空中飞行出租车

吕品

飛行出租车越来越接近现实，空中高速即将成真。

主题语境：科技与交通 篇幅：367词 建议用时：7分钟

1 Imagine taking a flying taxi over crowded city streets at rush hour， getting where youwant to go far faster than you could in a car. Believe it or not， you might be able to do thesethings in an electric air taxi sooner than you think.

2 An air taxi is a small aircraft that can carry people from place to place. Air taxis dontneed a long runway like planes do. They can go straight up and down， like a helicopter. InJune， the FAA—the government group in charge of America‘s skies—agreed to allow acompany called Joby Aviation to start testing theirnew air taxis. Joby has been making and testingflying taxis since 2017. But this is the first timetheyre testing an air taxi that‘s been built in a factory.Before that， all their air taxis were made byhand.

3 By 2025， Joby hopes to start carrying passengersfor money. Theyve teamed up with Delta Air Lines to create a program to flypeople from their homes to the airport. Joby also expects their air taxis to provide a ridesharingservice in the air. Just like you might use an app to order a car to pick you up， youcould use an app to order an air taxi.

4 Joby‘s air taxis will be flown by a pilot， and can carry four other passengers. They canfly as fast as 200 miles per hour and can go around 150 miles before the electric batteriesneed to be recharged. Compared with helicopters， Joby claims their air taxis are bothquieter and cheaper.

5 Joby isnt the only company developing air taxis. Companies around the world areworking on similar vehicles. France even plans to use a few air taxis in Paris during nextsummer‘s Olympic Games.

6 But theres still a lot to do before air taxis become common. Governments need tomake rules about where， when， and how these air taxis can fly. And some people have concernsabout them. The air taxis may be quieter than helicopters， but they‘ll still add noiseand traffic pollution to our skies. Some people worry that only rich people will be able to affordto use them.

ReadingCheck

1. What can we know about the air taxi？

A. Its a small aircraft that can carry people from place to place.

B. It can fly straight up and down like a helicopter without pilots.

C. It requires a long runway for takeoff and landing.

D. It‘s a form of transportation used by government officials.

2. What is Joby Aviation testing for the first time in June？

A. Handmade air taxis.

B. Electric batteries for air taxis.

C. Factorybuilt air taxis.

D. A ride‘sharing app for air taxis.

3. Whats Joby‘s plan for their air taxis by 2025？

A. To start carrying passengers for money.

B. To provide a ride sharing service on the ground.

C. To introduce a silent flight technology.

D. To help French companies with Olympic Games transportation.

4. What concerns do some people have about air taxis？

A. The high cost of flying in an air taxi.

B. The limited number of air taxi companies.

C. The potential noise pollution caused by air taxis.

D. The lack of experienced pilots for air taxis.

LanguageStudy

Ⅰ. 日積月累

imagine v. 想象

crowded adj. 拥挤的

aircraft n. 飞行器

potential adj. 潜在的

pilot n. 飞行员

rush hour 高峰时间

believe it or not 信不信由你

far faster than 比……快得多

team up with 与……合作

become common 变得普遍

have concerns about 对……有顾虑

fly straight up and down 垂直起降

work on 致力于；从事

takeoff and landing 起飞和降落

Ⅱ. 单句填空

1. She imagined _____ （walk） into the office and handing in her resignation.

2. The subway is always _____ （crowd） during the rush hour in the morning and evening.

3. The new aircraft has the capacity to carry over 300 _____ （passenger）.

4. Believe it _____ not， he asked me to marry him！

5. The experienced pilot_____ （successful） landed the plane during strong crosswinds.

6. Our team is currently_____（work） on a groundbreaking technology for renewableenergy.