25.山东省临沂第二十一中学 胡晓萌

教学材料

Traffic Jams—A Problem

Traffic jams happen anywhere. People can get very frustrated if they are stuck in a traffic jam.

If a person is driving a skycar, they wouldn’t have to worry about traffic jams. Drivers could just move over to the side of the road, get their car ready and zoom into the sky. The traffic jam would be far below them.

Inventing a Flying Car

For many years, people have tried to invent a car that could fly. Some were too expensive, and others just did not work.

But one day, an inventor named Gilo Cardozo put a motor onto a sand buggy. The motor had a big propeller and a sail. As Gilo zoomed over the ground, the buggy went up into the air. Gilo had turned the sand buggy into a skycar.

The skycar

Gilo’s flying car is called a skycar. It has a racing bike engine. The engine moves the skycar along when it is on the ground. The engine uses fuel made from plants.

When the car is flying, a parasail helps to move it along. As the car speeds over the ground, the parasail fills up with air.

If the parasail gets damaged or collapses, the skycar uses a parachute. The parachute will unfold so that the skycar can glide safely back to the ground.

Testing the skycar

The skycar idea couldn’t be sold until it was tested. People had to see if it was really safe. They had to see if it could fly long distances as well.

So Gilo Cardozo and his team went on a long journey to Timbuktu. This was a dangerous journey. They had to cross the sea and travel over a desert. It was hot and dusty in the desert. They were a long way from anywhere.

A Successful Journey

The most dangerous part of the journey was crossing the sea. The strong winds made the skycar swing around but no one was hurt.

Some people thought that the trip would fail. It didn’t. The skycar was a success. It could drive on motorways. It could go over sand dunes and rocky ground. And, it could fly safely a long way, too.

A Future for skycars

Skycars aren’t used yet to fly in and out of cities. They are noisy and they need space to take off.

Skycars  would  be  useful  in  many  ways.  They  are  easier  to  fly  than  a

helicopter and not as expensive. They could get to places where  helicopters and other vehicles couldn’t.

Someday soon, skycars could be zooming around in the sky like giant birds.

教学设计