If cars had wings, they could fly and that just might happen, beginning in 2012.The company Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, says it plans to deliver its car­plane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2012.

“It’s the next ‘wow’ vehicle, ”said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh. “Anybody can buy a Ferrari, but as we say, Ferraris don’t fly.”

The car plane has wings that unfold for flying—a process the company says takes one minute—and fold back up for driving. A runway is still required to take off and land.

The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies, although it is both. The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations, and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations.

The company is aiming to sell the Transition to private pilots as a more convenient and cheaper way to fly. They say it saves you the trouble of trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports: You drive the car to the airport and then you’re good to go. When you land, you fold up the wings and hit the road. There are no expensive parking fees because you don’t have to store it at an airport—you park it in the garage at home.

The car­plane is designed to fly primarily under 10,000 feet. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds, including fuel and passengers. Terrafugia says the Transition reduces the potential for an accident by allowing pilots to drive under bad weather instead of flying into marginal(临界)conditions.

The Transition’s price tag: $194,000. But there may be additional charges for options like a radio, transponder or GPS. Another option is a full­plane parachute.

“If you get into a very awful situation, it is the necessary safety option，” Gersh said. So far, the company has more than 70 orders with deposits. “We’re working very closely with them, but there are still some remaining steps，” Brown said.

Not next to me, please!

When you are traveling by plane, there are some passengers you just don’t want to have next to you.

Perhaps you normally like them, but when you are sitting next to them on a plane it’s a different thing. They usually spend all the flight moving around and dropping their toys on the floor, and when they’re drinking their orange juice it ends up on your trousers.【小题2】So you can’t have the little sleep that you were planning.

You recognize this type as soon as you sit down. They immediately start talking about the plane, or the weather, or they ask you a personal question. It’s very difficult not to talk to these people.【小题3】

These are the people with white faces who sit down and immediately ask for something to drink. Every five minutes they call a flight attendant(服务员) to ask if there are any problems with the plane.【小题4】The best thing to do is to pretend to sleep.

【小题5】But they have a terrible habit of taking up all their room, and some of your room too. They usually sit so that you can’t move, with their arms and legs in your space.

What is the most popular way to travel in the whole world，not counting a human being's two legs？You say by car？No.Train？Wrong again.Airplane？I'm sorry，but you're not even close.The most popular way of going from one place to another is by bicycle.And it is a surprise to most Americans.After all，we see thousands of cars each day.We don't see nearly as many bikes.

In the United States most bike riders are either young people or adults bicycling for exercise.About nine million bikes are sold in America each year.Nearly three million are sold to adults.The rest are to children.But in the rest of the world，far more people use the bike as their main way of traveling.They ride bikes to work，to school，and to stores.

Bicycles have been around for a long time-about 300 years.You would not like to ride around on those early bikes，though.They didn't have any pedals(脚蹬).The riders had to push along with their feet.And this bike only went straight ahead.There was no way to turn the front wheel.If the rider wanted to change direction，he or she had to get off and move the bicycle.When pedals were put on the front wheels，riding became easier.The most popular kind of bike in the late 1800s had a very high front wheel and a small back wheel.It was a long fall to the ground!

Another problem was that there were no rubber tires(橡胶轮胎).So bike was called the "Boneshaker" at that time. Then in the 1880s，air-filled rubber tires were put on the bicycle's wheels, which made people feel more comfortable. Since then the bicycle has not changed very much.Of course bikes come in different shapes and colors now，but the main design is still the same.