VOA标准英语2010年-Flying Cars Closer to Reality

Vehicles that can be both driven and flown have long been a fantasy in the realm of science fiction.  But advances in technology have paved the way for just such a vehicle to enter the realm of fact.  Moreover, it could be available to the general public as early as next year.  Some of the concept vehicles were recently on display at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture in the Midwest state of Wisconsin.

Aviator¹ Steve Saint comes from a flying family.  His father was a bush pilot in South America, where Saint spent much of his childhood.

Steve Saint

"I grew up down in the Amazon jungle in the country of Ecuador where there are no roads, and down there, you either fly or you die," he said.

Saint is the founder² of a company called "Indigenous³ Peoples Technology and Education Center," or "I-Tec," which serves people in remote areas isolated⁴ from most technology. 

To get him in and out of some of the roughest terrain⁵ on the planet, he turned to an old concept that has remained largely in the human imagination - a flying car.  Saint's innovation is called the "Maverick⁶."

"This is primarily a car, but you can also fly it, and it only takes a couple of hours to master the flying," he said.

Courtesy of I-Tec
I-Tec's 'Maverick'

The Maverick can travel at speeds up to 150 kilometers per hour on a traditional roadway.  When it deploys⁷ a wing, that looks something like a parachute, it takes off, and can travel up to 100 meters in the air at 65 kilometers an hour.

It might not be very high or very fast, but Saint says the Maverick's function was the driving force behind its development. 

"People in frontier areas, humanitarian⁸ use, mission use, that's our primary focus, but we need to find a commercial market up here [in the United States]," he said.

Chief Operating Officer Anna Dietrich of the aircraft company "Terrafugia" believes there is such a market in the U.S. for her company's experimental concept vehicle, called the "Transition."

Anna Dietrich

"We wanted to show that the same vehicle platform could fly, could drive, could fold up its wings in a reasonable amount of time under a minute, and would be able to park in your garage," she said.

The Transition is still an experimental concept vehicle, but it has flown during test flights.

I-Tec's Maverick has also achieved flight during testing.

While both are considered major innovations toward bringing the flying car out of the imagination and onto the highways and runways, some pilots and aviation enthusiasts⁹ are less than excited about the current design concepts.

"They never will be a really neat-looking car, and they will not be a real efficient airplane.  We're asking too much," says John Monnett, the founder of Sonex Aircraft, which is developing an electric-powered sport airplane.  He says the flying car concept still has major technological¹⁰ and aesthetic¹¹ hurdles¹² to overcome.

"It's a novel idea, and time will tell really," he says.  "Aircraft have to be built to a different standard than cars, and when you mix the two, what have you got?  Something that's mediocre¹³."

Terrafugia's Dietrich disagrees.

"We feel like we have hit on a compromise that still meets the needs of our customers, still allows you to do more than you would be able to with either a plane or a car as two distinct vehicles," she says.

Dietrich says Terrafugia is moving forward into the next phase of developing the Transition.  The first commercially available Transition is scheduled for delivery in about 18 months, and the cost to purchase the flying car when it hits the market is estimated at about $200,000.
 

1 aviator   

n.飞行家，飞行员

参考例句：

• The young aviator bragged of his exploits in the sky.那名年轻的飞行员吹嘘他在空中飞行的英勇事迹。
• Hundreds of admirers besieged the famous aviator.数百名爱慕者围困那个著名飞行员。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

4 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

5 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

6 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

7 deploys   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的第三人称单数 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• It then deploys "decoy" programs designed to attract the virus. 然后，它释放“诱饵”去吸引病毒。
• But when that doesn't work, he deploys his secret defense mechanism. 但没有效果，它要施展绝密自卫武器了。

8 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

9 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

10 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

11 aesthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的，有美感

参考例句：

• My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
• The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。

12 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

13 mediocre   

adj.平常的，普通的

参考例句：

• The student tried hard,but his work is mediocre. 该生学习刻苦，但学业平庸。
• Only lazybones and mediocre persons could hanker after the days of messing together.只有懒汉庸才才会留恋那大锅饭的年代。