汽车会飞了！你要买吗？？？

不知道大家以前看科幻片的时候，看到会飞的汽车，是不是也想要一台那样炫酷的车子！话说人类从1950年代开始就为这个梦想而努力奋斗，如今，终于得以实现啦！！！

SAN FRANCISCO — So here’s just how fast technology is accelerating. We haven’t even nailed down [1] self-driving cars yet, and now the buzz [2]is all about flying cars.

旧金山--科技的高速发展日新月异，我们甚至还没有搞定自动驾驶汽车，如今已然到处充斥着关于飞车的新闻。

[1]nail down: 弄清;确定 If you nail down something unknown or uncertain,you find out exactly what it is.

It would be useful if you could nail down the source of this tension.

如果你能弄清这种紧张的根源，将会大有益处。

[2]buzz(n)

1)a continuous, low sound 发嗡嗡声,发蜂鸣声 

I heard a buzz and then saw the plane in the distance. 

我听见嗡嗡的声音，接着看见了远处的飞机。

2)a feeling of excitement, energy, and pleasure 兴奋;快乐 

I love riding fast - it gives me a real buzz. 

我喜欢骑快车——这能让我异常兴奋。

In fact, the dogged [3] pursuit of an airborne escape from traffic has been with us for more than half a century, from the limited-edition Aerocar of the 1950s to the host of contemporary companies now taking pre-orders for their airborne vehicles.

事实上，我们锲而不舍地追求一种空中运输工具来避免交通堵塞的愿望已经伴随我们半个多世纪。从1950年代的限量版飞车到当今企业开始接受预定的空中机车。

[3]dogged: very determined to do something, even if it is very difficult 下定决心的,坚决的 

Her ambition and dogged determination ensured that she rose to the top of her profession. 

远大的志向和顽强的意志使她成为行业的佼佼者。

Dutch startup PAL-V [4] announced last week that it was taking $10,000 deposits for its $400,000-and-up two seat Liberty flying car, while Slovakia-based AeroMobil began doing the same for its $1 million-plus machine due out in three years. Both models would require a runway and a pilot’s license.

荷兰的PAL-V公司于上周宣布可以花10000美元来预定其价值400000美金以上的两座自由飞车，同时，坐落于斯洛伐克的AeroMobil公司也开始以同样的形式接受其价值百万美金以上飞车的预定。两款车都要求有机动车和飞行员驾照。

[4]PAL-V公司：PAL-V International B.V. is a Dutch company who are developing a roadable aircraft, the PAL-V ONE (Personal Air and Land Vehicle ONE).The PAL-V ONE in flight is an autogyro or gyrocopter, with a foldable pusher propeller providing forward thrust and a free-spinning rotor providing lift. Directional stability is provided by twin boom-mounted tailfins.

Other big players include Massachusetts-based Terrafugia, whose XF-T looks like a car with wings folded by its sides and, notably, can take off and land vertically, using so-called VTOL technology. The company’s site claims flying an XF-T won't require a full pilot's license.

其他主要的参与者包括马萨诸塞州的Terrafugia公司，旗下的XF-T型号飞车在双翼收回两侧的时候看起来像一辆汽车，值得一提的是，该车运用了所谓的垂直起降技术，可以垂直起飞和降落。该公司网站宣称，驾驶一辆XT-T不需要有完全的飞行员驾照。

Would you pay $1.3 million for a flying car?

你愿意花130万美金买一辆飞车吗？

Last fall, Uber published a white paper that suggested the ride-hailing giant, which is in the middle of a series of cultural crises, was going to seriously pursue not just autonomous cars but also self-flying VTOL aircraft. The paper sketched out a future filled with on-demand air transportation that would shorten a two-hour San Jose to San Francisco drive to a 15-minute VTOL breeze.

去年秋天，优步发表了一份白皮书，据该白皮书表示，优步正处在一系列文化危机中，将认真追求实现自动驾驶汽车，以及自主飞行的垂直降落飞行器。该白皮书勾勒出了一个按需进行空中运输的美好未来，可以使圣何塞到旧金山的路程时间缩短两小时，仅仅需要15分钟的垂直起降飞行便能轻而易举完成。

"We believe in the long term, VTOL will be even less expensive than owning a car," the paper notes, citing high demand that would trigger high production and lower vehicle costs.

报告指出，由于高需求会带来高产量从而降低飞车成本，“从长远看来，垂直起降飞机甚至比拥有一辆车更便宜。”

In the meantime, the high-tech tinkering [5]continues in workshops around the world, driven as much by innovation as by the simple desire to get out of earth-bound gridlock [6].

与此同时，高科技在全球的车间进行不断的修正，使地球摆脱交通堵塞的简单愿望通过创新变革逐渐成为可能。

[5]tinker

(v)to make small changes to something, especially in an attempt to repair or improve it 修补；改进；摆弄 

He spends every weekend tinkering (around) with his car. 

他每个周末都在摆弄他的汽车。 

I wish the government would stop tinkering with the health service. 

我希望政府不要再在公共医疗卫生服务上折腾了。

(n)[UK] the activity of making small changes to something （对…作的）修补，改进 

I'll just have a tinker with the TV and see if I can get it to work. 

我就摆弄一下电视，看能不能修好。

[6]gridlock: a situation where roads in a town become so blocked by cars that it is impossible for any traffic to move （市区）交通大堵塞 

A car breaking down at rush hour could cause gridlock across half the city. 

在交通高峰时间，一辆车抛锚就可能使半个城市都陷入交通瘫痪。  

"Everyone's had the same dream," says Brauer. "You're stuck in traffic, and you imagine yourself simply flying away."

布劳尔说，“每个人都有同样的梦想。”“当你遭遇交通堵塞的时候，你会想象自己能够轻而易举地飞走。”

来源:今日美国&爱语吧