--- title: Buses, trams, lorries and traffic lights — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Buses, trams, lorries and traffic lights», a lesson of the technology course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: A busy street is a big shared machine: buses, trams, lorries and people all move at once, and traffic lights and crossings tak --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Technology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/) / Buses, trams, lorries and traffic lights # Buses, trams, lorries and traffic lights Lesson 20 of the technology course of Mova's primary school: 17 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/0/) — A busy street is a big shared machine: buses, trams, lorries and people all move at once, and traffic lights and crossings take turns so they don't crash into each other. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/1/) — Much of it is quietly clever: the bus stop sign knows when your bus is coming from its GPS, the crossing box has a little spinning cone for blind people, and a tap of a card pays your fare by radio. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/2/) — Big vehicles have big rules: a tram runs on rails and cannot swerve, and a lorry is so long it swings wide on corners and needs a long way to stop. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/4/) — Wherever you are, the safe habit is the same: cross on the green figure, still look both ways, and never run in front of or behind a bus. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/5/) — A double-decker bus has its engine at the back and its heavy parts low down, so its centre of weight is low; London buses have been tilt-tested to show they stay up on a steep slope. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/6/) — On a bus you hold on when it moves and sit down upstairs, and you never run in front of or behind a bus. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/7/) — Live bus stop signs use the GPS position each bus sends, worked out from satellites in space, and a computer works out when it will arrive; a bus stuck in traffic can still show «due». - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/8/) — Pressing the bell lights a sign at the front for the driver; the driver opens the doors with a button, the doors beep to warn that they are closing, and sensors and rubber edges stop them closing on people. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/9/) — A tram takes electricity from an overhead wire through a pole on its roof and runs on rails in the street, so it is quiet and cannot swerve out of the way. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/10/) — Bike wheels can get stuck in tram rails, so cyclists cross them at an angle. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/12/) — Pressing a crossing button tells the lights someone wants to cross; a beep or a small cone that spins under the box tells blind people when it is safe. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/13/) — You cross on the green figure only, and you still check that cars have stopped. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/14/) — A coach is a big bus with luggage space underneath and seat belts, which passengers wear; coach drivers are limited by law in how long they can drive without a break. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/15/) — Bus lanes are painted lanes kept for buses so they stay on time, and cameras check that cars don't use them; a driver caught on camera in a bus lane can be fined. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/16/) — Tapping a card or phone on a bus reader pays the fare by a short radio signal; the card has a tiny antenna coil inside. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/17/) — A lorry's big diesel engine pulls a heavy trailer, and lots of wheels spread the weight; a full lorry can weigh as much as thirty cars. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/20-buses-trams-lorries-and-traffic-lights/18/) — Lorries need a very long way to stop and swing out wide when they turn, so you never cycle on the inside of a turning lorry. - ← previous: [Electric cars and charging](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/19-electric-cars-and-charging/) - next →: [Trains and the Underground](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/21-trains-and-the-underground/) - ↑ back to [Technology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/)