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PRT is a computer-controlled transport system where passengers travel in small, personal vehicles on dedicated guideways. These vehicles operate without traffic lights, pedestrians, or parked cars, allowing for a smooth and uninterrupted journey.
Why has PRT not been widely implemented yet?
The main challenge for PRT is the high cost of building the necessary infrastructure before it can become functional. Additionally, opposition from car manufacturers and oil companies has hindered its adoption.
How does the RUF system differ from PRT?
Unlike PRT, the RUF system allows vehicles to travel both on monorails and regular roads. This dual-mode feature makes it more practical, as users can switch between automated and manual driving modes.
What are the environmental benefits of the RUF system?
The RUF system reduces energy consumption by minimizing air resistance and operates on electricity, making it compatible with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
Going Nowhere Fast Reading Answers
Going Nowhere Fast Reading Answers with sample questions and answers are detailed here to tackle the IELTS Reading “Going Nowhere Fast” passage to enhance your preparation.
Porishmita .19 Feb, 2025
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Going Nowhere Fast Reading Answers: The IELTS Reading passage "Going Nowhere Fast" discusses innovative transport systems like PRT and RUF, highlighting their potential benefits and challenges. The passage includes detailed information about urban transportation, environmental impact, and future mobility solutions.
The "Going Nowhere Fast IELTS Reading Answers" set includes 13 questions divided into two main types: True/False/Not Given and Matching Headings. Practicing these questions can help aspirants improve their reading skills and time management for the IELTS exam. Since urban transportation is a relevant and frequently discussed topic, solving similar passages will enhance overall performance in the IELTS Reading section.
Going Nowhere Fast Reading Answers Passage
Going nowhere fast
New transport mode PRT RUF
A. This is ludicrous! We can talk to people anywhere in the world or fly to meet them in a few hours. We can even send probes to other planets. But when it comes to getting around our cities, we depend on systems that have scarcely changed since the days of Gottlieb Daimler In recent years, the pollution belched out by millions of vehicles has dominated the debate about transport. The problem has even persuaded California, home of car culture, to curb traffic growth. But no matter how green they become, cars are unlikely to get us around crowded cities any faster. And persuading people to use trains and buses will always be an uphill struggle. Cars, after all, are popular for very good reasons, as anyone with small children or heavy shopping knows. B. A professor of mechanical engineering sits typing at a computer keyboard, conjuring up a scene on his monitor that looks something like the classic computer game PacMan.White dots stream in from the right of the screen, switch to red, and merge with green boxes, which swiftly change color to yellow and then red while moving through a bewildering maze. But this is not a video game.J.Edward Anderson of Boston University is testing an urban transit system that he believes could revolutionize public transport worldwide. For the past quarter of a century, Anderson has been promoting his version of personal rapid transit(PRT). Other versions came and went in the 1970s, From Europe, Japan, and elsewhere in the Us, but he was so convinced of the idea’s potential that he stuck with it and, in 1983, founded the Taxi 2000 Corporation to ‘commercialize the initiative. Although the University of Minnesota, Anderson’s employer until 1986, holds the patents to the technology, he is licensed to develop it and to sub-license other developers. So politicians should be trying to lure people out of their cars, not forcing them out. There’s certainly no shortage of alternatives. Perhaps the most attractive is the concept known as personal rapid transit(PRT), independently invented in the US and Europe in the 1950s. C. The idea is to go to one of many stations and hop into a computer-controlled car that can whisk you to your destination along with a network of guideways. You wouldn’t have to share your space with strangers, and with no traffic lights, pedestrians, or parked cars to slow things down, PRT guideways can carry far more traffic, nonstop, than any inner-city road. It’s a wonderful vision, but the odds are stacked against PRT for a number of reasons. The first cars ran on existing roads, and it was only after they became popular-and after governments started earning revenue from them- that a road network designed specifically for motor vehicles was built. With PRT, the fracture would have to come first-and that would cost megabucks. What’s more, any transport system that threatened the car’s dominance would be up against all those with a stake in maintaining the status quo, from private car owners to manufacturers and oil multinationals. Even if PRTs were spectacularly successful in trials, it might not make much difference. Superior technology doesn’t always triumph, as the VHS versus Betamax and windows versus Apple Mac battles showed. D. But “dual-mode” systems might just succeed where PRT seems doomed to fail. The Danish RUF system envisaged by Palle Jensen, for example, resembles PRT but with one key difference: vehicles have wheels as well as a slot allowing them to travel on a monorail, so they can drive off the rail onto a normal road. Once on a road, the occupant would take over from the computer, and the Ruf vehicle-the term comes from a Danish saying meaning to “go fast”-would become an electric car. Build a fast network of guideways in a busy city center and people would have a strong incentive not just to use public Ruf vehicles, but also to buy their own dual-mode vehicle. Commuters could drive onto the guideway, sit back, and read as they are chauffeured into the city. At work they would jump out, leaving their vehicles to park themselves. Unlike PRT, such a system could grow organically, as each network would serve a large area around it and people nearby could buy into it. And a dual-mode system might even win the support of car manufacturers, who could easily switch to producing dual-mode vehicles. E. The RUF system can reduce energy consumption from individual traffic. The main factor is the reduction of air resistance due to the close coupling of vehicles. The energy consumption per Ruf can is reduced to less than 1/3 at 100 km/h. Since RUF is an electric system, renewable sources can be used without problems. A combination of windmills and a RUF rail could be used over water. Solar cells can also be integrated into the system and ensure completely sustainable transportation. Of Course, creating a new transport system will not be cheap or easy. But unlike adding a dedicated bus lane here or extending the underground railway there, an innovative system such as Jensen’s could transform cities. The vehicles in a RUF system rides” very safely on top of a triangular monorail. This means that derailments are impossible and that the users will feel safe because it is easy to understand that when the rail is actually inside the vehicle it is absolutely stable. The special rail brake ensures that braking power is always available even during bad weather. The brake can squeeze as hard against the rail as required in order to bring the vehicle to a safe stop. If a vehicle has to be evacuated, a walkway between the two rails can be used. F. And it’s not just a matter of saving a few minutes a day. According to the Red Cross, more than 30 million people have died in road accidents in the past century-three times the number killed in the First World War-and the annual death toll is rising. and what’s more the Red Cross believes road accidents will become the third biggest cause of death and disability by 2020, ahead of diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis. Surely we can find a better way to get around.
