For those who make journeys across the world, the speed of travel today has turned the countries into a series of villages. Distances between them appear no greater to a modern traveler than those which once faced men as they walked from village to village. Jet planes fly people from one end of the earth to the other, allowing them a freedom of movement undreamt of a hundred years ago.

Yet some people wonder if the revolution in travel has gone too far. A price has been paid, they say, for the conquest (征服) of time and distance. Travel is something to be enjoyed, not endured (忍受). The boat offers leisure and time enough to appreciate the ever­changing sights and sounds of a journey. A journey by train also has a special charm about it. Lakes and forests and wild, open plains sweeping past your carriage window create a grand view in which time and distance mean nothing. On board a plane, however, there is just the blank blue of the sky filling the narrow windows of the airplane. The soft lighting, in­flight films and gentle music make up the only world you know, and the hours progress slowly.

Then there is the time spent being ‘processed’ at a modern airport. People are conveyed like robots along walkways; baggage is weighed, tickets produced, examined and produced yet again before the passengers move to another waiting area. Journeys by rail and sea take longer, yes, but the hours devoted to being ‘processed’ at departure and arrival in airports are luckily absent. No wonder, then, that the modern high­speed trains are winning back passengers from the airlines.

Man, however, is now a world traveler and cannot turn his back on the airplane. The working lives of too many people depend upon it; whole new industries have been built around its design and operation. The holiday maker, too, with the limited time to spend, patiently endures the busy airports and the limited space of the flight to gain those extra hours and even days, relaxing in the sun. Speed controls people's lives; time saved, in work or play, is the important thing — or so we are told. Perhaps those first horsemen, riding free across the wild, open plains, were enjoying a better world than the one we know today. They could travel at will, and the clock was not their master.

Ford is showing its first all-electric sport utility vehicle, or SUV—the Mustang Mach-E, marking a major change in the U. S. car industry. The new Mustang can travel between 370 and 480 kilometers before needing an electrical charge.

There are 18 electric vehicle models for sale in the U. S. The research group IHS Markit expects that number to grow to 80 by 2022. New vehicles will include pickup trucks and SUVs that are popular with American buyers.

Last year, electric vehicles made up only 1.5 percent of new vehicle sales worldwide. Auto Industry research company LMC Automotive predicts that will rise to 2.2 percent this year. In the U.S., electric vehicles were only 1.2 percent of sales in 2018. It is expected to be the same this year. Automakers, however, see room for growth. They note that electric vehicles are getting 250 miles or more on a single charge. That means a buyer no longer needs to worry about running out of power during a day’s usual drive. Because of the added models and increased power, LMC predicts that they will make up 17 percent of worldwide sales and 7 percent of U.S. sales in 2030.

The first-generation of electric vehicles were simply existing models that were changed to be electric to meet government fuel economy rules. They did not sell well largely because they could not travel more than 100 miles between charges. But now, many can go farther than the average one-day driving distance. The five-passenger Mach-E looks like a traditional Mustang. Engineers say the least costly model will be able to travel about 370 kilometers on one charge. The most costly model will be able to travel 483 kilometers.

Some experts say the Mustang Mach-E marks the start of an increase in electric vehicles offered by top U. S. carmakers. However, some are not so positive. Stephanie Brinley, an auto expert for IHS Markit, said electric vehicle choices may expand before demand. “There is likely to be a period where the number of choices will increase faster than demand and sales for each will be low,” she said.

Driving to the airport in the early morning, I felt excited. Although I was heading abroad for my first time alone, I felt cheerful and enthusiastic. I was spending the summer in Paris.

While looking for more interesting things to do besides sleeping and eating, I found programs for learning languages abroad, and jumped at the chance to study French in this city known for its art, fashion, food, and culture. As I arrived at the airport where I would leave my family, I still felt only great happiness. I excitedly made my way through security, leaving my loved ones behind.

My connecting flight was in Frankfurt, Germany, 14 hours from Denver. Sitting in a crowded plane watching bad movies couldn’t dampen my excitement. When the woman next to me asked me where I was going, I happily answered and was pleased to note a tone of jealousy in her response.

But when I arrived in Frankfurt, fear and anxiety began to set in. Being in an enormous, busy building in a country where I couldn’t speak the language was frightening, but as I found my way, I gained confidence. When I boarded the second plane and discovered that the flight was less than an hour, I was filled with excitement as I thought of how I would manage in a country with a new language.

When I stepped on the ground of Pairs for the first time, I was extremely happy and excited. I gathered my bags and joined the crowd of people waiting for friends and family. I quickly had my first experience trying to communicate in a language that I had only practiced in school. As I left the airport, I looked for familiar monuments I had read about, but the landscape looked very- ordinary. Then, with one sharp turn, the Eiffel Tower came into view, and I was finally in Pairs.