原文標題：
Ready for lift-off
Flying taxis could soon be a booming business
Electric aircraft are well-suited to short journeys
準備升空
飛行出租車的生意很快會欣欣向榮

電動飛機非常適合短途旅行

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PARIS HAS long been at the heart of the history of flight. It is where the Montgolfier brothers ascended in the first hot-air balloon in 1783, and where Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo transatlantic aeroplane journey in 1927.

長期以來，巴黎一直是飛行史上的中心。1783 年，蒙哥菲爾兄弟在這里乘坐第一個熱氣球升空，1927 年，查爾斯·林德伯格也是在這里完成了首次單人橫跨大西洋飛行之旅。

Next year, if all goes to plan, Paris will be the site of another industry first when Volocopter, a German maker of electric aircraft, launches a flying-taxi service during the Olympic Games.

如果一切順利的話，明年德國電動飛機制造商 Volocopter將在奧運會期間推出了飛行出租車服務(wù)，屆時巴黎將再創(chuàng)行業(yè)先河。

At the Paris Airshow in June the company, and some of its rivals, paraded a new generation of battery-powered flying machines designed for urban transport.
在今年6月的巴黎航展上，該公司及其一些競爭對手展示了專為城市交通設(shè)計的新一代電池驅(qū)動飛行器。

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The electrification of aviation has often been written off as a pipe dream, with batteries presumed too heavy a substitute for hydrocarbon fuel in an airborne vehicle.
航空電動化往往被視為癡人說夢，因為人們認為電池太重而無法替代空中飛行器的碳氫燃料。

For longer journeys, such as Charles Lindbergh’s across the Atlantic, that may well be true.
對于像查爾斯·林德伯格橫越大西洋那樣的長途飛行，這種觀點或許成立。

Yet upstarts like Volocopter are betting that electrification can unlock a boom in demand for clean and quick aerial journeys over shorter distances.
然而，Volocopter等新興企業(yè)則押注于航空電動化，認為它能帶來對清潔又快速的短途空中旅行的巨大需求。

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The main form of flying taxi under development, called an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, looks somewhat like a super-sized drone, carrying between one and four passengers, plus a pilot.
開發(fā)中的主要飛行出租車類型被稱為電動垂直起降（eVTOL）飛機，外觀類似超大型無人機，可搭載1-4名乘客和1名飛行員。

Powered by batteries, they are both quiet enough to quell complaints in crowded cities, and fast: capable of up to 300kph, enough to comfortably outpace a car, especially one stuck in traffic.
它們由電池驅(qū)動，安靜又快速靈活，足以平息擁擠城市中的交通抱怨問題：最高速度可達300公里每小時，足以輕松超過汽車速度，尤其是陷入交通堵塞的汽車。

Indeed, optimists hope the absence of traffic in the sky will also make eVTOLs well-suited to autonomous operation.They could prove handy for transporting goods, too.
事實上，樂觀者希望空中沒有交通擁堵，這樣電動垂直起降飛機就非常適合自動駕駛。它們也可以方便地運輸貨物。

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That vision has inspired giddy predictions.
這一愿景激發(fā)了令人興奮的預(yù)測。

Morgan Stanley, an investment bank, reckons global spending on eVTOLs could hit $1trn by 2040.
投資銀行摩根士丹利預(yù)估到 2040 年，全球電動垂直起降器的支出可能會達到1萬億美元。

Volocopter is not the only player staking out the terrain. According to the Vertical Flight Society, a non-profit, more than 400 contenders have developed eVTOL designs.
Volocopter并不是唯一一家涉足該領(lǐng)域的公司。據(jù)非營利組織“垂直飛行協(xié)會”稱，已有 400 多家競爭者在研發(fā)電動垂直起降器的設(shè)計。

Joby, a Silicon Valley startup, has already raised $2bn from investors. Archer, another, hopes to have “hundreds or thousands” of its craft flying by the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
硅谷初創(chuàng)企業(yè)Joby已經(jīng)從投資者那里籌集了20億美元。另一個公司 Archer 希望在 2028 年洛杉磯奧運會之前能有“數(shù)百或數(shù)千”架飛行器起飛。

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Despite the enthusiasm, challenges remain. One is technical certification, which is turning out to be a lengthy process as aviation regulators grapple with an entirely new form of aircraft.
盡管熱情高漲，但挑戰(zhàn)依然存在。其中之一是技術(shù)認證，由于航空監(jiān)管機構(gòu)要應(yīng)對一種全新形式的飛機，這將導(dǎo)致認證過程變得漫長。

Some manufacturers, such as Volocopter and EHang, a Chinese firm, are close to having machines in service. In April Volocopter opened an assembly plant in Germany.
Volocopter 和中國億航智能等制造商即將有機器投入使用。今年4月，Volocopter 在德國建立了一家裝配廠。

But others are further off. Late last year Joby was forced to push back its launch by a year to 2025 thanks to, among other things, regulatory delays. Many have even longer to go.
但其他制造商還有很長的路要走。去年年底，由于監(jiān)管延遲等原因，Joby 被迫將推出時間推遲一年至 2025 年。許多公司甚至還有更長的路要走。

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The bigger question is whether the business of flying taxis will be viable. eVTOLs currently range in price from $1m to $4m.
更重要的問題是飛行出租車的商業(yè)模式是否行得通。目前，電動垂直起降器的價格范圍在100萬美元到400萬美元之間。

