美国海军洗礼新航母

 　　美国海军洗礼新航母

　　NEWPORT NEWS, the United States, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Navy on Saturday christened the first ship of a new class of aircraft carriers after the 38th U.S. President Gerald R. Ford¹.

　　A special ceremony was organized to mark the christening occasion at the Huntington-Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipyard in the U.S. state of Virginia Saturday, where Susan Ford Bales, daughter of President Gerald Ford and also the ship's sponsor, officially christened the ship by breaking a champagne² bottle against a plate welded to the hull³,

　　"It's amazing, it's such a special moment," Bales told Xinhua earlier."I just wish my dad could be here to break the bottle instead of me, or even watch me break the bottle."

　　Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, delivered a principal address at the ceremony, stressing that the aircraft carrier is the representation of American power.

　　"It embodies⁵ our military might and more," said Levin.

　　The new aircraft carrier is designated CVN 78, the lead ship of the Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carriers. It is the first with new aircraft carrier designs in more than 40 years and will eventually replace all Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier is designed to provide increased warfighting capabilities⁶ but cost less with about 700 fewer crews. "It's a fantastic ship," Capt. John Meier, the commanding officer of the newly christened aircraft carrier, told Xinhua. " The technology that's gone into the ship is really state of the art. It's the most technologically⁷ advanced ship in the world."

　　The Gerald Ford carrier has a host of new features and designs, such as a new nuclear power plant, electromagnetic aircraft launching system, advanced arresting gear, dual⁸ band radar⁹, and all electric auxiliaries¹⁰. It is designed for a 50-year service life with one mid-life refueling complex overhaul¹¹.

　　Rolf Bartschi, vice⁴ president for the Gerald R. Ford carrier building at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, told Xinhua that as a new class aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford carrier has been designed to"bring some pretty significant cost saving to the navy over the life of its operation. So it's designed to operate with fewer sailors, and bring all of its features to bear on its mission."

　　It is estimated to save some 4 billion to 5 billion U.S. dollars in operating cost in its 50-year life span.

　　The Gerald Ford carrier will replace the USS Enterprise, which was inactivated¹² last year. With the new addition, the U.S. Navy maintains a fleet of 11 super carriers.

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

3 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 embodies   

v.表现( embody的第三人称单数 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This document embodies the concern of the government for the deformity. 这个文件体现了政府对残疾人的关怀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 technologically   

ad.技术上地

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a technologically advanced city. 上海是中国的一个技术先进的城市。
• Many senior managers are technologically illiterate. 许多高级经理都对技术知之甚少。

8 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

9 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

10 auxiliaries   

n.助动词 ( auxiliary的名词复数 )；辅助工，辅助人员

参考例句：

• These auxiliaries have made our work much easier. 有了这些辅助人员，我们的工作才顺利多了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In English the future tense is often rendered by means of auxiliaries. 在英语中，将来时常用助动词来表现。 来自辞典例句

11 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

12 inactivated   

v.使不活泼，阻止活动( inactivate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Molluscicides are quickly inactivated by sunlight and adsorption to mud organic matter. 灭螺剂因阳光作用、泥土及有机物质的吸收会很快失效。 来自辞典例句
• Viruses were inactivated by BPL and the toxicity measured again. BPL对病毒进行灭活，测定残存毒力。 来自互联网