People have long dreamt of a car that flies through the sky. Japan′s SkyDrive has carried out a successful, but modest test flight of such a vehicle carrying a person. In a video 【小题1】 (show) to reporters last week, a vehicle that looked like a motorcycle with propellers (螺旋桨) lifted up to two meters off the ground. It 【小题2】 (fly) in circles in a protected area for four minutes. Tomohiro Fukuzawa heads 【小题3】 SkyDrive effort. He hopes the flying car can 【小题4】 (make) into a real-life product by 2023. Of the world′s more than 100 flying car projects, only a handful has succeeded with a person 【小题5】 board.

The machine so far can fly for just five to 10 minutes, 【小题6】 if the flight time can be extended to 30 minutes, the car will have more possibilities. Unlike airplanes and helicopters, “electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles”, generally offer quick point-to-point personal travel. They could do away with 【小题7】 (have) to deal with airports, traffic jams and the cost of paying for pilots. Such vehicles could even fly without a pilot.

The Japanese government has expressed support for the futuristic project. The goal is to expand the flying car′s 【小题8】 (commerce) use by the 2030s. It also has noted possible uses for connecting faraway 【小题9】 (region) and providing transportation in disasters.

Experts compare the excitement about flying cars to the days 【小题10】 the aviation industry got started with the Wright Brothers and the auto industry with the Ford Model T.

Alice Thompson is a girl from Sydney, Australia. She had her first long-distance train ride at the age of 18. Together【小题1】 a friend, she got on the famous Ghan train in Sydney and got off in Alice Springs. For the few hundred kilometers of the journey, the scenery was very 【小题2】 ( colour ). During the two days and nights, they ate meals cooked by experts and saw fields, desert and 【小题3】 ( abandon ) farms. In the daytime, Alice talked to other passengers and read some books. At night she watched the stars in the sky，【小题4】 shone like diamonds.

The famous train is called the Ghan. 【小题5】 is short for Afghanistan. A long time ago, Australians wanted to travel to the middle of their country, so they 【小题6】 ( bring ) some trained camels from Afghanistan 【小题7】 ( carry ) food and other supplies and returned with food and other【小题8】 ( produce ). They did this 【小题9】 the 1920s. Then the government built 【小题10】 new railway line and took the place of the camels. They didn’t deed the camels any more.

Simply raise your hand 【小题1】 a taxi appears 【小题2】 no time. They are usually red and they display the price per kilometre on the window.

Public transport provides a cheap way 【小题3】 (get) around in Beijing. There are 20000 buses and trolleybuses in Beijing, but they can get very crowded. 【小题4】 is a good idea to avoid public transport during the rush hour. Fares are cheap, 【小题5】 (start) at 1 yuan.