成人学位英语阅读理解专项练习题含详细解析 (5).docx

PAGE PAGE 1 学位英语阅读理解专项提升练习合集 一、阅读理解 Passage one The history of the flying car is almost as old as that of powered flight itself. It started with the Curtiss Autoplane of 1917, an awkward-looking machine with removable wings. It never left the ground. Later machines made it into the skies but failed to take off commercially. Money is now pouring into flying taxis. On March 30th Lilium, a German company that develops them, announced a merger with SPAC, an acquisition company that values it at $3. 3 bn -- a sign that investors think the business will fly. Thanks to better batteries and lightweight materials, some of them are ready to carry passengers. Up to 300 firms are working on short-range battery-powered craft that take off and land vertically. Carmakers, tech companies and others are investing money into the field. The government is offering a glide path to certification. Americas Federal Aviation Administration is engaged in the process with around 30 firms, says Natasha Santha of LEK, a consulting company. Midway between a cab and a helicopter, flying taxis have distinct advantages over both. Quiet electric motors allow them to operate frequent services. They require only a patch of concrete to land, unlike noisy helicopters, which face severe operating restrictions in most cities. They can fly four or five times faster than a cab can drive and do not get stuck in traffic. Prices can be kept low by ride-sharing. Joby, based in California, says its five-seater machine will enter commercial service in 2024. The firm calculates the initial cost of around $4 per person per mile may soon fall by 25%. A trip from Manhattan to JFK airport would then cost $30-40 per passenger. The real revolution will come when full autonomy takes out the cost of a pilot. Archer hopes to run such aircraft by 2028. They face fewer obstacles in the air than earth-bound cars do on the road; airliners mostly fly on autopilot as it is. Still, as one industry insider puts it, it is p