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Readings – Level 3

Driving along a Highway

Readings


 
Many Americans are proud of their roads and highway systems. Roads and highways in America are among the best in the world. Even country roads that are much narrower than highways are generally in as good condition as the highways that crisscross the American territory. They are well kept and maintained, so one can feel secure and drive with pleasure.

One of the most famous and early American highways was Route 66. It was a two-lane road, which eventually had been taken over by a modern highway. It is famous because it was the first road that connected the East Coast with the West Coast, which made it easy to drive across the country from Chicago to Los Angeles. Nowadays, modern highways or superhighways have four or five lanes on each side of the road, which allows for the circulation of a great deal of cars and trucks. When driving along a highway you must be aware of regulation signs like speed limits or exits because if you drive above or below the speed limit you become a hazard for the other drivers that are behind you.

Rest and service areas are located strategically along highways so that you can take either a rest, use the restrooms, get something to eat, or just refuel your car. Signs are well located and painted in different colors to make it easy to spot them. Examples of signs include yield, regulation, warning, work area, and destination signs, as well as signs for service areas like gas stations and rest stops. Some highways have tolls with exclusive lanes for E-Z Pass holders that help prevent drivers from getting stuck in traffic to pay for tolls. The E-Z Pass is an electronic device that the user places on their car windshield so that an infrared light can read it when the driver slows down at the toll both allowing the car to pass through right away.

Vocabulary and Expressions

To be proud of = feeling impressed by.
Maintained = well kept.
Pleasure = enjoyable.
Fare =the price for a service.
Famous = well known.
Route 66 = the first coast-to-coast road in the USA.
Easily = adverb of manner; it comes from easy + ly.
A great deal of = a lot of.
Aware of = to know what is going on; to have an update of any situation.
Regulation signs = traffic signs that let you know about intersections, stops areas, speed limit, etc.
Hazard = a danger.
Strategically = adverb of manner, comes from strategic.
Yield signs = traffic signs that ask you to allow others to pass you.
Regulation = what is under the law; rules.
Warning signs = signs or words that let you know about danger, hazards or something troubling.
Work area = area where people are at work or working.
Destination = the place where you are going.
E-Z Pass = a pass which can be used instead of money and used by some tolls and charged to your credit card.
Infrared light = infrared light that reads a electronic device that is placed inside the E- Z Pass.
Crisscross = to cross something in both directions.

Conversation Activities

1. Describe the highway system in your country.
2. Are there many high-speed highways in your country?
3. What is the speed limit of the highways in your country?
4. Do you know of any country in the world where there is no speed limit?
5. Are there any tolls on the highways in your country?
6. How are the highways maintained in your country?
7. Is there a highway that crosses your country from north to south or from east to west?