The Motor Car Reading Answers

This The Motor Car Reading Answers is taken from an IELTS Cambridge University Book. IELTS reading section consists of such interesting topics that are commonly faced in an academic environment. This particular The Motor Car Reading Answers talks about how the use of motor cars has increased in human lives with time.

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Solving IELTS reading sample papers will give you confidence and prepare you for the IELTS exam. The Motor Car Reading Answers contains two types of questions:

1. Match the heading, 
2. yes/no/not given.

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Motor Car Reading Answers

Read the given passage carefully and answer the given questions

1995. There are now over 700 million motor vehicles in the world – and the number is rising by more than 40 million each year. The average distance driven by car users is growing too – from 8 km a day per person in Western Europe in 1965 to 25 km a day in 1995. This dependence on motor vehicles has given rise to major problems, including environmental pollution, depletion of oil resources, traffic congestion and safety.
1996. While emissions from new cars are far less harmful than they used to be, city streets and motorways are becoming more crowded than ever, often with older trucks, buses and taxis, which emit excessive levels of smoke and fumes. This concentration of vehicles makes air quality in urban areas unpleasant and sometimes dangerous to breathe. Even Moscow has joined the list of capitals afflicted by congestion and traffic fumes. In Mexico City, vehicle pollution is a major health hazard.
1997. Until a hundred years ago, most journeys were in the 20 km range, the distance conveniently accessible by horse. Heavy freight could only be carried by water or rail. The invention of the motor vehicle brought personal mobility to the masses and made rapid freight delivery possible over a much wider area. Today about 90 percent of inland freight in the United Kingdom is carried by road. Clearly, the world cannot revert to the horse-drawn wagon. Can it avoid being locked into congested and polluting ways of transporting people and goods?
1998. In Europe, most cities are still designed for the old modes of transport. Adaptation to the motorcar has involved adding ring roads, one-way systems and parking lots. In the United States, more land is assigned to car use than to housing. Urban sprawl means that life without a car is next to impossible. Mass use of motor vehicles has also killed or injured millions of people. Other social effects have been blamed on the car such as alienation and aggressive human behavior.
1999. A 1993 study by the European Federation for Transport and Environment found that car transport is seven times as costly as rail travel in terms of the external social costs it entails such as congestion, accidents, pollution, loss of cropland and natural habitats, depletion of oil resources, and so on. Yet cars easily surpass trains or buses as a flexible and convenient mode of personal transport. It is unrealistic to expect people to give up private cars in favour of mass transit.
2000. Technical solutions can reduce the pollution problem and increase the fuel efficiency of engines. But fuel consumption and exhaust emissions depend on which cars are preferred by customers and how they are driven. Many people buy larger cars than they need for daily purposes or waste fuel by driving aggressively. Besides, global car use is increasing at a faster rate than the improvement in emissions and fuel efficiency which technology is now making possible.
2001. One solution that has been put forward is the long-term solution of designing cities and neighborhoods so that car journeys are not necessary – all essential services being located within walking distance or easily accessible by public transport. Not only would this save energy and cut carbon dioxide emissions, it would also enhance the quality of community life, putting the emphasis on people instead of cars. Good local government is already bringing this about in some places. But few democratic communities are blessed with the vision – and the capital – to make such profound changes in modern lifestyles.
2002. A more likely scenario seems to be a combination of mass transit systems for travel into and around cities, with small ‘low emission’ cars for urban use and larger hybrid or lean burn cars for use elsewhere. Electronically tolled highways might be used to ensure that drivers pay charges geared to actual road use. Better integration of transport systems is also highly desirable – and made more feasible by modern computers. But these are solutions for countries, which can afford them. In most developing countries, old cars and old technologies continue to predominate.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-6

Above Reading Passage has eight paragraphs (A-H). Which paragraphs concentrate on the following information? NB: You need only write ONE letter for each answer.

