Главная страница «Первого сентября»Главная страница журнала «Английский язык»Содержание №19/2008

Is a car a friend or an enemy?

How many of you have heard that cars are infernal machines or something like that?
This conception savours of logic. Thousands of people are killed or horribly mutilated on the road. It’s been said that the car becomes the extension of the driver’s personality. It may bring out a man’s worst qualities, all the hidden frustrations, disappointments and jealousies. Certainly, we can’t ignore a driver’s drunk or drugged condition.
I want you to remember one simple point: the car is nothing more than a tool. It’s doesn’t have its own mind, soul or interests – nothing. It’s a tool that was created by the humanity to perform certain tasks. And depending on these tasks, it may have various characteristics, just being an extension of the driver’s personality.
Cars were created to bring new opportunities and possibilities. Owning a car gives us more convenience when travelling. We can do it without buying a ticket! The car is also a means of transportation and even a sports discipline. Cars can become status symbols, like certain accessories such as watches or earrings.
All these car accidents and human slaughter are not the cars’ fault. It’s the human factor here. In these cases, the car becomes a weapon in unreliable hands.
Actually, these problems do not depend on a car. They are human problems arising out of, the problem of the driver’s condition. The driver is responsible for the car accident. He was driving too fast, not the car was being driven too fast!
You could say: “And what about air and noise pollution that affects our health?” Well, let’s just feel optimistic about it: in some years, the engines will become electric and won’t require fuel to work. Hopefully these will be noiseless, as well.
The lifeless machines aren’t friends, as well as they aren’t enemies. They are just tools useful for our tasks. Only when we learn to create clear and appropriates tasks, then, and only then, we will stop the suffering stemming from accidents. Eventually, the car will look like the man wanted it to look like. It is a very complicated and serious achievement that should be in the right hands.

By Kirill Karpov