20091214 The Terrafunia Transition (1)

The Terrafunia Transition

The airplane you can fly or drive

Are you sick of commutes to the airport? Exhausted by the search for airport parking? Tired of trying to find ground transportation at your destination? A flying car may be just what you need. While the concept of flying cars has been around for decades, the cars themselves have never really caught on. Now, the Massachusetts-based company Terrafugia is changing that.

The company recently received publicity from around the world with the introduction of the Transition. A true hybrid, the Transition combines the abilities of an automobile with those of a small aircraft. However, the Transition doesn't require users to drive an airplane down the street. Instead, it can be converted from aircraft to road mode in less than 30 seconds. By entering a PIN number, pilots can make the wings fold against the side of the vehicle. Power then moves from the propeller to the front wheels. Drivers who wish to fly simply reverse the process before taking off.


commute n. 通勤
eg: Trina has a two-hour commute to work each day.

catch on 流行
=> become very popular
eg: The idea of riding bicycles to work is really starting to catch on.
eg: PDA cellphones caught on really fast once they were invented.
eg: The new user-friendly software will probably catch on very soon.

publicity n. 宣傳/宣揚
=> a lot of attention
eg: The store has received lots of publicity because of its excellent customer service.

mode n. 形式/型/種類
eg: Michelle changed her cell phone's setting to silent mode during the meeting.

trans- 越過/通過
transition n. 轉換/變革/過渡的階段
=> change from one thing to another
eg: The transition from childhood to adulthood can be very confusing for teenagers.
eg: People expect a smooth transition to a full democracy.


hybrid n. 混合物/合成物
=> something combine two things
eg: This car is a hybrid which uses both gasoline and natural gas.

hybrid n. 混種的植物或是動物
eg: This kind of tomato is a large and sweet hybrid.

Terrafunia
=> comes from Latin meaning "escape from the land"

propeller n. 螺旋槳/推進器

PIN number
=> Personal Identification number


//== Chat Room ==//

Are you sick of commutes to the airport?

be sick of something 受不了某事/某物
=> be annoyed with something
eg: I'm sick of the noise.

be sick from 因為...而生病
eg: He got sick from the food he ate.
=> 他生病是因為吃到不乾淨的食物.


be tired of something 厭倦...
be sick and tired of something 對某事非常受不了
=> 比be sick of something還要強烈
eg: I'm tired of eating the same thing every day.
eg: I'm tired of watching TV. Let's go outside to take a walk.
eg: I'm sick and tired of driving. 我對開車忍無可忍
eg: I'm tired of driving.


fed up with something 對某事非常受不了
=> face something you don't like for a while