1- a comparison of past and present transportation methods
2- how driving habits contribute to road problems
3- the relative merits of cars and public transport
4- the writer’s own prediction of future solutions
5- the increasing use of motor vehicles
6- the impact of the car on city development

(Guide: In IELTS reading match the headings questions you need to perceive which heading is suitable for the given paragraphs in the passage. For this, you need to understand the purpose of the paragraph, and the difference between the main idea and supporting ideas.

Tip: Read the headings beforehand. The number of headings is usually more than needed, so analyze the paragraphs carefully and match them with the answers. Be careful when matching the answer and question numbers. )

Answer 1 : C

Explanation: This paragraph clearly differentiates today’s transport system with that of 100 years before and differentiates and how the goods are transported from one place to another now and then.

Keyword Location: Para F

Keywords: habits, contribute, problem

Answer 2 : F

Explanation: This paragraph clearly differentiates today’s transport system with that of 100 years before and differentiates and how the goods are transported from one place to another now and then.

Keyword Location: Para E

Keywords: merits, cars

Answer 3 : E

Explanation: The passage highlights the merits of public transport over private transports such as motor cars as public transport indirectly promotes less traffic congestion, accidents, pollution loss of cropland, and natural habitat.

Keyword Location: Para H

Keywords: future solutions

Answer 4 : H

Explanation: The writer tries to divide private cars into two types- for use inside the city and one for use elsewhere for the benefit of the future.

Keyword Location: Para A

Keywords: motor vehicles

Answer 5 : A

Explanation: The exponential growth of motor vehicles over the year and their continuous increase in number to the present day are being highlighted in this paragraph.

Keyword Location: Para D

Keywords: impact, car, city

Answer 6 : D

Explanation: This paragraph outlines the landscape of some European cities as they are designed according to the old modes of transport.

Questions 7-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet write

YES if the statement agrees with the information
NO if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage

7- Vehicle pollution is worse in European cities than anywhere else.
8- Transport by horse would be a useful alternative to motor vehicles.
9- Nowadays freight is not carried by water in the United Kingdom.
10- Most European cities were not designed for motor vehicles.
11- Technology alone cannot solve the problem of vehicle pollution.
12- People’s choice of car and attitude to driving is a factor in the pollution problem.
13- Redesigning cities would be a short-term solution.

(Guide: To answer the IELTS reading true false question you need to scan and understand the information in the passage very well. Focus on understanding the opinion of the author and identify specific information needed for your answer.

Tip: Paraphrasing is of great help in relating the question to the given information. YES means the Keyword Location is found in the passage, NO means the opposing sentence is found in the passage, NOT GIVEN indicates there is no information on the topic in the passage.)

Answer 7 : NOT GIVEN

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Answer 8 : NO

Explanation: The writer is simply comparing the past and present system of transport as at that time, the distance between two places was small and horse transport would easily cover it but it is not the case in today’s scenario.

Answer 9 : NOT GIVEN

Answer 10 : YES

Keyword Location: Para G

Keywords: technology, solve, pollution

Explanation: Some European countries are still designed so which are more suitable for the older means of transport but to accommodate the newer means they have added ring roads, one-way roads and parking lots to their layout.

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Answer 11 : YES

Keyword Location: Para F

Keywords: car, attitude, driving

Explanation: The writer in the passage is trying to say that if the citizens also think about the harm that is being done to the environment and if the cities are designed such that a person shall not need a vehicle to avail essential services or can easily use public transport for doing so then it will not only save energy but will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions

Answer 12 : YES

Keyword Location: Para G

Keywords: redesigning cities

Explanation: This is because larger cars emit a larger amount of exhaust emissions and it also tends to waste fuel unnecessarily when the car is driven aggressively.

Answer 13 : NO

Explanation: On the contrary, the writer insists that if the cities a designed in such a way that a person will not need to use his vehicle for availing essential services or if he can use public transport for doing so, then the harmful emissions can be reduced.