Vocabulary
TIRE
ARM
BUILDING
CAN
DESERT
GASOLINE TANK
JAIL
LEGS
MONUMENT
MOTION PICTURE CAMERA
ENGINE
WINGS
SHIP
TOOLS
PROPELLER
This is Faith Lapidus. And this is Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we
tell about an unusual man who traveled alone around the world. He was an
inventor and a filmmaker. He wrote a best-selling book. He was a poet, an
artist and an airplane pilot. His name was Robert Edison Fulton, Junior.
He was named for (after) two of America's most famous
inventors, Robert Fulton and Thomas Edison. We begin his story at a
dinner party in London, England, in nineteen thirty-two.
Robert Edison Fulton, Junior was twenty-four years
old. He had graduated from Harvard University in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. He had recently completed advanced studies in building design at
the University of Vienna in Austria. He was on his way back to the United
States when he stopped to visit friends in London. At a dinner
party at his friends' house, a young woman asked him if he would be sailing
home soon.
He answered: "No, I am going around the world on
a motorcycle." Robert Fulton would say for the rest of his
life that he had no idea why he said such a thing.
Another man at the party said such a trip would be a
great idea. And he said he owned the Douglas Motor Works Company.
He offered Robert Fulton a new Douglas motorcycle to use on his trip.
Many years later, Mr. Fulton said this dinner party
was the beginning of an eighteen month adventure. His trip would extend over
more than forty thousand kilometers and include twenty-two countries.
Within a few days of the dinner party, Robert Fulton
began his preparations. He started collecting maps of the different
countries he might visit. In nineteen thirty-two, maps of some countries
were difficult to find.
The Douglas company added special equipment to a new
motorcycle. This included a second gasoline tank. Mr. Fulton would
learn that he could ride about five hundred sixty kilometers without needing
more fuel.
Two common automobile tires were fitted to the
motorcycle. This would make it easier to find new tires or repair the two
he had. And the company made a special box to hold tools and a motion
picture camera and film. Robert Fulton decided to make a movie about his
trip.
A few weeks later, Robert Fulton found himself riding
his new motorcycle out of London. He rode to the port of Dover. He
crossed the English Channel on a ship.
Robert Fulton said the first part of the trip was not
exciting. He had traveled in much of Europe before.
The only new thing was the motorcycle. He quickly
rode through France, Germany and Austria. He also passed through
Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Greece. Each time, it took several hours to get
permission to cross the border. Often, border police thought he must be
insane. Some said they would permit him to cross, but not his
motorcycle. But each time, Mr. Fulton was able to talk his way across the
border.
Robert Fulton spoke English, French and German.
Soon, these languages did not help him. But he always seemed to be able
to communicate with almost everyone. He was a nice-looking, friendly young
man. People liked him almost immediately. Many people offered him
help when they learned what he was trying to do. Police in small towns
often let him sleep in the town jail at night.
In time, he reached Damascus, Syria. His next
stop would be Baghdad, Iraq. He quickly learned he would have to cross
almost eight hundred kilometers of the great Syrian Desert. Officials
told him it would be impossible with a motorcycle. Other people said it
could be done.
Robert Fulton decided to find out for himself.
He loaded the motorcycle with extra cans of fuel and water and began his trip
across the desert. Syrians called this desert "the Blue."
This was because all you could see was the very blue sky and the very hot sun.
He rode sixteen kilometers on the road out of
Damascus. Then he saw a sign showing the way toward Baghdad. It was here
that the road ended. In front of him was the great desert. Robert
Fulton was alone for most of the trip. He worried about his
motorcycle. If the engine failed, he could die of lack of water before
anyone could find him. He could fall off and break a leg or arm.
The severe heat could kill him. But the motorcycle did not fail
him. He survived the fierce heat. He arrived safely in Baghdad.
Robert Fulton successfully completed his trip.
He traveled through what are now Afghanistan, India, Vietnam, China, Malaysia
and Japan. He crossed the Pacific Ocean on a ship, and arrived in San
Francisco. From there, he rode his motorcycle home to New York
City. He arrived one day before Christmas, nineteen thirty-three.
