HSC English First Paper | Unit: 2, Lesson: 1 | Traffic Education | How Your Brain Negotiates Traffic

1. Warm up activity:

Discuss in a small group the following questions.

□ What do you mean by traffic?

□ Who controls die traffic?

□ What are die challenges of traffic control?

2. Do you ride a bicycle? If yes, how do you negotiate the traffic? Speak in a group. If you don't know how to ride a bicycle, ask a friend who does.

3. Read the passage below and complete the activities mentioned at the end of the passage.

When you are in the driving seat of a car, you have the steering and the horn in your hands, the brake and accelerator under your feet, eyes open looking ahead, left and right. The same can be said about a motorcycle rider, with some modifications. These are all very visible. But, behind all, there is something that keeps working unseen. And that is the Central Processing Unit (CPU), your brain. CPUs are artificially intelligent machines that are programmed to do specific jobs under fixed conditions and judgements. But the human brain is intelligent by nature. It is the most sophisticated machine that is able to operate on 15 

ever-changing conditions and standards of judgement As conditions in the traffic keep invariably changing, this virtue of sophistication of your brain must be at work when you are driving. The difference between traffic in the roads and highways and racing circuit must not be blurring inside you. Never imagine yourself to be a Michael Schumacher driving an F-l at 300 mph. Leave no room 20

for fantasy. You must always be ready to encounter unexpected behavior from any vehicle or pedestrian. 'Keep your cool' is easy to advice but difficult to maintain. Still you must always restrain yourself because, at the end of the day, you don't want to be regarded as a killer. Now you see, the last thing that differentiates you from a computer is your conscience. 25

4. Read the following questions. Each question has a word in italics with four alternative meanings. Choose the word which is the closest in meaning:

A. What is a steering used for?

i. speeding

ii. stopping

iii. changing speed

iv. directing

B. What is the function of the accelerator?

i. charging battery

ii. enhancing speed

iii. stopping

iv. controlling

C. Which organ is the word visible associated with?

i. ear

ii. nose

iii. eyes

iv. hands

D. The word sophisticated in line 15 means-

i. complex

ii. primitive

iii. modern

iv. refined

E. Michael Schumacher is a-

i. Hollywood hero.

ii. German racing driver.

iii. English footballer.

iv. Australian cricketer.

5. Answer the following questions:

a. Where do you see the difference between other human organs and the brain?

b. What is the difference between a computer and the human brain?

c. What is a CPU? What are its functions?

d. What are the main challenges facing a driver?

e. What is a racing circuit?

f. How is a racing circuit different from a public road?

6. Do you think the bus and truck drivers of our highways maintain traffic discipline? What are the reasons of road accidents in our country? Write your answer within 500 words.

7. Make sentences with the following words and phrases:

a. sophisticated

b. invariably

c. fantasy

d. pedestrian

e. convince

f. driving seat

g. unseen

8. Do you think our towns and cities are pedestrian friendly? If your answer is "no", how can you make them so?

If you want to read the next lesson of this unit please click the link below:
Lesson 2: Traffic Capital of the World