Listen+Learn: History of the car

Learn how personal vehicles have changed over time.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• automatic: working partly or entirely by itself
• personal: owned and used by one or few people
• predate: to exist before something else
• maintain: to take care of something so it continues to work properly
• mass-produce: to make many copies of one product
• rural areas: farming areas outside of cities

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13 — 1.1MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Early ideas for an automatic personal vehicle can be found in by artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci from 1478. In the late 1800s, many European inventors worked to build and test personal vehicles. Electric cars actually predate gas cars, which weren’t invented until 1886. However, electric cars were to build and maintain. When American business owners Ransom Olds and Henry Ford developed ways to mass-produce gas cars, they became the more choice. Originally, car users were most often people in rural areas who had long distances to . However, over the past century, cars have changed the way that are planned and built.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. Electric cars
   a. are a recent invention
   b. predate gas cars
   c. were designed by Leonardo da Vinci
   
2. Ransom Olds and Henry Ford
   a. invented the first gas car
   b. designed an early personal vehicle in 1478
   c. developed ways to mass-produce cars
   
3. Originally, car users were often
   a. people from rural areas
   b. people from city centres
   c. professional race car drivers

Discussion/essay questions

1. Some places, especially in North America, are now designed for cars. Getting to work or school can be difficult without travelling a long distance, and other types of transportation are less common. Do you own a car? Is it necessary to own a car where you live?
2. Cars are changing now that people are more aware of the environment. Electric cars are becoming popular again. What do you think transportation will look like in the future?

Transcript

Early ideas for an automatic personal vehicle can be found in sketches by artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci from 1478. In the late 1800s, many European inventors worked to build and test personal vehicles. Electric cars actually predate gas cars, which weren’t invented until 1886. However, electric cars were expensive to build and maintain. When American business owners Ransom Olds and Henry Ford developed ways to mass-produce gas cars, they became the more popular choice. Originally, car users were most often people from rural areas who had long distances to travel. However, over the past century, cars have also changed the way that cities are planned and built.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2c 3a