Electric planes start to take off

题材文章词数科技353 难度 ★★★体裁建议用时说明文6 min

难词探意

1. beaver /ɪbiːvə(r)/ n. 海狸

2. pilot /ɪpaɪlət/ v. 驾驶

A company called Harbor Air in Vancouver， Canada has made a test flight of the world's first all-electric airplane meant for carrying passengers. The 15-minute flight was an important step toward the future of electric planes. Harbor Air has over 40 seaplanes—planes designed to take off and land on water. The company makes about 300 flights a day， most of them flying a few passengers short distances.

To create their “e-plane”， Harbor Air worked with magniX， a company that makes electric motors. Together， they updated a 62-year-old seaplane so it could fly using magniX's new motor. The plane， known as a“Beaver”， can carry six passengers. Harbor Air's leader， Greg McDougall，pilotedthe e-plane for about 15 minutes before landing it again on the water. He said the experience was just like flying a regular Beaver， but more powerful.

About 3% of the world's pollution comes from airplane travel. That number is likely to go up，since the number of people traveling by plane has been growing for years， and is expected to keep increasing.

Electric planes have several advantages over regular planes. Creating less pollution is just one of them. Instead of burning fuel， the planes simply need to have their batteries recharged. With energy from the sun or wind， it pollutes far less. Also， planes powered by electricity are also cheaper to build and run. Electric motors have fewer moving parts and are easier to repair. Electric motors are far quieter than a typical plane engine， though they provide more power， more quickly.

But that power only lasts as long as the batteries last. Batteries are improving， but they're still a challenge for electric planes. The main problem is the weight. Planes need to be as light as possible，and right now， the only way to power planes with electricity is with large， heavy batteries.Most companies working on electric airplanes expect batteries to become lighter，cheaper，and more powerful in the next few years. Because electric planes are so new， they are being carefully tested.So don't expect to see e-planes in the skies regularly until 2022 or later.

Reading Check

1. What's the advantage of electric planes?

A. Having safer moving parts without repair.

B. Causing less pollution with low costs in building.

C. Making use of the clean energy from the sun or seawater.

D. Providing more power than typical plane engines with bearable noise.

2. What's the problem of the electric plane?

A. It fails to pass the test.

B. The power of batteries can't last long.

C. The technology of batteries is not improving.

D. It still needs lighter， cheaper and more powerful batteries in reality.

3. Why did the author write the text?

A. To advertise the electric planes.

B. To introduce the new invention of electric planes.

C. To compare the electric planes with other vehicles.

D. To explain the operational principle of electric motors.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

Most companies working on electric airplanes expect batteries to become lighter， cheaper， and more powerful in the next few years.

【信息提取】本句中，work on 意为“致力于……”，在此处作后置定语，修饰most companies；expect sb to do sth为固定搭配，意为“期望某人做某事”。

【句式仿写】她期望父亲戒烟，因为他身体不好。