Behold, the bus of the future
It looks rather like a futuristic stretch limousine, but its actual function is rather more populist: the Superbus is a novel publictransport system being developed in the Netherlands by the Delft University of Technology. It is an electric bus designed to be able to switch seamlessly between ordinary roads and dedicated "supertracks", on which it can reach speeds of 250kph (155mph). It could thus present an alternative to much more expensive magneticlevitation trains.
Though it is as wide and long as a standard city bus, the Superbus is only 1.7 meters high, or roughly the same height as a sportsutility vehicle. Joris Melkert, the project’s manager, explains that the designers managed to keep the Superbus this small by doing away with the central aisle usually found in today’s buses, a vestigial design feature that allows passengers to stand upright, but also gives conventional buses the aerodynamic profile of a brick.
The lowriding Superbus, in contrast, has a separate door for each of its 30odd seats. The low ceiling and the use of lightweight materials make for a far more streamlined vehicle, which in turn requires only a modest electric motor: though engineers have not yet decided whether the Superbus will be powered by fuel cells or batteries, they estimate that it will be able to accelerate from rest to 100kph in a leisurely 36 seconds.
The individual doors also allow for rapid loading and unloading of passengers, which will need to be fast if the Superbus is to live up to its promised doortodoor mission: instead of making predetermined stops, the vehicle will pick up and drop off passengers based on their textmessaged requests. This kind of flexibility is a central tenet of the project; the estimated threeyear lifespan of a Superbus (as opposed to thirteen years for a standard European bus) will also allow the latest technologies to be phased in quickly as they become available.
To start with, that might include satellitebased tracking to keep the Superbus on course, sensors to scan the road for obstacles up to 300 meters ahead and a smart suspension system that remembers the rough spots in the road.
Some detractors have suggested that making so many stops would erode the Superbus’s speed advantage, and others question whether a new cog in the Netherlands’ alreadyintricate transport infrastructure is even needed. Furthermore, the Superbus does not yet exist, whereas maglev trains are already operating successfully in Shanghai.
The future of the project is uncertain. Its intended route, a new transport link connecting Amsterdam with the northern city of Groningen, was recently scrapped by the Dutch government (although the Superbus was deemed the most feasible of all the options considered, which also included a maglev train). In spite of the setback, the project has since received an extra 7m ($9m) in government funding, plus 1m from Connexxion, a local bus company. The Superbus team’s latest plan is to unveil a fully functional prototype at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. With its combination of low emissions, high speed and snazzy design, this might prove to be a bus that is.
alternative
a.兩者挑一的;n.可供選擇的事物，替換物，選擇對象
[真題例句] I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her muchpublicized resignation from the editorship of She after a buildup of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of "juggling your life", and making the alternative (a.) move into "downshifting" brings with it far greater rewards than financial
success and social status.[2001年閱讀5]
[例句精譯] 我已經發(fā)現(由于壓力過大，凱爾茜已多次公開宣稱要辭去《她》雜志編輯的職務，在這之后她也許會有同樣發(fā)現)放棄"忙忙碌碌"的生活哲學，轉而過一種"放慢生活節(jié)奏"的生活所帶來的回報，比經濟成功和社會地位更有價值。
magnetic
a.①磁的，有磁性的;②有吸引力的
conventional
a.慣例的，常規(guī)的
[真題例句] Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural elite, so their work tends to reflect the conventional values of this elite.
[2001年閱讀3]
[例句精譯] 記者們往往屬于廣義的社會文化精英的一個部分，因此他們的工作往往反映了這些精英傳統的價值觀。
flexibility
n.彈性，適應性
[真題例句] Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides adaptive flexibility specifically through forgetting.
