The United States has one of the best highway systems in the world. Interstate highways connect just about every large and mid-sized city in the country. Did you ever wonder why such a complete system of excellent roads exists? For an answer, you would have to go back to the early 1920s. In those years just after World War I, the military wanted to build an American highway system for national defense. Such a system could if necessary move troops quickly from one area to another. It could also get people out of cities in danger of being bombed, so-called roads of national importance were designated, but they were mostly small country roads. In 1944 Congress passed a bill to upgrade the system but did not fund the plan right away. In the 1950s, the plan began to become a reality. Over 25 billion dollars was appropriated by Congress and construction began on about 40,000 miles of new roads. The idea was to connect the new system to existing expressways and freeways. And though the system was built mostly to make car travel easier, defense was not forgotten. For instance, highway overpasses had to be high enough to allow trailers carrying military missiles to pass under them. By 1974, this system was mostly completed a few additional roads would come later. Quick and easy travel between all parts of the country was now possible.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
Q19. What does the speaker say about the American highway system?
Q20. What was the original purpose of building a highway system?
Q21. When was the interstate highway system mostly completed?
Passage Three
Texting while driving was listed as a major cause of road deaths among young Americans back in 2013. A recent study said that 40 percent of American teens claimed to have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger. This sounds like a widespread disease but it’s one that technology may now help to cure. T.J. Evert, a 20-year-old inventor, has come up with a novel solution that could easily put texting drivers on notice. It’s called Smart Wheel and it’s designed to fit over the steering wheel of most standard vehicles to track whether or not the driver has two hands on the wheel at all times. Evert’s invention warns the drivers with a light and a sound when they hold the wheel with one hand only. But as soon as they place the other hand back on the wheel the light turns back to green and the sound stops. It also watches for what’s called “close by hands”where both hands are close together near the top of the wheel, so the driver can type with both thumbs and drive at the same time. All the data smart wheel collects is also sent to a connected app, so any parents who install smart wheel can keep track of the teen’s driving habits. If they try to remove or damage the cover, that’s reported as well.
Q22. What is a major cause of road deaths among young Americans?
Q23. What is Smart Wheel?
Q24. What happens if the driver has one hand on the wheel?
Q25. How do parents keep track of their teen’s driving habits?
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