Cars of the Future
If Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, came back for a visit today, he would be amazed to see how cars have changed. When Ford manufactured cars in the early 1900s, the car had one purpose: to transport people from one place to another more quickly than in a horse and carriage. But in today’s fast-paced world, a car must do much more than simply transport people. People want a car to provide comfort, efficiency, information, and connection to the world. Today, people of all ages spend many hours every day in the car. Many people have to commute to work or school. They want to be able to do other things while they drive. Drivers want to be able to talk on the phone, or get directions if they are lost. Passengers want to be able to watch videos or go on line. Technology has already made these things possible. What about cars of the future? The most exciting changes will be thanks to the Internet. For example, some cars already have a Global Position System, or GPS. A GPS is a computerized system that gives directions to any place you want to go. The directions are displayed on a small screen or can be “read” to you by the computer. But in the future, the GPS will be able to give you much more information. It can show you a map, with different colors for different traffic conditions. Areas in red would mean traffic jams, purple would mean road construction, and blue would mean clear traveling. In addition, if you want to stop for a quick cup of coffee and a donut, you could ask your in-car computer. It would tell you what restaurants are on your way, which ones have drive-through service, and which ones have the shortest lines. In the future, car computers will be able to understand what you say, using voice-recognition software. You can say, “Call Frank Smith,” and your computer will dial his number and connect you. You can say, “Read my e-mail,” and it will read your messages to you. And you will be able to dictate your replies and send them, while driving and watching the road. You can ask for directions, ask to change radio stations, or ask to change the temperature in the car. One of the most exciting systems being tested today is the “smartway.” A smartway is a special lane of a highway for commuters. All cars in the smartway lane are controlled by a federal traffic computer. Cars are connected via the Internet. Cars are very close together, but are all traveling at the same speed. On the smartway, cars can go up to 100 miles per hour. Drivers will not have to steer or control their speed on the smartway. Their car will be on “autopilot,” so drivers can sit back and relax. It is hard to imagine some of these changes in the future, but they are already being tested and developed. Someday your commute to work may be a pleasure! Answer a few questions about what you read. Henry Ford manufactured cars in the early 1900s. True True True True In the future, you can get information about restaurants from your car computer. True True True Anger Anger is a natural emotion that everyone experiences in life. Some researchers believe the first sound a baby makes when born could be a sign of anger. Anger may be the original or first emotion we feel and respond to. Imagine, before hunger, thirst, love, desire or any other describable feeling, we may experience anger. Not only is anger a natural emotion, it is in many cases a perfectly healthy emotion. Anger can motivate people to make very positive changes in their lives. Anger can motivate individuals to do positive and memorable acts. Sometimes we have to be angry at injustice, at evil, or even at nature, before we can do what needs to be done to correct wrongs or make things better. But of course, that is not how we usually think of anger. Most people think of anger as an emotion we must keep under control. Children are sometimes sent to their rooms or punished for expressing anger in an excessive way. Parents tell a child to "get control" of himself when the child shows anger. We may be angry with friends or at work, but we know it is usually inappropriate to show it. We have to control the anger or suffer what may be the negative consequences. Very early in life, we learn that anger is something that must be controlled. We learn this for a good reason. We know that uncontrolled anger can lead to fights, car accidents, bad relationships with others, unacceptable social behavior, and many other problems. Many experts say that if one holds his anger in, it can even lead to severe mental and physical health problems. So what can we do to understand and calm this natural emotion that we call anger? Experts offer many solutions to excessive and harmful anger. Some of these solutions include verbalizing and talking about what triggers the anger with someone you trust and is a good friend, leaving a situation that causes anger, beating on a pillow, exercising more in one's daily life, therapy, medication, and many other methods. Whatever solution one chooses, it is good to know that by trying to find the solution to the problem of anger, the first step in the right direction to solving the anger problem has been taken.
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