Complete the gaps in the following summary by using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS taken from the passage.
Deadly Illusion Brings Death on the Road
Children are being killed on Britain’s roads because of an optical illusion, warn researchers at the University of Aberdeen. The illusion fools drivers into underestimating how long it will take them to stop, and by the time they discover their mistake it is too late to avoid an accident
About 50 children are injured on Britain’s roads every day. Investigators looking at this problem have tended to blame children’s inexperience and carelessness. But the researchers at Aberdeen suggest that the problem lies with the drivers. Doug Stewart of the university’s engineering department says that the optical illusion is responsible for more than half the injuries to children on the roads.
People normally judge the time it will take an approaching object to reach them by the rate at which its size increases, a phenomenon called optic flow. This is adequate for catching a ball or ducking a projectile, Stewart says, but for car drivers it is only effective in the final second or so before collision. At speeds of 50 kilometres an hour, which are typical for traffic in towns, it takes around 3 seconds to stop a car.
Stewart and his colleagues Chris Cudworth and Rely Lishman say that instead drivers judge the time before a collision by subconsciously measuring the angle between the top and the bottom of the pedestrian’s image. In the absence of any other clue, they assume that the pedestrian is an adult and judge the distance accordingly.
If the pedestrian turns out to be a child, this assumption can be lethal, as it leads drivers to believe the child is farther away than it really is. By the time the error has become apparent it can be too late for the driver to avoid hitting the child.
Stewart and his colleagues conducted a series of tests in which volunteers acted as drivers in a computer simulation of a car approaching a pedestrian. In the test, volunteers were presented with a child one metre tall and an adult 1.8 metres tall. The volunteer "drivers” were asked to stop at a safe distance in front of the pedestrian.
Describing their results in the journal Perception, the researchers say that drivers were more likely to make errors when the image was a child’s. They also found that the driver’s height above the road influenced the number of errors. A driver sitting 1.8 metres above the road was less likely to misjudge the distance than one sitting one metre above the road.
This seems to be borne out by the road accident statistics. Cars are two to three times more likely than lorries to hit children, when the number of each type of vehicle on the road is taken into account. Lorry drivers sit higher up than car drivers.
Stewart says that the risk of drivers making potentially fatal errors can be reduced by providing visual cues for drivers about the size of the object they are approaching. Britain has one of the worst child safety records in Europe. One reason, says Stewart, is that other European countries have more zebra crossings, and that the markings on the road help drivers to distinguish between a child and an adult.
Britain's zebra crossings are gradually being replaced by pelican crossings, which have traffic lights but no striped markings on the road. Stewart says that pelican crossings should also have road markings to help drivers judge the size of a pedestrian.
In correspondence with Stewart, the Department of Transport describes the research as “interesting”, though it does not accept that the paper “demonstrates that perceptual error in the way described is the main reason for children having a much higher accident rate”. The DoT does agree, however, that marking the road with stripes at pelican crossings could improve things. Unfortunately, says Stewart, there is no indication that the positive tone of some of the DoT’s comments has led to “action to curb child pedestrian accidents or to promote further research”.
British researchers have evidence to believe that the number of children by cars while crossing roads is related to drivers' inability to judge how for they are from young pedestrians. Stewart of the University of Aberdeen believes that drivers assume that pedestrians crossing roads are adults and when it is crossing the road, they tend to think that the child is than he really is. Because of this misperception of distance, drivers are not able to stop their cars in time to prevent a . Britain’s child are worse than those in many other European countries. This, according to Stewart, is because many crossings in Britain do not have that help drivers to tell if the in front is a child or an adult. In Britain, have lights but there are no markings on the road. Stewart thinks that markings should be painted.
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Question Focus: Identifying what happens to children on roads - summary paraphrases the passage description of harm.
Correct Answer: injured
Why this is correct: The passage clearly says children are injured on Britain's roads every day. The summary talks about the number of children affected by cars, which directly matches this idea.
Passage Reference: About 50 children are injured on Britain's roads every day.
Common Mistake: Some students write hurt or wounded, but these words do not appear in the passage. You MUST copy the exact word. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'children are injured on Britain's roads' = Summary: 'the number of children [GAP] by cars'
Tips: If the summary uses passive meaning like 'by cars', look for a passive form in the passage.
Key Vocabulary:
- injured = hurt
- roads = streets
Question Focus: How drivers make judgments - focusing on mental process.
Correct Answer: subconsciously
Passage Reference: Stewart and his colleagues Chris Cudworth and Rely Lishman say that instead drivers judge the time before a collision by subconsciously measuring the angle between the top and the bottom of the pedestrian's image. In the absence of any other clue, they assume that the pedestrian is an adult and judge the distance accordingly.
Why this is correct: The passage explains that drivers judge distance by subconsciously measuring angles. The summary shortens this to one word, so subconsciously is correct.
Common Mistake: Students may write automatically or instinctively, but these are not in the passage. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'by subconsciously measuring the angle' = Summary: 'drivers [GAP] assume'
Tips: Adverbs often end in -ly. Check if the sentence needs to describe how something happens.
Key Vocabulary:
- subconsciously = without thinking
- assume = believe
Question Focus: Identifying who the pedestrian really is.
