You slip the key into the ignition and crank the engine to life. But before you put the car into gear, you tap a key on the keyboard mounted by the steering wheel, and your newest eª²mail flashes up on the windscreen.

This seductive satyr is what you get when you cross a car and a computer. Dubbed the ¡°network vehicle¡±, or net-mobile, it may soon come to a driveway near you (probably the one belonging to your rich neighbour). In a net-mobile, a motorist could tap into a regional road system but also to map out a route around rush-hour traffic snags. Drivers and passengers will be able to send and receive e-mail, track the latest sports scores or stock quotes, surf the Web, and even play video games. Or so, at least, say a number of computer-industry firms such as Microsoft, Sun, IBM and Netscape.

The modern car is already an electronic showcase on wheels. On-board microcomputers improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. They operate anti-lock brake systems, and on some cars even regulate the firmness of the shock absorbers. But much of the technology needed to add extra is available now. A prototype network vehicle, produced by a consortium of Netscape, Sun, IBM and Delco (an automotive electronics firm based in Michigan), was introduced at the recent annual computerª²industry show in Las Vegas.

It not only offered such desktop-computer-like services as e-mail, but allowed a driver to use them without looking away from the road. It was operated by voice commands and projected its data on to the windscreen, using the same sort of head-up display system found in modern fighter jets. Members of the consortium think a real-world network vehicle could be in production in as little as four years.

Car-makers have already begun rolling out some of the features found on these prototype netª²mobiles. If the driver of a General Motors car equipped with its On-Star system locks his key in the car, for example, an emergency centre can transmit a digital signal to unlock the doors. On-star also calls automatically for help if an accident triggers the airbags. Toyota and General Motors are among a growing list of firms offering such in-car navigation systems. And in Europe, BMW and Mercedes-Benz recently introduced navigation hardware that can not only plot out a route, but alert a driver to traffic jams.£Û419 words£Ý

6.The future car can be defined as the machine which________.
£ÛA£Ý sends and receives e-mails, and surfs the Web
£ÛB£Ý taps into a regional road system to get directions
£ÛC£Ý combines car functions and computer functions
£ÛD£Ý tracks the latest sports scores and stock quotes

7.¡°An electronic showcase on wheels¡±probably means__________.
£ÛA£Ý a computer industry show
£ÛB£Ý a network car
£ÛC£Ý a car that exhibits electronic achievements
£ÛD£Ý a computer that has wheels

8.Compared with an ordinary modern car, the network vehicle will have an on-board microcomputer which________.
£ÛA£Ý projects da

[1] [2] [3] [4] ÏÂÒ»Ò³