荷兰皇家航空公司将资助开发节油的V形飞机

山西祁县中学校 闫莉娜

The development of a V-shaped fuel-efficient airplane design known as the Flying-V will be funded by Dutch national carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

To improve the sustainability（持续性）of air travel,the Flying-V was developed by researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands,also known as TU Delft.

Its futuristic（未来派的）design puts the passenger cabin into the wings.It's said the plane will use 20% less fuel than the Airbus A350-900 while carrying a similar number of passengers.

“In recent years,KLM has developed as a pioneer in sustainability within its airline industry,”said Pieter Elbers,CEO and president of KLM.“We are proud of our progressive relationship with TU Delft.”

“Air travel is contributing about 2.5% of global CO2emissions （排放物）,and the industry is still growing,so we really need to look at more sustainable airplanes,”said TU Delft project leader Roelof Vos.

“We cannot electrify planes,as electrified airplanes become too heavy and you can't fly people across the Atlantic on electric airplanes—not now,not in 30 years,” Vos said. “So we have to come up with new technologies that reduce fuel burning in a different way.”

“We've been flying traditional airplanes for decades now,but it seems like they are reaching the limit in terms of energy efficiency,”he said. “The new design actively contributes to the lift of the airplane,and creates less air drag.”

The plane's increased fuel efficiency is largely a result of its design,Vos explained.

The researchers hoped to fly a model this September,Vos said,while the new cabin design would be open to the public at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in October.The completed plane is expected to enter service between 2040 and 2050.

Reading Check

1.What's the main purpose of the text?

A.To inform us of the fuel-efficient Flying-V.

B.To appeal to us to raise funds for technology.

C.To remind us of the importance of environment protection.

D.To inspire us to explore the unknown area of technology.

2.Why sustainable planes are needed?

A.To save electricity.

B.To develop air industry.

C.To reduce global CO2emissions.

D.To make air travel more affordable.

3.How does the Flying-V save energy?

A.It depends on a kind of more efficient fuel.

B.It's the V-shaped design that makes a big difference.

C.Its futuristic design leads to a limited number of passengers.

D.The idea of electrified airplanes is applied to its development.

4.In which column is this text likely to appear?

A.Environment.

B.Travel.

C.Finance.

D.Science.

Language Study

Difficult sentence

The researchers hoped to fly a model this September,Vos said,while the new cabin design would be open to the public at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in October.

【翻译】____________________________________________________________________________

【点石成金】这是一个并列句，while作并列连词用，意思为“而”或“然而”，表对比。