Unit 17
The flying car
新知思想/趣味科普
New Knowledge/Fun Science
BRAIN STORM
Share your ideas with your teacher and try to make sentences.
What do you think is the purpose of flying cars? Do you they are necessary?
VOCABULARY
Repeat these sentences after your teacher.
1. constraints (n.) 限制;束縛;約束
I cannot break free from the constraints!
我無法擺脫束縛！
2. futuristic (adj.) 未來派的;超前新奇的
You have to have a futuristic outlook these days.
這些天你必須要有未來感。
3. commercialization (v.) 商業化
The prototypes are just for commercialization.
原型僅用於商業化。
4. prototype (n.) 樣機
You have to create a prototype first.
您必須首先創建一個原型。
5. deep-pocketed (n.) 財力雄厚的
There are a lot of deep-pocketed companies!
有很多財力雄厚的公司！
6. energy efficient (phr.) 節能的
I think flying cars are energy efficient.
我認為飛行汽車是節能的。
7. inception (n.) 起初
2000 was the inception of technology.
2000年是技術的誕生。
8. conventional (adj.) 傳統的;常規的
He may not be conventionally attractive, but he’s far from repulsive!
從傳統上講，他可能沒有吸引力，但他並沒有令人反感！
Dialogue
Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.
Ever since the dawn of the automobile industry, travelers and commuters have wondered when their cars would be free from the constraints of gravity.
Japan’s SkyDrive is the latest player to throw their hat into the flying car ring with a successful test run of their manned SD-03.
This futuristic one-seater is designed to carry a single human pilot, with stabilization provided by an onboard computer.
東自汽車行業興起以來，一直縈繞在旅行者和通勤的人們腦海中的問題就是，他們的車何時可以擺脫重力的束縛。
日本的SkyDrive公司便是進軍飛行汽車領域的最新一員，並已成功進行了載人樣機SD-03的測試。
這款頗具未來感的單座汽車由一名飛行員控制，並由車載計算機確保飛行穩定性。
According to a company press release, the next major milestone is the commercialization of their prototype, planned for 2023.
Some very deep-pocketed institutions have already invested billions, hoping to reach that goal.
Critics have pointed out that this is hardly the first flying car to reach the testing stage, and that flying cars are less energy efficient than automobiles.
But let’s not forget that at the inception of the automobile, it too was ridiculed. Few foresaw how quickly it could disrupt the conventional means of transportation, the horse.
公司發佈消息稱，下一個重要里程碑是計劃於2023年將其飛行汽車投入商用。
一些財力雄厚的機構已為此投資了數十億，希望能實現這一目標。
也有評論指出，SD-03並非首個成功進入測試階段的飛行汽車，而且節能效率低於普通汽車。
但是汽車在誕生之初也曾飽受嘲笑。當時很少有人預見到汽車能迅速動搖馬作為傳統交通方式的地位。
Grammar
throw one’s hat into the ring(加入競賽)
As you know, many English idioms come from sports. As you may also know, maybe competitions take place in a “ring.” So it should come as no surprise that a ring in English has come to represent any competitive space. The idiom “throw one’s hat into the ring” means to signal your intention to join a competition.
Often, we will see the phrase followed by the preposition “for” or “to” to express a purpose. Or, you can place an adjective before the word “ring” to modify it. You can also go one step further and use a noun (like “flying car”) to modify “ring.”
1. Our small city threw its hat into the ring to attract the new Amazon warehouse.
2. He is just the latest local businessman to throw his hat into the ring for mayor.
3. So many countries have now thrown their hat into the colonizing Mars ring.
DISCUSSION
Make a conversation with your teacher.
1.What other inventions / gadgets or technology do you think will exist 2 years from now?
