Topic 36 Which transportation vehicle has changed people's lives?

The ancient Chinese people dreamed of flying to a place thousands of miles away within minutes by utilizing the force of a special wind. In many ancient mythologies, deity heroes (божественные герои) who had the magic power of traveling a long distance in minutes were highly admired (ими восторгались) by the common people on earth.

It is a daunting task. — Это чрезвычайно трудная задача.

The invention of airplane, which I think is probably one of the greatest achievements of mankind, has helped people fulfill such dreams. In the past, it was a very difficult and daunting task (сложная задача) for a person to go far away. Confucius, the great ancient Chinese scholar, once said that a man should not travel a long distance while his parents were still alive. By this, he not only stressed the importance of interpersonal relations among family members but also indicated the difficulties and the time spent on going far way. In ancient books, we can find numerous descriptions of the hardness and risks travelers often faced, not to mention the long time they had to spend on the road.

However, the invention of modern transportation means, airplane in particular (в частности), has greatly transformed people's way of traveling. Now, they can easily go within hours to places thousands of miles away, a distance which people would have taken several months to go in the previous time. Besides, airplanes make traveling much safer and comfort. Sheltered from sunlight, rain, hot or freezing temperatures, people can now fly in the air and avoid being exposed (избежать контакта с) to bad climates and strong winds. Another advantage of airplanes is that they can transport people as well as goods swiftly (быстро) to other places. For instance, airplanes play an important role in sending rescue teams and goods to an area damaged by an earthquake, as a result of which the lives of thousands of people are saved. Now, in the global anti-terrorist war, military forces can be dispatched (отправлены) and deployed (развернуть в короткие сроки) in a short time to areas where an terrorist attack occurred.

Airplanes have undoubtedly changed people's lives. The earth has become "smaller" now because of the convenient exchanges of people and commodities (товаров) made possible by airplanes. We can accomplish (совершить) many things that could never have been done by the ancient people.