“This is the next revolution in flying,”says Mark Henning, European managing director of AutoFlight, a Chinese firm. Mr Henning is not alone in betting that electric vertical(垂直的)take-off and landing(eVTOL)aircraft have a bright future. The idea is that, being simpler, cheaper, greener and quieter than traditional helicopters, eVTOLs will be well suited to operate short-range passenger services across large urban areas, such as flying people between airports and city centres.
Now, Mr Henning is setting up an operation at Augsburg Airport in Germany to further the development of Prosperity I, the company’s air taxi. Prosperity I can seat three passengers and a pilot. It is a hybrid between a helicopter and a fixed-wing plane. It takes off and lands vertically, using multiple rotors(旋翼), but these are switched off when it is in full flight. At that point a “pusher” propeller(螺旋桨)at the back takes over, to provide forward drive, and thus lit via the wings. This arrangement makes better use of the aircraft’s battery, giving Prosperity I a range of some 250 km.
A model will be test-flown in Germany in order to obtain what is known as a type certificate from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency(EASA). This signifies the airworthiness of a new aircraft. Although AutoFlight is also seeking certification in China, the company thinks the addition of European approval will help speed the machine’s entry into service in other markets, too. It hopes to complete the approval process by 2025.
There is uncertainty about how the rules will differ from place to place. Nonetheless, enough regulatory progress has been made. In America, Joby Aviation hopes next year to become the first to obtain a type certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA). In Europe, Volocopter, a German firm, hopes to provide air-taxi services for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
It is not only new firms which are getting into the business. Airbus is developing ideas for eVTOLs. So is Boeing. With so much effort and money going into this new form of air travel, some of these birds will surely be flying soon.
【小题1】What will eVTOLs be used to do?A.Deliver goods in airports. | B.Carry passengers across cities. |
C.Function as charging stations. | D.Replace traditional helicopters. |
A.mixture | B.symbol |
C.concept | D.application |
A.Obtain a type certificate from the FAA. | B.Have it tested across the sky of America. |
C.Tailor a set of rules as soon as possible. | D.Get it approved by European authorities. |
A.A Role of eVTOL in Machine Industry | B.A Novel Form of Air Service in City |
C.A New Version of Boeing’s Evolution | D.How to Win the Certificate from EASA |
Innovation has pretty much finished with car tires (轮胎) right, I mean, what’s left to change? How about the whole “air” part?
Michelin Company’s attempt to tackle tire rubbish around the world witnessed them roll out puncture-proof “airless” tires, which they say should help reduce the 18% of all world tires that are abandoned early due to punctures (轮胎漏气). Deserted tires arc a huge worldwide waste problem — the US produces 260 million abandoned tires per year, many of which end up in landfills or on the sides of the freeway where they release harmful gases and microplastic pollutants as they break down.
Michelin Company's Unique Puncture Proof Tire System or “UPTIS” is designed using 46% recycled material, and made from a plastic matrix (母体) mixed with glass fibers that provide a flexible outer layer with a strong inner one. “The truly distinctive structure of the Michelin UPTIS prototype (原型), or its “strangeness” as we have often heard it called, really attracted the eye of many visitors and left a lasting impression on them,” stated Cyrille Roget, Michelin Group Technical and Scientific Communications Director. “It was an unusual experience for us, and our greatest satisfaction came at the end of the demonstration when our passengers, who were undoubtedly a little alert (警觉) at first, said they felt no difference compared with conventional tires.”
Michelin Company believes airless tires will improve everyone's lives. Maintenance (保养) costs for company’s vehicle fleets will be less expensive, and inexperienced car owners won’t accidentally ruin their rubbers when driving them because they are over-or under-inflated (充气). Although they are still in development stage and using at a large scale within years is unlikely to be available, Michelin Company is not in the least doubtful about their tires’ future.
