VOA时事新闻2023 巴黎奥运会或将推出"空中出租车"服务

French officials are preparing to offer flying taxi services to people attending the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024.

法国官员正准备为参加2024年巴黎夏季奥运会的人们提供空中出租车服务。

If the taxis are actually deployed¹ in the French capital, it could mark the first major real world demonstration² of the flying technology.

如果真的在法国首都部署这些出租车，这可能是这项飞行技术首次在现实世界中进行重大演示。

Some air taxi developers attended the recent Paris Air Show to show off their products and seek industry support.

一些空中出租车开发商参加了最近的巴黎航展，展示了他们的产品，并寻求行业支持。

One of the companies in attendance was Germany's Volocopter, which plans to offer a flying taxi service during the Olympics.

德国的Volocopter公司就是其中之一，该公司计划在奥运会期间提供空中出租车服务。

But so far, no air taxi maker³ has received government approval to launch service in France.

但到目前为止，还没有一家空中出租车制造商获得政府批准在法国推出这项服务。

Volocopter hopes to be the first.

Volocopter希望成为第一家获得批准的公司。

But the company still needs to run its aircraft through intensive weather tests and provide thousands of pages of documentation to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

但该公司仍然需要对这种飞行器进行严格的天气测试，并向欧洲航空安全局提供数千页的证明文件。

Company chief Dirk Hoke admitted to the Reuters news agency that securing the approval will not be easy.

该公司首席执行官德克·霍克向路透社承认，获得批准并非易事。

"It's not a walk in the park to be the first…" he said.

他说：“成为第一家获得批准的公司可不像在公园里散步一样简单”。

Volocopter plans to carry out tests of its electric air taxis in different environments in Germany next month.

Volocopter公司计划下个月在德国的不同环境中对其电动空中出租车进行测试。

Hoke said that in addition to worries about government approvals, the environment for air taxi companies has also faced difficulties linked to economic slowdowns affecting the world.

霍克说，除了担心得不到政府的批准外，空中出租车公司的环境也面临着与影响全球的经济放缓有关的困难。

Robin⁴ Riedel co-leads the Center for Future Mobility⁵ at the business advisory⁶ company McKinsey.

罗宾·里德尔是商业咨询公司麦肯锡未来移动中心的联合负责人。

She told Reuters that companies formed to support air taxi projects have lost about 30 percent of their value in recent years.

她告诉路透社，为支持空中出租车项目而成立的公司近年来损失了约30%的价值。

In addition, many investors⁷ have decided⁸ to put money into drones instead of flying taxis.

此外，许多投资者决定将资金投入无人机，而不是空中出租车。

Industry experts say they fear these struggles could signal more financial problems for many other companies involved in air taxi development.

业内专家表示，他们担心这些困难可能预示着，其他许多参与空中出租车开发的公司将会面临更多财务问题。

Hoke – a former top executive at air industry player Airbus – has thought about a person he would like to be the first rider of his flying taxis – French President Emmanuel Macron.

霍克曾是航空业巨头空中客车公司的高管，他想让法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙成为他的空中出租车的第一个乘客。

"That would be super amazing," Hoke told The Associated Press at the Paris Air Show.

霍克在巴黎航展上告诉美联社：“这将是太棒了。”

He added: "(Macron) believes in the innovation of urban air mobility. That would be a strong sign to Europe to see the president flying."

他补充说：“马克龙相信城市空中交通的创新。这将是让欧洲看到总统乘坐空中出租车的一个强烈信号。”

One of the five planned Olympic trips would land in the heart of the city on a floating pad on the River Seine.

规划好的五条奥运路线中有一条将降落在城市的中心塞纳河上的一个浮动平台上。

In the beginning, air taxi trips are likely to be short and costly⁹.

一开始，空中出租车的行程可能会很短，价格也很昂贵。

This is because limited battery technology restricts the distance and number of paying passengers the aircraft can carry.

这是因为有限的电池技术限制了空中出租车的行驶距离和可以搭载的付费乘客的数量。

The long-term success of air taxis will also be dependent on effective systems to manage all the air traffic using the skies.

空中出租车的长期成功还将取决于有效的管理所有使用天空的空中交通的系统。

Experts say such systems will need new technology to provide safety for all flyers.

专家表示，这样的系统需要新技术来为所有乘客提供安全保障。

As the industry progresses, the number of air taxis and drones is expected to reach into the millions.

随着该行业的发展，空中出租车和无人机的数量预计将达到数百万架。

Hoke said that one thing is sure, "It will be a total new experience for the people."

霍克说，有一点是肯定的，“对人们来说，这将是一种全新的体验。”

He added, "Twenty years later (when) someone looks back at what changed based on that, and then they call it a revolution. And I think we are at the edge of the next revolution."

他补充说：“20年后，当有人回顾在此基础上发生的变化时，他们称之为革命。我认为我们正面临下一次革命。”

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布莱恩·林恩为您播报。

1 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。

2 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

3 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

4 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

5 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

6 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。