[1995年閱讀5]
[例句精譯] 另一種思路則假定人的記憶存儲系統儲量有限，這個系統專門通過遺忘提供適應的靈活性。
available
a.①可用的，可得到的;②可以見到的，隨時可來的
[真題例句] However, there are still no forecasts for when fasterthanlight travel will be available (①), or when human cloning will be perfected, or when time travel will be possible.[2001年翻譯]
[例句精譯] 然而，對于何時能夠進行超光速旅行，何時人類克隆技術能夠完善，何時時間旅行成為可能，仍未作出預測。
scrap
n.①碎片;②廢料;v.廢棄，報廢
Little Tips:
荷蘭發(fā)明了兼具跨市列車速度和巴士行駛靈活度的21世紀環(huán)保“超級巴士”。它外表像蝙蝠俠的“蝙蝠車”，時速近250公里。研制它的荷蘭宇航科技教授奧克爾斯形容，它將是未來舉足輕重的大眾運輸。
“超級巴士”跟普通巴士一樣長。它兩邊各有8道門，其流線型車身僅高1.6米，以便盡量發(fā)揮空氣動力學效用，既能在一般公路行駛，也可在專設的高速快線以250公里行駛。它靠司機用電腦系統輔助自動駕駛，由電力驅動。為使行車流暢，它將采用能適應凹凸路面的先進避震系統，及使用先進雷達探測前面幾百米路面的阻礙物和意外。
看呀! 未來的巴士
乍看之下超級巴士更像一輛未來派風格的加長型豪華轎車，但是它實際的作用卻更加平易近人：這輛超級巴士是荷蘭代夫特理工大學開發(fā)的新一代公共交通系統。這是一種能夠在普通路面和專用“超級車道”間平穩(wěn)過渡的電動巴士，在“超級車道”上時速可達250公里(相當于155英里)。這樣，它或許能夠成為替代價格昂貴的磁懸浮列車的另一種選擇途徑。
盡管超級巴士車身的長與寬同標準的城市巴士沒什么兩樣，但是它的高度只有1.7米，差不多是一輛運動型多功能車的高度。項目負責人Joris Melkert解釋說，設計者們去掉了現有巴士里常有的中間過道的設計，從而使得超級巴士體積非常小巧。盡管中間過道的設計給乘客提供了站立的空間，但是因為磚類外形上也同樣給普通巴士帶來了空氣動力學的包袱。
相比之下，低底盤的超級巴士為車上30個單人座各配備了一個車門。低車頂和輕質材料令車身更符合流線型，這樣的汽車對電力發(fā)動機的要求不高：雖然工程師們還沒有決定是讓超級巴士采用燃料電池還是蓄電池，但他們估計該汽車靜止加速到時速100公里僅僅需要36秒。
單獨的車門設計便于快速上下客，因為這對于實現許諾的“門對門”服務是必不可少的：汽車會根據乘客提供的文本消息的命令決定上下客，而不需要事先設定車站。這種靈活性體現了這一項目的主要原則;據估計一輛超級巴士的使用壽命是3年(與此相對應，一輛標準的歐洲巴士的使用壽命達13年)，這使得各種最新的技術一旦成型便可以迅速投入使用。
超級巴士在啟動加速前會采用一系列技術手段：衛(wèi)星跟蹤技術追蹤行駛中的超級巴士、傳感器掃描巴士前方300米內的障礙物以及智能懸浮減震系統記錄路面上起伏顛簸的地點。
一些批評者認為，?？康恼军c過多會抵消超級巴士高速度的優(yōu)勢，另一些反對者質疑荷蘭本已錯綜復雜的基礎交通系統是否需要這個新“玩意”。此外，超級巴士還未存在，而磁懸浮列車已在上海成功服役了。
該項目的前景還難以預料。最近，荷蘭政府駁回了該項目計劃建設的一條連接阿姆斯特丹同北部城市格羅寧根的交通線(雖然人們認為超級巴士是包括磁懸浮列車在內的所有備選方案中可行性的)。盡管遭受挫敗，但那之后該項目同時獲得了政府提供的700萬歐元(900萬美元)的額外資助和一家當地巴士公司Connexxion提供的100萬歐元。超級巴士研究小組的近期打算是在2008年北京奧運會上向公眾展示一款功能完備的原型。由于超級巴士集低排放、高速度和超時尚設計于一身，它或許能夠被證明是一款值得人們翹首以待的巴士。
It looks rather like a futuristic stretch limousine, but its actual function is rather more populist: the Superbus is a novel publictransport system being developed in the Netherlands by the Delft University of Technology. It is an electric bus designed to be able to switch seamlessly between ordinary roads and dedicated "supertracks", on which it can reach speeds of 250kph (155mph). It could thus present an alternative to much more expensive magneticlevitation trains.
