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  3. If cars had wings, they could fly—and that just might happen, beginning next

If cars had wings, they could fly—and that just might happen, beginning next

游客2023-09-04  28
问题     If cars had wings, they could fly—and that just might happen, beginning next year. The company Terrafugia, says it plans to deliver its car-plane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2011. It recently cleared a major hurdle when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted a special weight limit exemption to the Transition.
    " It’s the next ’ wow’ vehicle," said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh. " Anybody can buy a Ferrari,but as we say,Ferraris don’t fly. " The Transition is a long way from cartoon dad George Jetson’s flying car zooming (快速上升的) above traffic,or even the magical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. "There is no launch button on the (instrument) panel," Gersh noted. Rather,the car-plane has wings that unfold for flying—a process the company says takes one minute—and fold back up for driving. A runway is still required to takeoff and land.
    The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies, although it is both. The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations, and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations.
    The company is making the Transition to private pilots as a more convenient—and cheaper—way to fly. They say it eliminates the hassle (麻烦) trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports: You drive the car to the airport and then you’re good to go. When you land, you fold up the wings and hit the road. There are no expensive hangar (飞机库) fees because you don’t have to store it at an airport—you park it in the garage at home. The plane is designed to fly primarily under 10,000 feet. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds, including fuel and passengers.
    Terrafugia says the Transition reduces the potential for an accident by allowing pilots to drive under bad weather instead of flying into marginal conditions.
    The Transition’s price tag: $ 194,000. But there may be additional charges for options like a radio or GPS. Another option is a full-plane parachute.
    "If you get into a very terrible situation,it’s the ultimate safety option," Gersh said. So far,the company has more than 70 orders with deposits, he said. Terrafugia is Latin for " escape from the land. " The company was founded in 2006 by five Massachusetts Institute of Technology grad students who were also pilots. They received some seed money from the school.
    The concept of a car-plane has been around since at least the 1950s,but it’s possible that Terrafugia may become the first company to mass-produce one, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said, " We’re working very closely with them,but there are still some remaining steps. " [br] What is required for the car-plane to fly and land?
选项 A、Wings with buttons.
B、A runway.
C、Full-plane parachute.
D、Vehicle regulations.
答案 B
解析 事实细节题。本文主要考查飞车起飞和降落需要的设备。题干中的fly and land与原文中的takeoff and land为同义转述，故B)“跑道”正确。A)“有按钮的机翼”，原文提到这款飞车没有启动按钮，故排除；C)“全机伞降装置”和D)“车辆管制”，并不是必要的设备，故排除。
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