VOA慢速英语--埃隆·马斯克展示高速地下隧道

Elon Musk¹ Shows Off High-Speed, Underground Tunnel

Businessman Elon Musk has demonstrated part of a planned high-speed, underground transportation system in California.

Musk is best known for founding electric carmaker Tesla and aerospace² company SpaceX. But two years ago, he announced on Twitter plans to launch a new company.

His tweet said the business, later formed as the Boring Company, would seek to ease traffic in the city where he lives, Los Angeles.

“Traffic is driving me nuts,” Musk wrote. So he promised to build a tunnel-making machine and to “just start digging.”

Musk says the Boring Company’s aim is to make a series of tunnels in Los Angeles and other cities. The company is developing equipment to dig faster and make the process more cost effective.

Elevators would lower passengers and vehicles into the tunnels. Musk said vehicles could travel at speeds up to 241 kilometers an hour. He wants to use electric, self-driving vehicles to move people around the city.

On Tuesday, Musk showed off the first experimental passageway, which stretches 1.8 kilometers through a neighborhood near Los Angeles. An entrance to the 3.6-meter-wide tunnel is on land belonging to the Boring Company and SpaceX.

Some reporters and invited guests were permitted to test out the system. They first got inside a specially-equipped Tesla Model S, which drove them from the Boring Company to a “station” at the other end of the tunnel. Currently³, the station is nothing more than a wall-less elevator built near some homes. The elevator lowered the Tesla into the tunnel, about nine meters below the surface.

The vehicle then waited for a control light to turn green before beginning its trip. An Associated Press news agency reporter said her trip, from one end of the tunnel to the other, took three minutes. For the test, the car traveled at about 64 kilometers an hour. This was far slower than Musk’s target of 241 kilometers an hour.

The reporter described her ride as a bit “bumpy⁴,” as the Tesla shook repeatedly during the trip. Musk admitted to some bumpiness⁵. He explained that “we kind of ran out of time” and said there were equipment problems.

The businessman said such problems are common with test models and promised that future systems will run as “smooth as glass.” The Tesla test car was equipped with special side wheels that were deployed⁶ to help keep the vehicle stable during the ride.

Musk also took his own test drive and received a warm welcome from people waiting at the other end of the tunnel. He told the crowd he considered his first ride “epic⁷.” He said he was excited for the first test of the system, which he calls the “loop.”

Musk said a completed system of numerous tunnels could hold up to 4,000 vehicles an hour. He has plans to continue expanding the system in Los Angeles and other cities.

In June, Chicago chose the Boring Company to build a 27-kilometer underground system linking the city’s downtown to the city’s main airport. The company has also proposed an East Coast system to link the city of Washington, D.C. to areas in neighboring Maryland.

However, the Boring Company has already faced opposition⁸. Some groups have expressed concerns about how building and operating such a system would affect local communities.

The “loop” system is separate from another transportation project Musk has worked on called Hyperloop. He has said that system would operate with electromagnetic technology and forced air. It intends to use electric vehicles to carry between 8-16 passengers between major cities at speeds up to 1,000 kilometers an hour.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

drive me nuts – phrase. to annoy, bother or frustrate⁹

tunnel – n. long passage that runs underground or through a mountain

elevator – n. machine that carries people up and down, usually inside buildings

guest – n. visitor; someone who has been invited

bumpy – adj. not smooth

stable – adj. firmly established; permanent

epic – adj. of great importance

1 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

2 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。

3 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

4 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

5 bumpiness   

n.崎岖不平

参考例句：

• Given the bumpiness of the road ahead, you might be better off with a crash helmet. 考虑到你面前这条颠簸的道路，你最好还是配个头盔吧。 来自互联网

6 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

7 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 frustrate   

v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦

参考例句：

• But this didn't frustrate Einstein.He was content to go as far as he could.但这并没有使爱因斯坦灰心，他对能够更深入地研究而感到满意。
• They made their preparations to frustrate the conspiracy.他们作好准备挫败这个阴谋。