Though it is as wide and long as a standard city bus, the Superbus is only 1.7 meters high, or roughly the same height as a sportsutility vehicle. Joris Melkert, the project’s manager, explains that the designers managed to keep the Superbus this small by doing away with the central aisle usually found in today’s buses, a vestigial design feature that allows passengers to stand upright, but also gives conventional buses the aerodynamic profile of a brick.
The lowriding Superbus, in contrast, has a separate door for each of its 30odd seats. The low ceiling and the use of lightweight materials make for a far more streamlined vehicle, which in turn requires only a modest electric motor: though engineers have not yet decided whether the Superbus will be powered by fuel cells or batteries, they estimate that it will be able to accelerate from rest to 100kph in a leisurely 36 seconds.
The individual doors also allow for rapid loading and unloading of passengers, which will need to be fast if the Superbus is to live up to its promised doortodoor mission: instead of making predetermined stops, the vehicle will pick up and drop off passengers based on their textmessaged requests. This kind of flexibility is a central tenet of the project; the estimated threeyear lifespan of a Superbus (as opposed to thirteen years for a standard European bus) will also allow the latest technologies to be phased in quickly as they become available.
To start with, that might include satellitebased tracking to keep the Superbus on course, sensors to scan the road for obstacles up to 300 meters ahead and a smart suspension system that remembers the rough spots in the road.
Some detractors have suggested that making so many stops would erode the Superbus’s speed advantage, and others question whether a new cog in the Netherlands’ alreadyintricate transport infrastructure is even needed. Furthermore, the Superbus does not yet exist, whereas maglev trains are already operating successfully in Shanghai.
The future of the project is uncertain. Its intended route, a new transport link connecting Amsterdam with the northern city of Groningen, was recently scrapped by the Dutch government (although the Superbus was deemed the most feasible of all the options considered, which also included a maglev train). In spite of the setback, the project has since received an extra 7m ($9m) in government funding, plus 1m from Connexxion, a local bus company. The Superbus team’s latest plan is to unveil a fully functional prototype at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. With its combination of low emissions, high speed and snazzy design, this might prove to be a bus that is.
alternative
a.兩者挑一的;n.可供選擇的事物，替換物，選擇對象
[真題例句] I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her muchpublicized resignation from the editorship of She after a buildup of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of "juggling your life", and making the alternative (a.) move into "downshifting" brings with it far greater rewards than financial
success and social status.[2001年閱讀5]
[例句精譯] 我已經發(fā)現(由于壓力過大，凱爾茜已多次公開宣稱要辭去《她》雜志編輯的職務，在這之后她也許會有同樣發(fā)現)放棄"忙忙碌碌"的生活哲學，轉而過一種"放慢生活節(jié)奏"的生活所帶來的回報，比經濟成功和社會地位更有價值。
magnetic
a.①磁的，有磁性的;②有吸引力的
conventional
a.慣例的，常規(guī)的
[真題例句] Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural elite, so their work tends to reflect the conventional values of this elite.
[2001年閱讀3]
[例句精譯] 記者們往往屬于廣義的社會文化精英的一個部分，因此他們的工作往往反映了這些精英傳統的價值觀。
flexibility
n.彈性，適應性
[真題例句] Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides adaptive flexibility specifically through forgetting.
