Do you ever feel like transport just isn't quick enough? The bus is too slow. Cycling is too slow. Walking is too slow. You should try one of these super speedy methods of travel!

Trains have been popular vehicles for around 200 years. But this isn't an ordinary train. This is a maglev train. A maglev train is a special kind of train. Maglev trains are very fast. They use magnets to help them move. The fastest maglev train was in Japan. In 2003, the Japanese MLX01 train travelled at 581 kilometers per hour. Imagine travelling to school at 581 kilometers per hour!

If you find that a little slow, you should jump on an airplane. The average cruising speed of a passenger jet is 1220 kilometers per hour. But even that looks slow compared to the Concorde.

The Concorde was built in Britain and France. The Concorde is a plane with an average speed of 2150 kilometers per hour. The Concorde was supersonic. It broke the sound barrier. That means it was faster than the speed of sound. The Concorde was twice the speed of sound.

The Concorde flew at an average height of 60,000 feet in the air. That's almost twice as high as normal airplanes. When my granddad flew on the Concorde from New York to London, it took just three hours. He said that it flew so high, he could see the curve of the Earth.

If flying isn't your thing, you can still travel fast on the ground. The fastest production car in the world can travel at a land speed of 506 kilometers per hour. You would never be late for anything if you owned that car!

The car is the SSC Tuatara. It is so fast, it is known as a hypercar. It was made in the USA. The world record was set on October 10th, 2020. The previous record was set in 2017. I'm sure it won't be long until it's broken again.

This kind of car isn't much use on the streets. The average speed limit is 50 kilometers per hour. To use the hypercar at its top speed, you would need to go to a racing track.

If you want to mix danger and speed, how about trying the world's fastest motorcycle? The fastest motorcycle in the world is the Dodge Tomahawk. At 680 kilometers per hour, it is even faster than the SSC Tuatara. This bike is so fast that it is illegal to use it on the road. If you want one of these, you must be willing to spend $500,000. That's a lot of money for a bike that can't be used on the road!

Vehicles continue to get faster and faster. Some people get a thrill from going fast. Do you have a need for speed?

Exercises

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