The Special Ways of Traveling

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古人說，“讀萬卷書，行萬里路”，說明旅行與讀書一樣對學習有重要的作用。旅行受到大多數人的歡迎，它可以使我們在觀賞壯麗的河山，游覽名勝古跡的同時，深刻體會不同的風土人情，增長我們的閱歷和知識，開闊我們的眼界。你知道外國人特別的旅行方式嗎？他們是怎樣旅行的呢？他們在旅行中又準備了什么呢？讓我們通過這篇文章來了解一下吧！

★自從公路上的汽車越來越多，交通堵塞的現象也變得越來越嚴重，這時，人們便開始夢想著有朝一日能夠徹底擺脫令人厭煩的交通堵塞。下面介紹的這種交通工具，以往我們只能在007或未來世界之類的電影中才能看到。但如今我們也有機會一睹它們的風采了，真希望它們能盡快地走進尋常百姓家，讓我們進一步體驗到科技帶來的便利。

Cars are an important part of life in some foreign countries. They are very important for people. People like to drive cars to travel here and there. Its easy to drive a car to a far place in a short time. So cars are very popular.

There is a new car named Transition. Do you know what Transition is？ Let me tell you. Its not a usual car. It can run on the road， and it can fly in the sky. So people call it Transition. The new car was born in an American company①. The wings② of the car are about 8.3 meters wide. The car can fly about 740 km at 185 kilometers an hour. After landing on the ground， it needs to get the oil first. It can run fast on the ground， too. It doesnt need an airport to take off and land. A highway③ is enough. And it doesnt need an airport to store. The drivers can store it in the garage④.

It must be so cool to drive it. You can fly with birds and you can run on the road. Is it too difficult for people to learn how to drive？ The answer is “No”. It is easy for people to drive the car. The drivers doesnt need to learn more knowledge⑤ about flying. There are many special tools like GPS and a computer to help them.

Some people give the new car a cool name： Little Transformers. The car is a little expensive. It is about 139，000 pounds. In the future， it may be cheaper and cheaper. Now， driving the car is a new and expensive way of travel. And many people want to have a try. Do you want to have a try？

★熱氣球從被發明的時候起就吸引著大批的愛好者。人們非常愿意體驗飛行所帶來的樂趣。現在世界各地每年都舉辦熱氣球節，這項體育活動吸引了眾多參與者。熱氣球與飛機的飛行相比，更像是一種休閑的旅游方式。

The hot-air balloon is not a new tool to take people into the sky. It has a long history in China. It is popular in Chinese history. We call the Chinese hot-air balloon Kongming Lantern⑥. The lanterns are so small. People cant take the lanterns. Hundreds of years ago， the French invented⑦ the hot-air balloon. The modern hot-air balloon is very strong and big enough， and there is much hot air in it. People

can take the hot-air balloons safely. People put a big basket under the balloon， and also put some food and other tools in the basket. People can stay in the basket for a long time. It is difficult to control① a hot-air balloon. But its more interesting. Its so magic②. Some people would like to take the hot-air balloons to travel around the world.

There are many hot-air balloon festivals all over the world every year. The sport lovers come together for festivals. They paint some colorful pictures on the balloons. Many people would like to watch the hot-air balloons flying. ★在眾多飛行器中，這個是最小巧便捷的，這個飛行器仿佛給人們安上了一雙翅膀，讓人們在天空中自由的翱翔。

Flying like a bird is a great dream. Many people do much work for their dreams. A Swiss pilot③ named Yves Rossy made the dream come true. Yves was born on August 27th， 1959. He is a pilot and inventor. And he is a flying man. He likes flying very much. He has an interesting nickname—Jet Man （噴氣人）. It took him five years to invent a new machine named jet-powered fixed wing. It is just like a small plane. It is about 3 meters wide. Yves can fly like a bird with the planes help. The plane made him become the first man flying like a bird. We call Yves superman. Later Yves successfully flew across the English Channel on September 26， 2008 in less than 10 minutes （9 minutes 7 seconds）. It was a wonderful travel for him. It reached a speed of 125 miles per hour. Later in 2008， he flew over the Alps reaching a top speed④ of 189 miles per hour. The plane is good enough. Flying with birds is cool. We can see many nice and special scenes⑤. Do you want to have a try？

★自己動手制作旅行工具，是一件很有意思的事。若在做這件事的同時，還能宣傳環保理念，則更加有意義了。

Ice creams are nice. Many people like eating ice creams. How do you deal with the sticks？ People may throw them into the dustbins⑥. They think its good for environment⑦. But its not the best way to deal with the sticks. A man named Robert McDonald thought a good idea. He made a boat named Viking Thor. The boat sailed from Netherlands to reach England in April， 2008. There were many cute toys in the boat. Robert wanted to give the toys to the children in the hospital.

What is the boat like？ There are some interesting numbers about the boat. You may be interested in them. The boat is 14.9 meters long and 7 meters high. People used about 15 million ice cream sticks to make the boat， more than 5，000 children from 18 schools in Europe took part in collecting the sticks. People used more than 6 tons of glue. It took them five years to complete⑧ the boat.

Why did Robert McDonald make the boat？ He wanted to tell children people could overcome⑨ all difficulties to achieve⑩ their own dreams， and people could do something to protect the environment.

We know the ways of traveling in foreign countries. What do you think of them？ Please tell me！ Where do you want to go？ How can you get there？

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