经济学人:云巅之上 畅想未来交通(上)

 　　Business 商业

　　Flying Cars: High in the sky 飞车：云巅之上

　　Firms such as E-volo, Lilium and Uber are re-imagining the daily commute¹. E-volo， Lilium以及Uber这些公司正在重新畅想未来的日常交通。

　　“You may smile, but it will come,” said Henry Ford² in 1940, predicting the arrival of a machine that was part-automobile and part-aeroplane. 1940年亨利·福特预测了一种半汽车半飞机新型机器的诞生同时说道：“你可以对此嗤之以鼻，但它终有一天会到来的。”

　　For decades flying cars have obsessed³ technologists but eluded⁴ their mastery. 几十年来飞行汽车令技术专家们魂牵梦萦，但他们始终未能掌握这项技术。

　　Finally there is reason to believe. 终于，我们有相信的理由了。

　　Several firms have offered hope that flying people in small pods for short trips might become a reality in the next decade. 一些公司对几十年内人们乘坐豆荚型的飞行工具短途旅游成为现实寄予了希望。

　　These are not cars, as most are not fit to drive on land, but rather small vehicles, which can rise and land vertically⁵, like quiet helicopters. 这些飞行工具不是汽车，而是小型的交通工具，因为它们大多数不适合在地面上行进，但能够像直升机那样平稳地垂直升空和降落。

　　A prototype of a small electric plane that is capable of flying up to 300 kilometres per hour, made by Lilium, a German startup, completed a successful test over Bavaria on April 20th. 德国的一家新兴公司Lilium研制出一架最高时速可达300公里的小型电动飞机原型，并于4月20日在巴伐利亚试飞成功。

　　Lilium is starting work on a five-seat vehicle and hopes to offer a ride-hailing service. Lilium着手制作一种五座交通工具，同时希望它能提供叫车服务。

　　Another German company, e-volo, has been testing a flying vehicle for several years. 另一家德国公司e-volo几年来一直在测试一种飞行器。

　　It recently showed off the second version of its electric Volocopter, which could be certified⁶ for flight as soon as next year. e-volo最近展示了第二代纯电动直升机，很可能明年得到飞行许可。

　　There are at least a dozen firms experimenting with making small flying vehicles in different guises⁷,  至少有十二家公司对不同外形的小型飞行工具进行实验，

　　including Airbus, an aerospace⁸ giant, in partnership⁹ with Italdesign Giugiaro, a division of Volkswagen, a carmaker. 这其中包括航空业的巨头——空客，该公司和大众分支意大利汽车设计室Giugiaro （汽车制造公司）进行合作。

　　Many plan to have a certified pilot in command at the beginning and then move on to an autonomous¹⁰ set-up when regulations allow. 也有很多公司让持证件的飞行员待命，然后在条例允许之后开办有自主权的组织。

　　Motorcycle-type vehicles, which you sit astride, are also in the works. 摩托车型——两腿分开坐的交通工具也在开发进程中。

1 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

2 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

3 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

4 eluded   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 vertically   

adv.垂直地

参考例句：

• Line the pages for the graph both horizontally and vertically.在这几页上同时画上横线和竖线，以便制作图表。
• The human brain is divided vertically down the middle into two hemispheres.人脑从中央垂直地分为两半球。

6 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

7 guises   

n.外观，伪装( guise的名词复数 )v.外观，伪装( guise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She took pleasure in the various guises she could see. 她穿各种衣服都显得活泼可爱。 来自辞典例句
• Traditional form or structure allows us to recognize corresponding bits of folklore in different guises. 了解民俗的传统形式或结构，可以使我门抛开事物的不同外表，从中去辨认出有关民俗的点点滴滴。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

8 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。