,000 car wheels

GRAMMAR NOTES

GRAMMAR EXERCISES

1) Match the following words to make compound nouns, then translate them into Croatian

1 subway a stand

2 police b station

3 bike c stop

4 traffic d line

5 parking e space

6 bus f stand

7 taxi g lane

8 news h jam

2) Using compound nouns, can you shorten the following phrases?

a room for stores a storeroom

a tape for measuring up to 300 cm

the assistant manager of the restaurant

a station for express trains

size of cables

reduction in cost

two periods of three months

plugs with 3 pins

two steel boxes for the tools

the husband of my daughter

3) What is the meaning of these compound nouns and what are they made of?

Word Parts Meaning

aircraft air (noun) + craft (noun) a craft that travels by air

airfield

airmail

crossroad

door-to-door

e-mail

freeway

high-tech

highway

horsepower

lighthouse

long-distance

network

overseas

passport

pickup

ro-ro ship

runway

sidewalk

skyscraper

tugboat

U-boat

U-turn

voice mail

semi-finished product

VOCABULARY advantage something such as a good position or condition that helps to make someone or

something better or more likely to succeed than others prednost

alternative something that can be chosen instead of something else: a choice or option alternativa

amazing causing great surprise or wonder nevjerojatan

ambition a particular goal or aim: something that a person hopes to do or achieve težnja

associated happening together or related or connected in some way vezani

attitude the way you think and feel about someone or something stav

basis something such as an idea or set of ideas from which another thing develops or can develop, a reason for doing something

temelj

competition a person or group that you are trying to succeed against: a person or group that you are competing with

konkurencija

concern a feeling of worry usually shared by many people briga

considerable large in size, amount, or quantity značajan

construction the act or process of building something such as a house or road izgradnja

demonstrate to prove something by showing examples of it, to show evidence of something dokazati

determine to be the cause of or reason for something odrediti

dispel to make something, such as a belief, feeling, or idea go away or end odagnati

eliminate to remove something that is not wanted or needed: to get rid of something ukloniti

environmental relating to or being concerned with the ecological impact of altering the environment

ekološki

evolution a process of slow change and development razvoj

faced with to have something bad or unpleasant as a problem or possibility: to be confronted by something

suočen

frequency the number of times that something happens during a particular period učestalost

friction the force that causes a moving object to slow down when touching another object trenje

growth the process of growing: such as an increase in the number, amount, or size of something, the process of forming or developing something

rast

high-speed rail a type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks

brza željeznica

hub-and-spoke system

a system of air transportation in which local airports offer air transportation to a central airport where long-distance flights are available

?

impact a powerful or major influence or effect utjecaj

improvement the act or process of making something better; an addition or change that makes something better or more valuable

poboljšanje, napredak

in the midst of the period of time when something is happening or being done usred

increase to become or to make something become larger or greater in size, amount, number, etc.

povećanje

industrial country

a developed country or "more developed country" mdc, a state that has a highly developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less developed nations

razvijene zemlje

infrastructure the basic equipment and structures such as roads and bridges that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly

infrastruktura

investment an amount of money that is invested in something ulaganje

justify to provide or be a good reason for something: to prove or show something to be just, right, or reasonable

opravdati

linear drive a form of electric motor in which the stator and the rotor are linear and parallel. it can be used to drive a train, one part of the motor being in the locomotive, the other in the track

linearni pogon

magnetic suspension

the levitation of a vehicle above or below a suitable guide rail by means of magnetic repulsion or attraction, often with the vehicle being propelled by a linear induction motor: maglev

magnetska levitacija

numerous existing in large numbers brojan

onslaught a violent attack napad

opportunity an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done: chance prilika

possible able to be done moguć

preserve to keep something in its original state or in good condition sačuvati

protection something that keeps a person or thing from being harmed, lost, etc. zaštita

provide to make something available pružiti

put into service the state of being available for use stavljen u službu

quadruple to become or to cause something to become four times bigger in value or number učetverostručiti

rapidly in a short amount of time: quickly brzo

realize to achieve something, such as a goal, dream, etc. ostvariti

recognized to publicly be given special attention or notice to someone or something priznat

satisfactory good enough for a particular purpose: acceptable zadovoljavajući

saturation the act or result of supplying so much of something that no more is wanted zasićenje

seem to appear to be something or to do something činiti se

significant large enough to be noticed or have an effect, very important značajan

success the correct or desired result of an attempt uspjeh

to call for to indicate that something is needed or should be done zahtijevati

uncertain likely to change: not constant or dependable nesiguran

welcome giving someone happiness or pleasure dobrodošao