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WorksheetsDriverless Cars (Newsela) (Jan. 2022)
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 2hrs 37mins
The following questions are based on the 1090L version of the article about Steve Mahan. It is titled "Google achieves milestone in driverless car technology development." What is important to know about Steve Mahan?
He is deaf.
He is blind.
His hands don't work the way most people's do.
His feet don't work the way most people's do.
Google engineer Nathaniel Fairfield: "We've had almost driverless technology for a decade. It's the hard parts of driving that really take the time and the effort to do right." Which best describes Nathan Fairfield's perspective on driverless cars?
He is enthusiastic about driverless cars.
He dislikes driverless cars.
He is skeptical about driverless cars.
Test rider Steve Mahan: "It is like driving with a very good driver. If you close your eyes when you're riding with somebody you get a sense of whether this is a good driver, or whether they're not. These self-driving cars drive like a very good driver." What is Mahan's perspective on self-driving cars?
He is enthusiastic about driverless cars.
He dislikes driverless cars.
He is skeptical about driverless cars.
From the article: "The car Mahan rode in had a back-up computer. It also had multiple systems controlling it, said Dmitri Dolgov, who heads Google's self-driving effort." What is Dolgov's perspective on self-driving cars?
He is enthusiastic about driverless cars.
He dislikes driverless cars.
He is skeptical about driverless cars.
From the article: "U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said a communication system among vehicles will 'provide 360-degree situational awareness on the road and will help us enhance vehicle safety.'" What is Fox's position on self-driving cars?
He does not work for Google, so he probably hates driverless cars.
He does not work for Google, but he wants driverless cars to safe.
He works for the government and thinks driverless cars should be illegal.
"If all cars are connected to each other electronically, then we likely will not need signs, markings or even (a) ," said Jim Barbaresso, who works with transportation systems at a company called HNTB Infrastructure Solutions. Type your two-word answer in the space below.
The following questions are based on the 1090L version of the article about trusting robotic cars. It is titled "Robotic cars must prove that they are safer than human drivers on the road." Robotic cars are autonomous, which means...
...they are Transformers. No, I didn't say GoBots. I said Transformers! Also, what's up with Shia LaBeouf these days? I lost track of him after the "Just do it" GIF.
...they do not need human drivers to get from place to place.
...they are secretly Terminators, like in those movies. Okay, I admit it: I'm scared now. Are you scared?
...they are friends with C-3PO, R2-D2 and IG-11. I want to be friends with C-3PO, R2-D2 and IG-11. Do you want to be friends with C-3PO, R2-D2 and IG-11?
From the article: “'Sometimes I hear [the] industry talk about autonomous vehicles as though they’re about to put the safest driver on the road,' says Nidhi Kalra, senior information scientist who works on global policy. 'It’s more like putting a teenage driver on the road.'" What is Kalra's perspective on self-driving cars?
She is enthusiastic about driverless cars.
She is neutral on the topic of driverless cars.
She is skeptical about driverless cars.
From the article: “'No single test can say a self-driving car is safe,' says Steven Shladover. He's the manager of the Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology program at the University of California, Berkeley." What is Shladover's perspective on self-driving cars?
He is enthusiastic about driverless cars.
He is neutral on the topic of driverless cars.
He is skeptical about driverless cars.
From the article: “Alain Kornhauser is an adviser for a team of car engineers at Princeton University. He and some other experts say that autonomous vehicles could help reduce mistakes that humans make. That will make [driving] safer." What is Kornhauser's perspective on self-driving cars?
He is enthusiastic about driverless cars.
He is neutral on the topic of driverless cars.
He is skeptical about driverless cars.
From the article: “'Real-world testing on public roads is essential both to gain public trust and improve the technology over time,' says Chelsea Kohler, an Uber spokesperson." What is Kohler's perspective on self-driving cars?
She is enthusiastic about driverless cars.
She is neutral on the topic of driverless cars.
She is skeptical about driverless cars.
From the article: “A Tesla Sedan S using its driver-assist Autopilot technology failed to avoid the side of a tractor-trailer looming ahead. The driver died in the resulting crash. Still, Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk has pressed ahead with Autopilot." What is Musk's perspective on self-driving cars?
He is enthusiastic about driverless cars.
He is neutral on the topic of driverless cars.
He is skeptical about driverless cars.
From the article: “'One way to accelerate the testing phase would be for tech companies and carmakers to share their test data with each other,' says Sebastian Thrun, a self-driving technology pioneer who formerly worked at Google." What is Thrun's perspective on self-driving cars?
He is enthusiastic about driverless cars.
He is neutral on the topic of driverless cars.
He is skeptical about driverless cars.
From the article: “'However safety gets defined and established, self-driving and driverless vehicles will need ways to overcome the skepticism of humans. They need to be more transparent,' says Brian Lathrop ofVolkswagen." What is Lathrop's perspective on self-driving cars?
He is confident that driverless cars will be here sooner than later.
He is neutral on the topic of driverless cars.
He is unsure about the future of driverless cars.
The following questions are based on the 1020L version of the assigned article about California. It is titled "Driverless car testing coming to California." California's nickname is...
...the Aloha State.
...the Golden State.
...the Dairy State
From the article: “Nidhi Kalra is a scientist who has been studying the issue for a decade. 'You can't test what true, full autonomy looks like unless there's no driver at all,' she said." What is Kalra's perspective on self-driving cars?
She is enthusiastic about driverless cars.
She is neutral on the topic of driverless cars.
She is skeptical about driverless cars.
What does DMV stand for?
(a)
From the article: "Jean Shiomoto is the director of California's Department of Motor Vehicles, which has been working on the regulations for years. In crafting the rules, she said that 'safety is our top concern.'" What is Shiomoto's perspective on self-driving cars?
She is enthusiastic about driverless cars.
She is neutral on the topic of driverless cars.
She is skeptical about driverless cars.
What is the name of Google self-driving car branch?
(a)
What company says it has the hardware needed for full self-driving but is still testing the software?
(a)
