This is What’s Trending Today…

Flying cars may soon become a reality.

The rideshare service Uber has asked an expert from NASA, the American space agency, to help the company develop cars that can fly.

NASA engineer Mark Moore will work on the Uber Elevate project, Bloomberg Technology reported.

The Bloomberg show said the project aims to support other businesses that are developing flying vehicles as well.

Last October, Uber announced plans to use flying vehicles in the future to avoid traffic in and around cities. The company wants to use small, fully electric aircraft that could take off and land like a helicopter.

Uber said its flying vehicles would be much quieter, cost less to operate and produce less pollution than helicopters.

Moore has worked at the space agency for 30 years. His research has dealt mainly with vertical takeoff and landing vehicles – the kind of vehicle Uber now hopes to develop.

Talk of plans for a flying car made Uber and NASA trending topics on social media.

One person in San Francisco wrote on Twitter, “I used to think flying cars was a ridiculous idea. This morning I sat in SF traffic. I changed my mind.”Another person tweeted from Mumbai, India: “Reading about Uber hiring a NASA engineer to build flying cars, while I’m stick in traffic at the legendary Sakinaka signal. There is hope.”Moore told Bloomberg Technology that he predicts there will be several early models of flying cars – with human pilots – within one to three years.

And that’s What’s Trending Today.

I’m Ashley Thompson.

VOA News reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English, with additional materials. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

vertical - adj. positioned up and down rather than from side to side : going straight up

ridiculous - adj. extremely silly or unreasonable

hire - v. to give work or a job to (someone) in exchange for wages or a salary

legendary - adj. very famous or well-known

This is What’s Trending Today…

这里是今日时事。

Flying cars may soon become a reality.

汽车飞机有可能很快就能变为现实。

The rideshare service Uber has asked an expert from NASA, the American space agency, to help the company develop cars that can fly.

共享打车服务中心Uber曾邀请美国航空机构——美国航空航天局(NASA)的一位专家来协助公司发明一种可以飞行的汽车。

NASA engineer Mark Moore will work on the Uber Elevate project, Bloomberg Technology reported.

NASA工程师马克·摩尔将为Uber电力工程工作，彭博社报道。

The Bloomberg show said the project aims to support other businesses that are developing flying vehicles as well.

彭博社说，这项工程能够帮助其他尝试发明飞行汽车公司。

Last October, Uber announced plans to use flying vehicles in the future to avoid traffic in and around cities. The company wants to use small, fully electric aircraft that could take off and land like a helicopter.

去年十月，Uber曾宣布发明飞行汽车的汽车，以避免城市周围交通拥堵。公司打算安装小型电动飞行器，能够使汽车像直升飞机那样起飞和降落。

Uber said its flying vehicles would be much quieter, cost less to operate and produce less pollution than helicopters.

Uber表示，飞行汽车比直升飞机操作起来噪音小、耗能低且污染少。

Moore has worked at the space agency for 30 years. His research has dealt mainly with vertical takeoff and landing vehicles – the kind of vehicle Uber now hopes to develop.

摩尔在航空航天局工作了30年了。其研究领域主要是机器起飞和降落，这正是Uber 公司目前想要发明的机器。

Talk of plans for a flying car made Uber and NASA trending topics on social media.

Uber制造飞行汽车和NASA协助成为社交媒体上的一大流行词。

One person in San Francisco wrote on Twitter, “I used to think flying cars was a ridiculous idea. This morning I sat in SF traffic. I changed my mind.”Another person tweeted from Mumbai, India: “Reading about Uber hiring a NASA engineer to build flying cars, while I’m stick in traffic at the legendary Sakinaka signal. There is hope.”Moore told Bloomberg Technology that he predicts there will be several early models of flying cars – with human pilots – within one to three years.

旧金山的一位网友在推特上写道，“我一直以为飞行汽车很荒唐。今天上午我亲眼目睹了旧金山的交通状况，我改变了我的看法。”另一位来自印度孟买的网友写道，“我在Sakinaka 中等待红绿灯的时候看到了这条关于Uber请NASA工程师帮忙制造飞行汽车的消息。”摩尔向彭博社透露，飞行汽车将在三年内制造几种需要飞行员的早期模型。

And that’s What’s Trending Today.

以上是今日新闻。