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Do you remember that scene in E.T. where the kids fly away on their BMXs? |
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After seeing it, did you want to pedal your bike down the street, over your house and past the moon? |
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Well, now that fantasy can be reality with the invention of the Paravelo flying bicycle. |
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你還記得《E.T. 外星人》裡，孩子騎著越野單車飛起來的那一幕嗎？看過那一幕之後，你是不是想騎著腳踏車衝上街道，然後飛越你家，從月亮前方翱翔而過？現在那幻想可望能夠隨著帕拉維洛飛行單車的發明而實現。 |
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A pair of flight enthusiasts, John Foden, 37, and Yannick Read, 42, have devised a two-wheeled bike, christened the XploreAir Paravelo, that transforms into an aircraft. |
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The British inventors say it is the world's first fully functional flying bicycle. |
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兩名飛行愛好者，三十七歲的約翰•佛登和四十二歲的亞尼克•里德，發明了一部名為「探索天空帕拉維洛」的雙輪單車，能夠轉變為一架飛行器。這兩位英國發明家表示，這是全世界第一部真正可用的飛行單車。 |
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The machine can travel at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour on the road and 25 miles per hour in the air, reaching altitudes of up to 4,000 feet. |
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這部機器在道路上騎乘的極速可達每小時十五英里，在空中的飛行速度可達每小時二十五英里，高度可達四千英尺。 |
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"The Wright brothers were former bicycle mechanics so there's a real connection between bicycling and the birth of powered flight that is recaptured in the spirit of the Paravelo," says John Foden. |
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「萊特兄弟原本是自行車技師，所以自行車和動力飛行的誕生確實具有緊密的關聯，而此一關聯又再次重現於帕拉維洛的精神當中，」約翰•佛登說。 |
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The flying bicycle looks like a conventional bike connected to a lightweight trailer, which houses a giant fan, fuel for the contraption's engine and the flexible foldaway wing. |
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Both the airframe and the bike are made from aircraft grade aluminum. |
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這部飛行單車看起來像是把一輛傳統單車接上一部輕量拖車，拖車中裝有一具大風扇、供機具引擎使用的燃料，以及可折疊的彈性機翼。機身與單車都是以航空級鋁合金製成。 |
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The bicycle can be disconnected from its trailer for inner-city use, then docks to form a "paratrike" for takeoff. |
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In order to fly, the bike and trailer are fastened together, the wing is unfurled and an electric starter fires the biofuel-powered 249cc motor. |
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這部單車可以卸下拖車而在市區內騎用，要飛行的時候再把拖車掛上，形成一部「飛行三輪車」。為了飛上天空，單車與拖車必須結合起來，展開機翼，再由電動起動器啟動採用生質燃料的馬達，排氣量為兩百四十九立方公分。 |
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Foden and Read hope that at $16,000 the Paravelo will appeal to inner-city flight hobbyists, and believe that it may also be useful as a "cost-effective aerial reconnaissance vehicle for forest rangers and border patrols." |
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佛登和里德希望定價一萬六千美元的帕拉維洛將可吸引市區內的飛行愛好者，也認為他們的發明可以用為「森林保護員與邊境巡邏隊的平價空中偵察機」。 |
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