Going Nowhere Fast Reading Answers Sample Questions
Questions 1-8 (True/False/Not Given)
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?
Today's transport systems are vastly different from those in Daimler’s time.
California has introduced measures to limit traffic growth due to pollution concerns.
The PRT system allows passengers to share their rides with strangers.
The main reason PRT is difficult to implement is the high cost of building infrastructure.
The Betamax format was technologically superior to VHS.
RUF vehicles can only travel on monorails.
The RUF system helps in reducing energy consumption by minimizing air resistance.
The Red Cross predicts that road accidents will remain a minor cause of death by 2020.
Questions 9-14 (Matching Headings)
The reading passage has six paragraphs (A–F). Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
List of Headings
I. The impact of road accidents on global health II. PRT: A revolutionary yet impractical solution III. The role of government funding in transportation IV. Dual-mode transport: A more practical alternative V. Historical attempts at improving urban transit VI. The financial challenge of introducing new transport systems VII. The advantages of the RUF system in reducing pollution VIII. Anderson’s efforts in developing PRT IX. The need for safer and more efficient transportation X. The influence of car manufacturers on transport development
9. Paragraph A 10. Paragraph B 11. Paragraph C 12. Paragraph D 13. Paragraph E 14. Paragraph F
Going Nowhere Fast Reading Answers with Explanations
1. The transport systems we use today are vastly different from those in Daimler’s time.
Answer: False
Answer Location: Paragraph A
Explanation: “But when it comes to getting around our cities, we depend on systems that have scarcely changed since the days of Gottlieb Daimler.”
2. California has introduced measures to limit the growth of traffic due to pollution concerns.
Answer: True
Answer Location: Paragraph A
Explanation: “The problem has even persuaded California, home of car culture, to curb traffic growth.”
3. The PRT system allows passengers to share their rides with strangers.
Answer: False
Answer Location: Paragraph C
Explanation: “You wouldn’t have to share your space with strangers...”
4. The main reason PRT is difficult to implement is the high cost of building infrastructure.
Answer: True
Answer Location: Paragraph C
Explanation: “With PRT, the fracture would have to come first-and that would cost megabucks.”
5. The Betamax format was technologically superior to VHS.
Answer: True
Answer Location: Paragraph C
Explanation: “Superior technology doesn’t always triumph, as the VHS versus Betamax... battles showed.”
6. RUF vehicles can only travel on monorails.
Answer: False
Answer Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: “Vehicles have wheels as well as a slot allowing them to travel on a monorail, so they can drive off the rail onto a normal road.”
7. The RUF system helps in reducing energy consumption by minimizing air resistance.
Answer: True
Answer Location: Paragraph E
Explanation: “The main factor is the reduction of air resistance due to the close coupling of vehicles.”
8. The Red Cross predicts that road accidents will remain a minor cause of death by 2020.
Answer: False
Answer Location: Paragraph F
Explanation: “The Red Cross believes road accidents will become the third biggest cause of death and disability by 2020...”
9. Paragraph A - V. Historical attempts at improving urban transit
Explanation: “We can talk to people anywhere in the world or fly... But when it comes to getting around our cities, we depend on systems that have scarcely changed since the days of Gottlieb Daimler.”
10. Paragraph B - VIII. Anderson’s efforts in developing PRT
Explanation: “For the past quarter of a century, Anderson has been promoting his version of personal rapid transit (PRT)...”
11. Paragraph C - II. PRT: A revolutionary yet impractical solution
Explanation: “It’s a wonderful vision, but the odds are stacked against PRT for a number of reasons.”
12. Paragraph D - IV. Dual-mode transport: A more practical alternative
Explanation: “But ‘dual-mode’ systems might just succeed where PRT seems doomed to fail.”
13. Paragraph E - VII. The advantages of the RUF system in reducing pollution
Explanation: “The RUF system can reduce energy consumption... Since RUF is an electric system, renewable sources can be used.”
14. Paragraph F - I. The impact of road accidents on global health
Explanation: “According to the Red Cross, more than 30 million people have died in road accidents in the past century...”
