The Flying Car: A Cool Idea That Missed Its Moment

Read the dictionary entry.

aerial \ 'er-ē-əl \ adj
1. imaginary or lacking substance  2. suspended by a track or cable  3. happening in the air  4. reaching up toward the sky

Which definition best matches the use of the word aerial in paragraph 6?

• Definition 1

• Definition 2

• Definition 3

• Definition 4

The details in paragraphs 11 through 17 support the key idea that —

• A. the Volante Tri-Athodyne model was proof that flying cars were possible

• B. the AirCar finally made the idea of flying cars into a reality

• C. people who work from home probably have little need for flying cars

• D. people have been anticipating flying cars for a long time

Which sentence best expresses the author’s main claim in the selection?

• A. Flying cars that existed today are little more than expensive toys

• B. There is no longer a need for flying cars because the internet makes leaving your house unnecessary.

• C. Flying cars will soon be widely promoted to make commuting easier.

• D. There is ample justification for being disappointed that flying cars are not already widely available.

Which sentence from the selection describes a negative consequence of modernization?

• A. As other attempts to market flying cars over the years have shown, the AirCar most likely will remain, at best, a high-priced novelty item. (paragraph 3)

• B. From 1946 to 1964, the postwar Baby Boom created a tremendous demand for housing (paragraph 13)

• C. When you're stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, that symbol of freedom suddenly felt more like a trap. (paragraph 14).

• D. But this mid-twentieth-century futuristic fantasy was just that- a fantasy. (paragraph 16).

The author most likely intended the selection to appeal to people who —

• A. worry that flying cars could be dangerous

• B. wonder whether flying cars will ever become a realization.

• C. want to learn how flying cars work

• D. believe that the idea of flying cars is outdated.

What is the most likely reason the author included details about the AirCar in paragraph 1?

• A. To speculate about how flying cars might evolve in the future.

• B. To share positive reactions to the idea of flying cars

• C. To imply that flying cars are becoming widely available

• D. To emphasize that flying cars are the product of years of research

In paragraph 19, the author contrasts an imaginary 2022 version of The Jetsons with its original 1960s version most likely to suggest that —

• A. modern audiences would probably prefer a cartoon that portrayed current technology

• B. the original cartoon featured characters that still seem appealing today.

• C. a modern remake of the cartoon would probably be more interesting than the original

• D. the creators of the cartoon inaccurately predicted the future

Read this sentence from paragraph 6.

There is an explosion of sound and color—cut to a space-age city of apartment buildings perched on columns high in the air.

What is the most likely reason the author uses sensory language in the sentence?

• A. To imply that the fantastic world presented in The Jetsons led to some real technological innovations

• B. To reveal how The Jetsons captured its audience's attention with an exciting vision of the future

• C. To demonstrate why members of the Baby Boom generation have a nostalgic appreciation for The Jetsons

• D. To highlight that The Jetsons was more forward-looking for its time than other shows on television

How does the author rebut the counterargument in paragraph 9 that technological advancement, as represented by the flying car, will make life “quick, convenient, and effortless”?

• A. By providing real-life details that suggest flying cars would actually be unnecessary and highly impractical for everyday use

• B. By drawing a parallel between life during the mid-twentieth-century Baby Boom and life as it was portrayed on a popular televison show of the time.

• C. By quoting a prediction from a famous leader in the automobile industry suggesting that the invention of a flying car was almost reliable.

• D. By describing how an entire generation of young television viewers was duped into believing a highly entertaining vision of the twenty-first century

Read this sentence from paragraph 23.

Instead of getting technology that allowed us to instantly go anywhere we want, we got technology that gave us no reason to leave home.

The author uses antithesis in the sentence to stress the idea that —

• A. designs for flying cars have changed considerably from the past to the present

• B. the promise that advanced technology provides greater freedom is false

• C. fictional accounts of future technology rarely prove to be accurate

• D. people today lack the imagination to find a practical use for flying cars.