近年来，很多公司在研发能代替汽车的小型载入飞行器。目前有多种设计方案，有些带有可折叠的机翼，有些就像是巨大的无人机。那么，我们什么时候能用上这些“飞行的汽车”呢？
How close are we to seeing flying cars?
by Dalvin Brown
The auto industry, aviation（航空） giants and an ever-evolving list of startups are increasingly entering the race toward producing consumer-ready flying cars and air taxis, many of which are touted（吹嘘） as fully electric.
auto /ˈɔːtəʊ/ adj. 汽车的
giant /ˈdʒaɪ(ə)nt/ n. 巨头、大公司
ever /ˈevə(r)/ adv. 一直
evolve /ɪˈvɒlv/ v. 演变、逐步发展
startup /ˈstɑːtʌp/ n. 初创公司（由start和up组成）
increasingly /ɪnˈkriːsɪŋli/ adv. 越来越多地
consumer /kənˈsjuːmə(r)/ n. 消费者
air taxi 空中出租车
On the surface, there are so many innovations happening that it's easy to forget that the world hasn't even seen a fully autonomous（自主的） car yet, let alone an electric, multirotor（多旋翼的） flying vehicle you can park in your driveway.★
surface /ˈsɜːfɪs/ n. 表面
innovation /ˌɪnəˈveɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 创新
let alone 更不用说
vehicle /ˈviːɪk(ə)l/ n. 车辆
driveway /ˈdraɪvweɪ/ n. （住宅旁的）私人车道
★ 这句话的最后一个逗号相当于and，其作用是让electric和multirotor并列，一起修饰后面的flying vehicle
In fact, there are several hurdles that have yet to be overcome before commuters（上下班往返者） are whizzing（高速移动） through the air. "What we see today is a whole pile of concepts that aren't necessary solutions," said Mark Jennings-Bates, vice president at the flying cars startup PAL-V. "They are short on technology, and they are short on regulation."
hurdle /ˈhɜːd(ə)l/ n. 障碍、难关
have yet to do something 还没有做某事
overcome /ˌəʊvəˈkʌm/ v. 克服（过去分词也是overcome）
concept /ˈkɒnsept/ n. 概念
vice president 副总裁
short /ʃɔːt/ adj. 短缺的、缺少的
regulation /ˌreɡjuˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 监管、管控
Uber, one of the world's highest-valued startups, and Boeing, a leader in aviation, have announced ambitious plans for revolutionary air taxis. However, the types of vehicles the companies have in mind would require magical electric batteries that don't exist yet.
Uber 优步（美国的网约车公司）
high-valued 估值高的
Boeing 波音（美国的飞机制造商）
ambitious /æmˈbɪʃəs/ adj. 雄心勃勃的
revolutionary /ˌrevəˈluːʃ(ə)n(ə)ri/ adj. 革命性的（由revolution加后缀-ary变成形容词）
magical /ˈmædʒɪk(ə)l/ adj. 有魔力的、神奇的（由magic加后缀-al变成形容词）
"The best the industry has seen so far with an electric drone（无人机） vehicle is a projection that it can fly for 20 minutes," said Jennings-Bates. "That makes it an unusable aircraft because it must have a half-hour spare capacity."
projection /prəˈdʒekʃ(ə)n/ n. 预测
unusable /ʌnˈjuːzəb(ə)l/ adj. 无法使用的
aircraft /ˈeəkrɑːft/ n. 飞机、飞行器
capacity /kəˈpæsəti/ n. 容量
Whether the United States actually needs flying cars remains relatively ambiguous. Aviation experts say that air vehicles help solve congestion problems in big cities. "Today, we have a lot of traffic congestion on the roadways," said Laurie Garrow, associate director for the Center for Urban and Regional Air Mobility at Georgia Tech. "Air taxis would provide a solution for bypassing（绕过） the pinch points."
relatively /ˈrelətɪvli/ adv. 相对而言
ambiguous /æmˈbɪɡjuəs/ adj. 不明朗的
congestion /kənˈdʒestʃ(ə)n/ n. 堵塞
roadway /ˈrəʊdweɪ/ n. 行车道
associate /əˈsəʊsiət/ director 副主任
urban /ˈɜːb(ə)n/ adj. 城市的
regional /ˈriːdʒ(ə)n(ə)l/ adj. 地区性的（由region加后缀-al变成形容词）
mobility /məʊˈbɪləti/ n. 移动能力
pinch /pɪntʃ/ point 易堵塞路段
Others argue that putting traffic in the skies doesn't solve very much. "We aren't going to change the world in terms of traffic with flying cars," said Jennings-Bates. "At best, it may displace traffic in the area, which is arguably less pleasant."
argue /ˈɑːɡjuː/ v. 主张
in terms of 就…来说
at best 在最好的情况下
displace /dɪˈspleɪs/ v. 移走（由place加上表示否定的前缀dis-）
arguably /ˈɑːɡjuəbli/ adv. 恐怕是
Since there are no certified（经认证的） actual flying cars yet, regulations surrounding operating them don't exist. It also remains unclear whether consumers feel comfortable with taking mosquito-like machines from point A to point B.
actual /ˈæktʃuəl/ adj. 事实存在的
regulation /ˌreɡjuˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 规章制度
operate /ˈɒp(ə)reɪt/ v. 运营、运作
unclear /ʌnˈklɪə(r)/ adj. 不清楚的（由clear加上表示否定的前缀un-）
mosquito /məˈskiːtəʊ/ n. 蚊子
Some experts say it's not a question of if flying cars will take off. Instead, it's a question of how soon the concepts would be safe enough for humans to occupy. "Everyone is very excited and they're coming up with very different designs," Garrow said. "But you have a lengthy certification（认证） process that will need to go through to make sure the craft and flights are safe." She estimates that it'll be about 20 years before the U.S. sees more than test flights.
take off 起飞、变得成功
occupy /ˈɒkjupaɪ/ v. 占用
come up with 想出
lengthy /ˈleŋθi/ adj. 漫长的（由length加后缀-y变成形容词）
process /ˈprəʊses/ n. 过程
go through 经历、经受
make sure 确保
craft /krɑːft/ n. 飞行器
estimate /ˈestɪmeɪt/ v. 估计
test flight 试飞
（如果您发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，请把您使用的浏览器升级到最新版本就能正常显示了。）
网友评论