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You slip the key into the ignition and crank the engine to life. But before you put the car into gear, you tap a key on the keyboard mounted by the steering wheel, and your newest e?mail flashes up on the windscreen.
This seductive satyr is what you get when you cross a car and a computer. Dubbed the “network vehicle”, or net-mobile, it may soon come to a driveway near you (probably the one belonging to your rich neighbour). In a net-mobile, a motorist could tap into a regional road system but also to map out a route around rush-hour traffic snags. Drivers and passengers will be able to send and receive e-mail, track the latest sports scores or stock quotes, surf the Web, and even play video games. Or so, at least, say a number of computer-industry firms such as Microsoft, Sun, IBM and Netscape.
The modern car is already an electronic showcase on wheels. On-board microcomputers improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. They operate anti-lock brake systems, and on some cars even regulate the firmness of the shock absorbers. But much of the technology needed to add extra is available now. A prototype network vehicle, produced by a consortium of Netscape, Sun, IBM and Delco (an automotive electronics firm based in Michigan), was introduced at the recent annual computer?industry show in Las Vegas.
It not only offered such desktop-computer-like services as e-mail, but allowed a driver to use them without looking away from the road. It was operated by voice commands and projected its data on to the windscreen, using the same sort of head-up display system found in modern fighter jets. Members of the consortium think a real-world network vehicle could be in production in as little as four years.
Car-makers have already begun rolling out some of the features found on these prototype net?mobiles. If the driver of a General Motors car equipped with its On-Star system locks his key in the car, for example, an emergency centre can transmit a digital signal to unlock the doors. On-star also calls automatically for help if an accident triggers the airbags. Toyota and General Motors are among a growing list of firms offering such in-car navigation systems. And in Europe, BMW and Mercedes-Benz recently introduced navigation hardware that can not only plot out a route, but alert a driver to traffic jams.［419 words］
6.The future car can be defined as the machine which________.
［A］ sends and receives e-mails, and surfs the Web
［B］ taps into a regional road system to get directions
［C］ combines car functions and computer functions
［D］ tracks the latest sports scores and stock quotes
7.“An electronic showcase on wheels”probably means__________.
［A］ a computer industry show
［B］ a network car
［C］ a car that exhibits electronic achievements
［D］ a computer that has wheels
8.Compared with an ordinary modern car, the network vehicle will have an on-board microcomputer which________.
［A］ projects data on the windscreen
［B］ improves fuel economy and reduces emissions
［C］ operates anti_lock brake systems
［D］ regulates the firmness of the shock absorbers
9.The in-car navigation system has all of the following functions EXCEPT________.
［A］ calling for help if an accident triggers the airbag
［B］ transmitting a digital signal to unlock the doors
［C］ alerting emergency centre if the key is locked in the car
［D］ plotting out route and alert one to traffic jams
10.The passage is written probably to_______.
［A］ promote electronic culture
［B］ advertise for the motor manufacturers
［C］ attract potential motor consumers
［D］ provide information about the net vehicle