[1995年閱讀5]
[例句精譯] 另一種思路則假定人的記憶存儲系統儲量有限，這個系統專門通過遺忘提供適應的靈活性。
available
a.①可用的，可得到的;②可以見到的，隨時可來的
[真題例句] However, there are still no forecasts for when fasterthanlight travel will be available (①), or when human cloning will be perfected, or when time travel will be possible.[2001年翻譯]
[例句精譯] 然而，對于何時能夠進行超光速旅行，何時人類克隆技術能夠完善，何時時間旅行成為可能，仍未作出預測。
scrap
n.①碎片;②廢料;v.廢棄，報廢
Little Tips:
荷蘭發(fā)明了兼具跨市列車速度和巴士行駛靈活度的21世紀環(huán)保“超級巴士”。它外表像蝙蝠俠的“蝙蝠車”，時速近250公里。研制它的荷蘭宇航科技教授奧克爾斯形容，它將是未來舉足輕重的大眾運輸。
“超級巴士”跟普通巴士一樣長。它兩邊各有8道門，其流線型車身僅高1.6米，以便盡量發(fā)揮空氣動力學效用，既能在一般公路行駛，也可在專設的高速快線以250公里行駛。它靠司機用電腦系統輔助自動駕駛，由電力驅動。為使行車流暢，它將采用能適應凹凸路面的先進避震系統，及使用先進雷達探測前面幾百米路面的阻礙物和意外。
看呀! 未來的巴士
乍看之下超級巴士更像一輛未來派風格的加長型豪華轎車，但是它實際的作用卻更加平易近人：這輛超級巴士是荷蘭代夫特理工大學開發(fā)的新一代公共交通系統。這是一種能夠在普通路面和專用“超級車道”間平穩(wěn)過渡的電動巴士，在“超級車道”上時速可達250公里(相當于155英里)。這樣，它或許能夠成為替代價格昂貴的磁懸浮列車的另一種選擇途徑。
盡管超級巴士車身的長與寬同標準的城市巴士沒什么兩樣，但是它的高度只有1.7米，差不多是一輛運動型多功能車的高度。項目負責人Joris Melkert解釋說，設計者們去掉了現有巴士里常有的中間過道的設計，從而使得超級巴士體積非常小巧。盡管中間過道的設計給乘客提供了站立的空間，但是因為磚類外形上也同樣給普通巴士帶來了空氣動力學的包袱。
相比之下，低底盤的超級巴士為車上30個單人座各配備了一個車門。低車頂和輕質材料令車身更符合流線型，這樣的汽車對電力發(fā)動機的要求不高：雖然工程師們還沒有決定是讓超級巴士采用燃料電池還是蓄電池，但他們估計該汽車靜止加速到時速100公里僅僅需要36秒。
單獨的車門設計便于快速上下客，因為這對于實現許諾的“門對門”服務是必不可少的：汽車會根據乘客提供的文本消息的命令決定上下客，而不需要事先設定車站。這種靈活性體現了這一項目的主要原則;據估計一輛超級巴士的使用壽命是3年(與此相對應，一輛標準的歐洲巴士的使用壽命達13年)，這使得各種最新的技術一旦成型便可以迅速投入使用。
超級巴士在啟動加速前會采用一系列技術手段：衛(wèi)星跟蹤技術追蹤行駛中的超級巴士、傳感器掃描巴士前方300米內的障礙物以及智能懸浮減震系統記錄路面上起伏顛簸的地點。
一些批評者認為，?？康恼军c過多會抵消超級巴士高速度的優(yōu)勢，另一些反對者質疑荷蘭本已錯綜復雜的基礎交通系統是否需要這個新“玩意”。此外，超級巴士還未存在，而磁懸浮列車已在上海成功服役了。
該項目的前景還難以預料。最近，荷蘭政府駁回了該項目計劃建設的一條連接阿姆斯特丹同北部城市格羅寧根的交通線(雖然人們認為超級巴士是包括磁懸浮列車在內的所有備選方案中可行性的)。盡管遭受挫敗，但那之后該項目同時獲得了政府提供的700萬歐元(900萬美元)的額外資助和一家當地巴士公司Connexxion提供的100萬歐元。超級巴士研究小組的近期打算是在2008年北京奧運會上向公眾展示一款功能完備的原型。由于超級巴士集低排放、高速度和超時尚設計于一身，它或許能夠被證明是一款值得人們翹首以待的巴士。