If cars had wings，they could fly and that just might happen, beginning in 2011.The company Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, says it plans to deliver its car-plane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2011.
“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 from 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 car-plane 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 full-plane 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.
小题1:
We can learn from the first paragraph that .
A．car-planes will be popular in 2011
B．people might drive a car-plane in 2011
C．both Transition and Ferrari can take off and land
D．Richard Gersh is the vice president of Massachusetts小题2:
lt takes the car-plane one minute to .
A．fold and unfold its wings
B．unfold wings for flying
C．land in the airport
D．meet flying safety regulations小题3:
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. The car-plane needs a runway to take off and land.
B. To meet aircraft regulations, the company has been working with FAA.
C. The car-plane may fly as high as normal planes.
D. People can park the car-plane in the garage at their home.
小题4:
The underlined word “it” in the last but one paragraph refers to .
A．the radio
B．the transponder
C．the GPS
D．the full-plane parachute小题5:
What’s the best title for the passage?
A．Cars With Wings May Be Just Around The Corner
B．Which to Choose: A Ferrari or a Car Plane?
C．A more Convenient and Cheaper Way to Fly
D．Cars With Wings Can Fly as Fast as Planes