Since that time, various types of hovercraft have appeared and taken up regular service.

take up ^{v.start or begin sth, esp. a job 开始（某种工作等）}

• She has taken up a job as a teacher. ^{她开始从事教师工作。}
• Various hovercraft have taken up regular service. ^{多种气垫船已开始定期服务。}
• He took up painting after retirement. ^{他退休后开始从事绘画。}

service ^{n.used to talk about whether a piece of equipment, a vehicle etc. is available to be used, or how long it can be used （设备，交通工具等）被使用，得到使用}

• These trains have been in service for many years. ^{这些火车已经使用多年。}
• The escalator is still out of service. ^{电梯仍在停用状态。}
• Hovercraft have taken up regular service in various regions. ^{气垫船已在多个地区开始定期服务。}
• Steel tools can give good service for years.

The hovercraft is particularly useful in large areas with poor communications such as Africa or Australia;

communications ^{n.roads, railways etc that are used for travelling and sending goods 交通}

• Paris has good communications with many European cities. ^{巴黎与许多欧洲城市有良好的交通联系。}
• Its commercial success as a city is partly due to its excellent rail and road communications.
• Hovercraft are useful in areas with poor communications. ^{气垫船在交通不便的地区特别有用。}
• Excellent road communications boost the city’s economy. ^{出色的公路交通促进了城市经济。}

it can become a 'flying fruit-bowl', carrying bananas from the plantations to the ports; 

fruit bowl ^{n.A fruit bowl is a large bowl in which fruit is kept and displayed. 果盘}

• It can become a flying fruit-bowl, carrying bananas. ^{它可以成为“飞行果盘”，运送香蕉。}
• The fruit bowl on the table was filled with tropical fruits. ^{桌上装满热带水果的果盘。}
• Hovercraft act as a fruit bowl for plantation goods. ^{气垫船充当种植园货物的“果盘”。}

giant hovercraft liners could span the Atlantic;

liner ^{n.a large ship for passengers 客轮，班轮}

• Giant hovercraft liners could span the Atlantic. ^{巨型气垫船客轮可以跨越大西洋。}
• The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.
• Liners revolutionized transatlantic travel. ^{客轮彻底改变了跨大西洋旅行。}

span ^{v.to stretch right across sth, from one side to the other 跨越，贯穿}

• Hovercraft liners could span the Atlantic. ^{气垫船客轮可以跨越大西洋。}
• A series of bridges span the river. ^{一系列桥梁跨越这条河。}
• Her career spanned several decades. ^{她的事业跨越了数十年。}

and the railway of the future may well be the 'hovertrain', riding on its air cushion over a single rail, which it never touches, at speeds, up to 300 m. p. h. -- the possibilities appear unlimited.

may / might / could well … ^{used to say that sth. is like  to happen or is  likely to be true （某事）可能（发生或是真的）}

• Another patient might equally well complain that her neighbours were combining to slander her and persecute her, and yet one might be cautious about believing this statement.
• Over the years one may well become an authority on one's hobby and will very probably be asked to give informal talks to little gatherings and then, if successful, to larger audiences.
• Apart from moral considerations this is a stupid method of training, for it produces a resentful animal who at a later stage may well turn man-killer. 
• The railway of the future may well be the hovertrain. ^{未来的铁路很可能是气垫火车。}

possibilities ^{n.capability of being used or improved, potential 潜在价值，潜力}

• The house is very dilapidated but it has possibilities. 
• He was the first to see the possibilities of the plan.
• The possibilities appear unlimited for hovercraft. ^{气垫船的潜力似乎是无限的。}
• He saw the possibilities of the plan early on. ^{他很早就看到了这个计划的潜力。}
• The old house has great possibilities for renovation. ^{这座老房子有很大的翻新潜力。}

unlimited ^{adj.as much or as many as is possible, not limited in any 无限的，无穷的}

• Demand for healthcare is virtually unlimited. ^{对医疗的需求几乎是无限的。}
• The new technology opens up unlimited opportunities. ^{新技术开启了无限的机会。}