Correct Answer: a child
Passage Reference: If the pedestrian turns out to be a child, this assumption can be lethal, as it leads drivers to believe the child is farther away than it really is.
Why this is correct: The passage explicitly says a child. The summary copies this idea directly.
Common Mistake: Some students write young pedestrian, which changes the wording. This is a paraphrase trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'turns out to be a child' = Summary: 'when it is [GAP] crossing the road'
Tips: If the passage gives a simple noun, do not make it more complex in your answer.
Key Vocabulary:
- pedestrian = person walking
- turns out = is discovered to be
Question Focus: Drivers' incorrect judgement of distance.
Correct Answer: farther away
Passage Reference: it leads drivers to believe the child is farther away than it really is.
Why this is correct: The passage says drivers believe the child is farther away than reality. The summary uses exactly the same comparison.
Common Mistake: Writing further away may seem similar, but it is not the exact wording. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'farther away than it really is' = Summary: 'the child is [GAP] than he really is'
Tips: For distance, copy the exact comparative form used in the passage.
Key Vocabulary:
- farther = more distant
- misperception = wrong understanding
Question Focus: Result of drivers not stopping in time.
Correct Answer: collision
Passage Reference: it is too late to avoid an accident About 50 children are injured on Britain's roads every day. Investigators looking at this problem have tended to blame children's inexperience and carelessness. But the researchers at Aberdeen suggest that the problem lies with the drivers. Doug Stewart of the university's engineering department says that the optical illusion is responsible for more than half the injuries to children on the roads. People normally judge the time it will take an approaching object to reach them by the rate at which its size increases, a phenomenon called optic flow. This is adequate for catching a ball or ducking a projectile, Stewart says, but for car drivers it is only effective in the final second or so before collision. At speeds of 50 kilometres an hour, which are typical for traffic in towns, it takes around 3 seconds to stop a car. Stewart and his colleagues Chris Cudworth and Rely Lishman say that instead drivers judge the time before a collision by subconsciously measuring the angle between the top and the bottom of the pedestrian's image. In the absence of any other clue, they assume that the pedestrian is an adult and judge the distance accordingly. If the pedestrian turns out to be a child, this assumption can be lethal, as it leads drivers to believe the child is farther away than it really is. By the time the error has become apparent it can be too late for the driver to avoid hitting the child.
Why this is correct: Not stopping in time leads to a collision, which matches the idea of hitting the child in the passage.
Common Mistake: Students sometimes write crash, which is not used in the passage. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'avoid hitting the child' = Summary: 'prevent a [GAP]'
Tips: Look for cause and effect language like 'too late to avoid' to find result nouns.
Key Vocabulary:
- collision = crash
- prevent = stop
Question Focus: Comparing Britain with other European countries.
Correct Answer: safety records
Passage Reference: Britain has one of the worst child safety records in Europe.
Why this is correct: The passage states Britain has one of the worst child safety records in Europe. The summary shortens this to safety records.
Common Mistake: Writing accident rates mixes ideas from elsewhere. This is a context shift trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'one of the worst child safety records' = Summary: 'Britain's child [GAP]'
Tips: If the summary shortens a phrase, keep the key noun from the passage.
Key Vocabulary:
- record = measured result
- worst = very bad
Question Focus: What is missing from British crossings.
Correct Answer: striped markings
Passage Reference: other European countries have more zebra crossings, and that the markings on the road help drivers to distinguish between a child and an adult.
Why this is correct: The passage explains that striped markings on the road help drivers judge size. The summary uses the same idea.
Common Mistake: Some students write road signs, which are not mentioned. This is a not given trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'markings on the road help drivers' = Summary: 'do not have [GAP] that help drivers'
Tips: When the passage gives a specific type of marking, do not generalise it.
Key Vocabulary:
- markings = lines
- distinguish = tell apart
Question Focus: Who the driver is looking at.
Correct Answer: pedestrian
Passage Reference: judge the size of a pedestrian.
Why this is correct: The passage repeatedly refers to the person crossing as a pedestrian. This fits the summary exactly.
Common Mistake: Writing child is too specific and changes meaning. This is a partial truth trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'size of a pedestrian' = Summary: 'tell if the [GAP] in front'
Tips: Use the general term unless the passage clearly limits it.
Key Vocabulary:
- pedestrian = walker
- in front = ahead
Question Focus: Type of crossing used in Britain.
Correct Answer: pelican crossings
Passage Reference: Britain's zebra crossings are gradually being replaced by pelican crossings, which have traffic lights but no striped markings on the road.
Why this is correct: The passage says zebra crossings are being replaced by pelican crossings, which have lights but no markings. This matches the summary.
Common Mistake: Writing zebra crossings reverses the meaning. This is a contradiction trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'pelican crossings, which have traffic lights' = Summary: '[GAP] have lights'
Tips: Watch out for replacement language like 'replaced by'. It often tests contrasts.
Key Vocabulary:
- replace = take the place of
- markings = road lines
General Tips:
- Summary completion follows passage order. Use the location of one answer to find the next.
- Always copy the exact word or phrase from the passage. Synonyms are usually wrong.
- Check grammar clues around the gap like articles, prepositions, and singular or plural nouns.
- Keep an eye on the word limit. Extra words automatically lose the mark.
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