World News for Students of English

08-05-2014 15:00

A new pilot project being launched is set to introduce us to self-driving cars.

Yes, you heard correctly, cars that allow you to sit back as the vehicle takes control.

Volvo’s autonomous driving is said to improve fuel economy, the effects cars have on the environment and road safety.

The car manufacturer’s ambition is to ensure nobody is killed or even seriously injured in its cars, and the plan is to produce cars that can achieve that by 2020. And with its project being able to brag auto braking, a lane keeping aid and adaptive cruise control, it sounds like they could be on their way to achieving this.

And for those that get into a sweat squeezing your car into tricky spaces from time to time, the cars even come with automated parking.

The project has been endorsed by the Swedish Government and will be the first country to use the driving pilot.

Difficult words: pilot project (project that is being tested), launch (start), brag (to talk proudly about something), brake (to make a car go more slowly), cruise control (device which makes a car go at a constant speed), get into a sweat (you get nervous), endorse (support).

Source: www.itn.co.uk

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