Question

    You wait 50 years for a flying car,and then three come along at once.First up is Vahana:an airbus project to develop batterypowered,single- seater aircraft,designed to follow predetermined routes,only changing directions to avoid accidents.Propellers(螺旋桨)on the wings will let it take off and land without a runway.

Second,Dubai recently announced plans to use self-controlled air taxis as a way to beat the terrible traffic jams.The Volocopter is an electric multi-copter with 18 propellers and a fully self-controlled system.It’s essentially a self-controlled aircraft with two seats and up to 30 minutes of flying time.

But,if you want something more like the flying cars of 1950s science fiction,try Urban Aeronautics’ Fancraft.The Israel-based company wants to realize the dream of”an aircraft that looks like the classic vision of a flying car:doesn’t have a wing,doesn’t have a propeller that can be seen,and can fly exactly from point to point,”says Janina Frankel-Yoeli,Urban Aeronautics’ vice president of marketing.Earlier flying cars needed runways to take off and land which was,as Frankel-Yoeli says,”not much better than owning a car and an aircraft.”To go from point to point requires vertical take-off and landing,but for many years that could only be done by helicopters or larger aircraft.Urban Aeronautics’ solution is to use light but powerful engines,lightweight materials,and a self-controlled system.Their fan design-propellers housed in some special tubes-is powerful but unstable,so the Fancraft would be challenging for a human to fly without any help.Instead,computer-aided control technology takes over the tiny,quick changes required to keep the car stable at speeds of 160km/h or more.

But don’t be glad too early yet.The main problem to a sky full of flying cars is rules.Not only will every aircraft need to pass strict safety tests,but a new system of air traffic control will be needed to deal with 3-D traffic jams above people who are not aware of what is happening in the sky.NASA is already working on that.Tests have shown that multiple unmanned(无人的) flying cars can communicate with each other to avoid accidents.In the meantime,flying cars will mainly be reserved for emergency services and a few VIPs.

1.Vahana is different from the Volocopter in that____

A.it is power-free

B.it is self controlled

C.its routes are fixed

D.its propellers can be seen

2.The underlined word”vertical”in the third paragraph most probably means____

A.going straight up or down

B.flying high and fast

C.going across back or forth

D.flying quietly and safely

3.What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A.NASA helps flying cars to communicate.

B.There will be no traffic jams if cars can fly.

C.Rules for flying cars have already been made.

D.It is unusual for ordinary people to use flying cars.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

【解析】

这是一篇科普类说明文。文章通过介绍两款新型的飞行汽车Vahana和Volocopter，来告诉我们飞行汽车技术当前发展的状况。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段Vahana: an airbus project to develop battery powered, single- seater aircraft, designed to follow predetermined routes, only changing directions to avoid accidents.可知，Vahana是一个空中客车项目，旨在开发电池供电的单座飞行器，其设计遵循预定的路线，仅改变方向以避免事故；再结合第二段The Volocopter is an electric multi-copter with 18 propellers and a fully self-controlled system.可知，Volocopter是一种电动多旋翼直升机，有18个螺旋桨和一个完全自我控制系统。由此可知，Vahana不同于 Volocopter 的地方是，Vahana 按规定路线行驶。故选C。

2.

词句猜测题。根据划线单词后半句but for many years that could only be done by helicopters or larger aircraft.可知，多年来只能通过直升机或大型飞机来完成。结合常识可知，直升飞机是直线上升或下降实现起飞和降落的，由此可知，划线单词”vertical”指的是类似直升飞机的直线上升或下降式的飞行，所以选项A符合题意。故选A。

3.

推理判断题。根据最后一段But don’t be glad too early yet.和In the meantime, flying cars will mainly be reserved for emergency services and a few VIPs.可知，飞行汽车将主要用于急救服务和为一些重要人物服务。由此可推知，对于普通人来说，使用飞行汽车是不寻常的。故选D。