When he began his trip, Mr. Fulton said he wanted to
study buildings and monuments because that is what he had studied in
school. He later wrote that he became much more interested in the people
he met. He said race or religion did not make a difference. The
people were almost always very friendly. He said many people in small
villages did not trust him because he was a stranger. But almost everyone
tried to help him when they found out that he was riding around the world.
In nineteen thirty-seven, Robert Fulton wrote a book
about his trip. He called it "One Man Caravan." It
included many photographs of buildings he had seen. Some were very
beautiful. They included religious buildings in Malaysia and old military
forts in India.
But Robert Fulton liked the photographs of people's
faces best. The photos showed people in their native dress, working, playing
and examining his motorcycle.
"One Man Caravan" still sells well
today. People can order it from bookstores. The movie he made of
the trip is called "Twice Upon a Caravan." People can also order it
from some bookstores.
Robert Fulton would be considered an unusual man if
this long trip was all he did. It was a dangerous thing to do. Some
experts said he was lucky to survive. But the trip was only a small part
of his long and interesting life. Later, he became a professional
photographer for Pan American World Airways. He taught himself to be a
pilot.
During World War Two, he designed a machine used to
train military aircraft crews to fire guns at enemy aircraft. Both the
United States Army Air Corps and Navy bought many of these machines.
Another invention earned Robert Fulton a special place
in aviation history. He designed and built an airplane that was also a
car. It flew like any other aircraft. But when it landed, the
pilot could take off the wings and propeller and drive it like any other
car. He called this invention the Airphibian.
In nineteen fifty, Robert Fulton flew his Airphibian
to National Airport in Washington, D.C. Then he drove the car from the
airport to the headquarters of the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
There he was given the legal documents needed to produce the vehicle.
But it was not a success. The costs to develop the
Airphibian were too high. Now, the Smithsonian Institution owns the only
remaining example of Mr. Fulton's unusual invention.
Robert Fulton owned more than seventy legal documents
that protected his inventions. Among these was a special wheelchair that
helped people enter passenger airplanes. He also invented the Skyhook, an air
rescue system that involved an airplane and a large helium balloon.
The Skyhook was an emergency device designed to rescue
people in areas that were hard to reach, such as spies in enemy
territory. This device was used in the spy movie "Thunderball"
about British secret agent James Bond.
Robert Edison Fulton, Junior died at his home in
Newtown, Connecticut at the age of ninety-five on May seventh, two
thousand-four. He did not own a copy of his flying car. He no longer had
many of the inventions he had made. However, he did own a
motorcycle. It was the same special motorcycle made by the Douglas Motor
Works so many years ago. He had had it rebuilt to look new.
Robert Fulton could never give up his Douglas
motorcycle. It was a part of him.
He once said the year and a
half he spent traveling around the world was the experience that changed his
life. He said it gave him the courage to try many things and
succeed. It was an experience that began with a few simple words:
"I am going around the world on a motorcycle."
AIRPHIBIAN
Grammar
Could
'Could' can be used to talk about the past, the present or the future.
'Could' is a past form of 'can'
- When I was living in Boston, I could walk to work.
- He phoned to say he couldn't come.
- I could see him clearly but I couldn't hear him and then the videoconference line went dead.
'Could' is used to make polite requests. We can also use 'can' for these but 'could' is more polite.
- Could you help me, please?
- Could you lend me some money?
- Could I have a lift?
- Could I bother you for a moment?
If we use 'could' in reply to these requests, it suggests that we do not really want to do it. If you agree to the request, it is better to say 'can'.
- Of course I can.
- I could help you if it's really necessary but I'm really busy right now.
- I could lend you some money but I'd need it back tomorrow without fail.
- I could give you a lift as far as Birmingham.
'Could' is used to talk about theoretical possibility and is similar in meaning to 'might'.
- It could rain later. Take an umbrella.
- He could be there by now.
- Could he be any happier?
- It could be Sarah's.
Must
"Must" is most commonly used to express certainty. It can also be used to express necessity or strong recommendation, although native speakers prefer the more flexible form "have to." "Must not" can be used to prohibit actions, but this sounds very severe; speakers prefer to use softer modal verbs such as "should not" or "ought not" to dissuade rather than prohibit.
Examples:
- This must be the right address!
- Students must pass an entrance examination to study at this school.
- You must take some medicine for that cough.
- Jenny, you must not play in the street!
