Learning English

UK city holds major driverless car trial

A major trial of driverless cars on the public roads has been held in the UK city of Milton Keynes.

The Fetch car system, backed by the government and Milton Keynes Council, will allow people to order a car through an app.

The car, which is remotely controlled by an operator, will then be delivered to them.

Rob and Neil discuss this news story and teach you some related vocabulary so you can talk about it too.

รับชมวิดีโอพร้อมทำแบบฝีกหัด

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The story 

Preliminary trials of the Fetch driverless cars have been going on for sometime around Milton Keynes stadium. But the company and the local council now feel the time is right to take them out on to public roads.

The vehicles are not completely autonomous. They’re controlled remotely by an operator who has a 360 degree view of the roads from cameras mounted onto the body of the car. And for the next few months, the cars will have a safety driver to intervene, should there be a problem. 

It's the first time that driverless vehicles have been tested in the UK. 

Key words and phrases

kick off
begin; start

• The match kicks off at six o’clock – so don’t be late!
• I’ll kick off the meeting with a look at our sales figures.

large-scale
involving many people or things

• Illegal logging has caused large-scale damage to the rainforests.
• Obesity has become a large-scale problem in the developed world.

hit
make an impact on

• The new computer game has hit the shelves.
• Coronavirus has hit the world economy.

To do

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