Although their cost may come down as the industry develops, they are likely to remain expensive pieces of machinery.
雖然隨著行業(yè)的發(fā)展，它們的成本可能會降低，但它們可能仍然是昂貴的機器。

Brian Yutko of Wisk, a maker backed by Boeing, says that flying-taxi rides will be “accessible to the masses”.
波音公司資助的制造商 Wisk 的布萊恩·尤特科表示，飛行出租車將“面向大眾”。

Joby promises that its fares will be comparable to catching a taxi. Yet some studies suggest the cost could end up as high as $7 per km, many times a regular taxi fare.
Joby 承諾飛行出租車的費用將與出租車價格相當。然而一些研究表明，最終費用可能高達每公里7美元，是普通出租車費用的幾倍。

Even without a pilot, flying taxis may remain a convenience affordable only to a lucky few.
即使沒有飛行員，也仍然只有少數(shù)幸運兒才能負擔得起飛行出租車的便利。

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An alternative opportunity for electrification lies with small fixed-wing planes designed to transport a few dozen passengers over distances of a few hundred kilometres—for instance, between nearby cities.
電動化的另一個機會是小型固定翼飛機，這種飛機可以在幾百公里的距離內(nèi)運送幾十名乘客，例如在附近城市之間運送乘客。

Heart Aerospace, a Swedish firm, plans to have a 30-seater plane with an all-electric range of 200km in the air by 2028.
瑞典公司 Heart Aerospace 計劃到 2028 年推出一款 30 座純電動飛機，空中航程可達 200 公里。

In September last year Eviation, an Israeli company, successfully tested a nine-seater electric plane with a range of 400km.
去年 9 月，以色列公司 Eviation 成功測試了一架 9 座電動飛機，航程可達400公里。

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According to McKinsey, a consultancy, air travel accounts for just 8% of journeys between 150km and 800km in America. In Europe it is only 4%.
根據(jù)麥肯錫咨詢公司的數(shù)據(jù)，在美國150公里至800公里的旅程中，航空旅行僅占8%。在歐洲，這一比例僅為 4%。

Most such journeys are taken by car, even in Europe, where buses and trains are more readily available.
大多數(shù)人選擇駕車旅行，即使在歐洲，那里的人們也會選擇更加便捷的公共汽車和火車。

That creates a big opportunity for environmentally friendly short-haul flights, especially given that 90% of America’s population and 50% of Europe’s live within a 30-minute drive of a regional airport.
這為環(huán)保的短途航班創(chuàng)造了巨大的機會，特別是考慮到 90% 的美國人口和 50% 的歐洲人口居住在距離地區(qū)機場30分鐘的車程內(nèi)。

Expect plenty more experiments with electric aircraft in the years ahead.
未來幾年將會有更多的電動飛機試驗。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞匯量709左右）
原文出自：2023年8月19日《The Economist》Business版塊

精讀筆記來源于：自由英語之路
本文翻譯整理: Irene

本文編輯校對: Irene
僅供個人英語學(xué)習交流使用。

【補充資料】（來自于網(wǎng)絡(luò)）
電動垂直起降飛行器（Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircraft，簡稱eVTOL）是一種革命性的航空交通工具，具有垂直起降的能力，無需傳統(tǒng)固定翼飛機所需的長跑道。eVTOL飛行器采用電動動力系統(tǒng)，可以通過電池驅(qū)動或電動發(fā)動機驅(qū)動，從而實現(xiàn)零排放的飛行。在城市環(huán)境中能夠靈活、安全地垂直起降，并在垂直起降后轉(zhuǎn)換為前進飛行模式。這種革新的設(shè)計使得eVTOL飛行器可以快速準確地穿越城市交通擁堵，為人們提供便捷的航空交通選擇。飛行器擁有無人駕駛和有人駕駛兩種模式，有人駕駛模式可以提供更高的靈活性和控制權(quán)，而無人駕駛模式則可以提高安全性和降低操作成本。這些飛行器還可以根據(jù)需要進行不同的配置，如載客乘坐、貨物運輸或醫(yī)療救援等。eVTOL飛行器有望改善城市空中交通，并為可持續(xù)發(fā)展的城市提供更環(huán)保、高效的交通方案。未來幾年，預(yù)計將會有更多的eVTOL飛行器進入市場，并逐漸成為城市交通的一部分。

【重點句子】（3個）
The electrification of aviation has often been written off as a pipe dream, with batteries presumed too heavy a substitute for hydrocarbon fuel in an airborne vehicle.
航空電動化往往被視為癡人說夢，因為人們認為電池太重而無法替代空中飛行器的碳氫燃料。

Indeed, optimists hope the absence of traffic in the sky will also make eVTOLs well-suited to autonomous operation.They could prove handy for transporting goods, too.
事實上，樂觀者希望空中沒有交通擁堵，這樣電動垂直起降飛機就非常適合自動駕駛。它們也可以方便地運輸貨物。

Despite the enthusiasm, challenges remain. One is technical certification, which is turning out to be a lengthy process as aviation regulators grapple with an entirely new form of aircraft.
盡管熱情高漲，但挑戰(zhàn)依然存在。其中之一是技術(shù)認證，由于航空監(jiān)管機構(gòu)要應(yīng)對一種全新形式的飛機，這將導(dǎo)致認證過程變得漫長。