VOA慢速英语2011--Flying Car Moves Closer to Reality

Technology Report - Flying Car Moves Closer to Reality

科技报道 - 飞行汽车即将成为现实
This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
You could fill the sky with all the ideas people have had for flying cars -- or what Carl Dietrich calls "flying-driving vehicles."
人类关于飞行汽车的想法充斥了天空。飞行汽车也就是卡尔·迪特里希（ Carl Dietrich）所说的“陆空两用飞行器（flying-driving vehicles）。”
CARL DIETRICH: "Since the turn of the twentieth century, there have been many hundreds of published concepts for flying-driving vehicles. And some of them have actually been built and flown. But at this point the Transition is the closest to actually getting to the marketplace.”
迪特里希：“自十九世纪末二十世纪初以来，公布的“陆空两用飞行器”概念数以百计，而且其中一些概念已实际制造成功并飞上蓝天。但这一次Transition陆空两用飞行器是最接近于能实际进入市场的。”
注1：Transition是这款飞行汽车的名字。
Carl Dietrich heads a company in Massachusetts called Terrafugia.
迪特里希是马萨诸塞州Terrafugia公司负责人。
注2：Terrafugia是这家飞行器公司名字，其拉丁文意为“逃离地面”。
CARL DIETRICH: "Terrafugia is developing the Transition street-legal airplane, which many people have characterized as the first practical flying car. And the Transition is designed to really be a general aviation airplane, like a Cessna or a Piper, a propeller¹-powered airplane that can fold up its wings, drive down the road and park in a single-car garage.”
迪特里希：“Terrafugia公司正在开发能在街头合法行驶的Transition飞机，很多人将其定义为第一辆实用的飞行汽车。Transition被设计成一架真正的通用民航飞机，就像Cessna或Piper。Transition是一种螺旋桨动力，机翼可以折叠，可以在公路上行驶，能够停放到车库中的飞机。
注3：Cessna赛斯纳，Piper派珀，两者皆为中小型飞机，主要用于私人或商务飞行。
He says the Transition Roadable Aircraft easily changes to a car.
他表示，Transition陆空两用飞行器能够非常容易地变成一辆汽车。
CARL DIETRICH: "It takes about twenty seconds. It’s like putting the top down on a convertible², only instead of folding up your roof, we’re folding up our wings and we’re transferring power from a propeller to the wheels for driving on the ground.”
迪特里希：“Transition变成汽车只需要20秒。就像敞篷车把顶棚收起来，不同的是Transition是把机翼折叠起来，同时把动力从螺旋桨转到车轮，使其可以在地面行驶。”
Development began in two thousand six, and the first road and fight tests took place in two thousand nine.
Transition的开发始于2006年，并于2009年进行了第一次公路测试和飞行测试。
The Transition had to meet federal safety standards for cars and aircraft. Last year the Federal Aviation Administration agreed to let it weigh more than other light sport aircraft. But even fully³ loaded, says Mr. Dietrich, it still weighs about half as much as an average car.
Transition必须同时满足联邦的汽车和飞行器安全标准。去年，美国联邦航空管理局允许其重量超过其它轻型运动飞机。但迪特里希表示，Transition即使满载，它的重量仍然只有普通汽车的一半左右。
The windows, for example, weigh less than traditional automotive safety glass. Terrafugia got permission for that last month from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
以窗户为例，Transition的玻璃重量低于传统汽车安全玻璃。上个月，Terrafugia公司获得了美国公路交通安全管理局在玻璃上的安全许可。
Carl Dietrich says the aircraft can climb to more than three thousand meters. It can carry two people at speeds over one hundred sixty kilometers an hour in the air. And on the ground it can drive at highway speeds, around one hundred thirteen kilometers an hour.
迪特里希表示，Transition飞行器可以爬升到3000米以上，能够携带两名乘客以160公里每小时的速度在空中飞行。而在地面上，它能够以113公里每小时的高速行驶。
The plane needs an airport for takeoffs and landings, but it uses automotive gasoline.
Transition飞行器需要机场来起降，但它使用车用汽油。
The company expects to complete the building process for its flying cars within the next few months. Then it will began an intensive year-long testing program. Terrafugia expects the Transition to reach market by the end of twenty-twelve, at a price of around two hundred fifty thousand dollars.
Terrafugia公司预计在未来数月内完成其飞行汽车的制造过程。然后将进行长达一年的密集测试程序。该公司预计Transition将于2012年底进入市场，价格在25万美元左右。
Carl Dietrich says nearly one hundred people have already signed up as buyers. He hopes to sell as many as a thousand a year in the near future.
迪特里希表示已有近一百人签字成为买家。他希望在不久的将来每年的销量能够达到1000辆。
CARL DIETRICH: "That will not have any appreciable⁴ or noticeable impact on the air traffic control infrastructure⁵ in the foreseeable future today. Now, twenty years down the road, who knows?"
迪特里希：“在当前可预见的未来，这不会对空中交通管制基础设施造成任何明显或显著的影响。但从现在再往后20年谁又知道呢？”
And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms. You can watch a flight test of the Transition at voaspecialenglish.com. And how do you feel about flying cars? Write to us at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

1 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

2 convertible   

adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车

参考例句：

• The convertible sofa means that the apartment can sleep four.有了这张折叠沙发，公寓里可以睡下4个人。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 appreciable   

adj.明显的，可见的，可估量的，可觉察的

参考例句：

• There is no appreciable distinction between the twins.在这对孪生子之间看不出有什么明显的差别。
• We bought an appreciable piece of property.我们买下的资产有增值的潜力。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。