評論
打印
Business
商業
Flying Cars: High in the sky
飛車：云巔之上
Firms such as E-volo, Lilium and Uber are re-imagining the daily commute.
E-volo， Lilium以及Uber這些公司正在重新暢想未來的日常交通。
“You may smile, but it will come,” said Henry Ford in 1940, predicting the arrival of a machine that was part-automobile and part-aeroplane.
1940年亨利·福特預測了一種半汽車半飛機新型機器的誕生同時說道：“你可以對此嗤之以鼻，但它終有一天會到來的。”
For decades flying cars have obsessed technologists but eluded their mastery.
幾十年來飛行汽車令技術專家們魂牽夢縈，但他們始終未能掌握這項技術。
Finally there is reason to believe.
終于，我們有相信的理由了。
Several firms have offered hope that flying people in small pods for short trips might become a reality in the next decade.
一些公司對幾十年內人們乘坐豆莢型的飛行工具短途旅游成為現實寄予了希望。
These are not cars, as most are not fit to drive on land, but rather small vehicles, which can rise and land vertically, like quiet helicopters.
這些飛行工具不是汽車，而是小型的交通工具，因為它們大多數不適合在地面上行進，但能夠像直升機那樣平穩地垂直升空和降落。
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.
德國的一家新興公司Lilium研制出一架最高時速可達300公里的小型電動飛機原型，并于4月20日在巴伐利亞試飛成功。
Lilium is starting work on a five-seat vehicle and hopes to offer a ride-hailing service.
Lilium著手制作一種五座交通工具，同時希望它能提供叫車服務。
Another German company, e-volo, has been testing a flying vehicle for several years.
另一家德國公司e-volo幾年來一直在測試一種飛行器。
It recently showed off the second version of its electric Volocopter, which could be certified for flight as soon as next year.
e-volo最近展示了第二代純電動直升機，很可能明年得到飛行許可。
There are at least a dozen firms experimenting with making small flying vehicles in different guises, including Airbus, an aerospace giant, in partnership with Italdesign Giugiaro, a division of Volkswagen, a carmaker.
至少有十二家公司對不同外形的小型飛行工具進行實驗，，這其中包括航空業的巨頭——空客，該公司和大眾分支意大利汽車設計室Giugiaro （汽車制造公司）進行合作。
Many plan to have a certified pilot in command at the beginning and then move on to an autonomous set-up when regulations allow.
也有很多公司讓持證件的飛行員待命，然后在條例允許之后開辦有自主權的組織。
Motorcycle-type vehicles, which you sit astride, are also in the works.
摩托車型——兩腿分開坐的交通工具也在開發進程中。
譯文來源考研英語時事閱讀