【小题1】Why does the author ask questions in the first paragraph?A.To explain a strange phenomenon. | B.To clarify a difficult concept. |
C.To present a well-known fact. | D.To introduce a new topic. |
A.The new tire runs more smoothly. |
B.The world greatly needs airless tires. |
C.Traditional tires threaten the environment. |
D.Michelin Company battles the issue of wasted tires. |
A.Its structure distances visitors. | B.It only uses recycled materials. |
C.It combines plastic and glass fibers. | D.Its comfortableness beats ordinary tires. |
A.Tolerant. | B.Positive. | C.Mixed. | D.Objective. |
As far as we know batteries are playing an important role in our life. We couldn’t live without batteries. Why so? Batteries provide power for anything from small sensors to large systems. While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves. University of Missouri (MU) researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient.
“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density (密度)”, said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU. “The radioisotope (放射性同位素) battery can provide power density that is much higher than chemical batteries.”
Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, presently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro / nanoelectromechanreal systems (M/NEMS). Although nuclear batteries can cause concerns, Kwon said, they are safe.
“People bear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,” he said, “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems.”
His new idea is not only in the battery’s size, but also in its semiconductor (半导体). Kwon’s battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor.
“The key part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure (晶体结构) of the solid semiconductor, Kwon said, “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem.”
Together with J. David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, Kwon is working to build and test the battery. In the future, they hope to increase the battery’s power, shrink its size and try with various other materials. Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair.
【小题1】According to paragraph 1 and 2, we can learn that ________.A.batteries can only power small sensors |
B.the larger batteries are, the more power they can provide |
C.Jae Kwon is working hard to improve chemical batteries |
D.certain methods with high energy density can provide power abundantly |
A.to introduce various energy sources |
B.to describe a nuclear-powered system |
C.to introduce nuclear batteries can be safely used |
D.to show chemical batteries are widely applied |
A.get rid of the radioactive waste | B.decline the damage to lattice structure |
C.test the power of nuclear batteries | D.decrease the size of nuclear batteries |
A.could be extremely thin | B.will soon replace the present ones has |
C.uses a solid semiconductor | D.passed the final test |
Scientists in Australia have discovered that they can use the world’s smelliest fruits to make devices that could power electric cars. A durian is a fruit that looks like a pineapple. It is a delicacy in some Asian countries, but its smell is so unpleasant that some of those countries have banned it from public places. Its smell has been compared to rotting eggs and even smelly old gym socks.
Vincent Gomes and his colleagues at the University of Sydney, in Australia, used a durian and a jackfruit — another fruit known for its terrible smell — to make energy storing devices called supercapacitors.
Supercapacitors are an alternative to batteries. They can’t store as much energy as a normal battery does, but they are much quicker to recharge. Durians and jackfruits contain some of the chemicals used in supercapacitors, which gave Gomes the idea. To make the fruit-based devices, the team heated and then freeze-dried the uneatable cores of the durian and jackfruit to make a special kind of material called an aerogel.
Aerogels are one of the world’s lightest solid materials. Often called “frozen smoke”, they are made by removing the liquid from a gel and replacing it with air. They have many scientific uses, but one of their special properties is the ability to conduct electric currents, which makes them an important part of supercapacitors. The aerogels made from durian and jackfruit both worked well when placed inside a supereapacitor, although the durian aerogel was found to be the better of the two.
The discovery is important because the materials currently used to make supercapacitors are expensive. Using natural foods like durians and jackfruits, Gomes says, could reduce environmental pollution, as well as costs.
【小题1】What makes some countries have different attitudes toward the durian?A.Its smell. | B.Its appearance. |
C.Its value. | D.Its popularity. |
A.Paragraph 1. | B.Paragraph 2. |
C.Paragraph 3. | D.Paragraph 4. |
A.Aerogels. | B.Scientific uses. |
C.Properties. | D.Electric currents. |
A.They are devices for producing electricity. |
B.They are chemicals from durians. |
C.They are green and economical. |
D.They are light and liquid. |
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