英国皇家海军最先进驱逐舰怕热

 The engines powering the Royal Navy’s cutting-edge fleet of Type 45 destroyers are unable to operate continuously in the warm waters of the Gulf¹, MPs were told on Tuesday.

周二，英国国会议员们被告知，英国皇家海军(Royal Navy)最先进的45型驱逐舰(Type 45 Destroyer)的发动机无法在波斯湾(the Gulf)温暖水域持续运行。

Executives from BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Northrop Grumman and General Electric were grilled² by the defence select committee about the failures that have caused the UK’s newest and most advanced destroyers to break down repeatedly in recent years, leaving them without power for propulsion or weapons systems.

这种缺陷导致英国这款最新、最先进的驱逐舰近几年来反复发生故障，丧失驱动推进系统或武器系统的动力。英国国会防务特别委员会就此盘问了BAE系统(BAE Systems)、罗尔斯?罗伊斯(Rolls-Royce)、诺思罗普?格鲁曼(Northrop Grumman)和通用电气(General Electric)的高管。

Responding to questions about why the power systems failed in warmer waters than the UK, John Hudson, managing director of BAE Systems maritime³, said the original specifications⁴ for the vessel⁵ had not required it to sustain extremes. “The operating profile at the time was that there would not be repeated or continuous operations in the Gulf,” he said.

在回答为何动力系统在比英国温暖的水域会失灵的问题时，BAE系统海事董事总经理约翰?赫德森(John Hudson)表示，该舰最初的技术规格并未要求它承受极端条件。他说：“当时的运行环境要求是，不会反复或持续在波斯湾执行任务。”

Tomas Leahy, of Rolls-Royce naval⁶ programmes, said the destroyer was now operating in “far more arduous⁷ conditions than envisaged⁸ in the specifications”.

罗尔斯?罗伊斯海军计划部门的托马斯?莱希(Tomas Leahy)表示，这款驱逐舰如今是在“比技术规格所设想的恶劣得多的环境”中执行任务。

However, the Ministry⁹ of Defence denied that this was the case. “The Type 45 was designed for worldwide operations from sub-Arctic to extreme tropical environments and continues to operate effectively in the Gulf and South Atlantic all year round.”

但英国国防部(Ministry of Defence)认为事情并非如此。“从设计上讲，45型驱逐舰是用来在从亚北极区到极端热带环境的世界各地执行任务。它仍在波斯湾及南大西洋有效地展开行动，全年都是如此。”

The six ships, which cost the taxpayer¹⁰ ￡1bn each, are the backbone¹¹ of Britain’s combat force at sea and are among the most advanced missile destroyers in the world. They are the Royal Navy’s first all-electric ships and are driven by two Rolls-Royce WR21 gas turbines and two Wartsila diesel¹² engines.

这六艘45型驱逐舰每艘耗费了纳税人10亿英镑，它们是英国海上战斗力量的骨干，也是全球最先进的导弹驱逐舰之一。它们是英国皇家海军首批全电推进的舰只，由两台罗尔斯?罗伊斯WR21燃气轮机和两台瓦锡兰(Wartsila)柴油发动机驱动。

The WR21 is designed to deliver significantly improved operating costs by using an intercooler recuperator, which recovers exhaust and recycles the gas into the engine.

在设计上，WR21通过使用中冷器和回热器大幅提高运行效率。中冷器和回热器会回收废气，供发动机循环使用。

But, as a rule, power turbines slowed down in warm temperatures, MPs were told. This had not been recognised by the system, which continued to demand more power. Eventually the generators¹³ would come to a halt. “This is not the fault of the WR21,” said Mr Leahy. “It is the laws of physics.”

英国国会议员们被告知，一般来说，动力涡轮在温暖的环境下会减慢转速。整个系统却认识不到这一点，继续要求提供更多动力。最终，发电机会陷入停机。莱希表示：“这不是WR21的错，这是物理定律。”

MPs could hardly believe what they had heard. “I am absolutely stunned,” said Douglas Chapman, of the Scottish National party. “To have a ￡1bn asset that you put into a war zone and we don’t know if those people we put there can come out alive — I am just astounded¹⁴.”

英国国会议员们简直不敢相信他们听到的话。苏格兰民族党(Scottish National Party)的道格拉斯?查普曼(Douglas Chapman)表示：“我完全蒙了。我们将一个价值10亿英镑的资产投入战区，却不知道我们派到那儿去的那些人能否活着出来——真让我感到震惊。”

The MoD is having to set aside tens of millions of pounds to fix the destroyers. The plan is to install two extra diesel engines which will require cutting a hole in the hull¹⁵ of the brand new destroyers.

英国国防部现在不得不拨备数千万英镑来修理这些驱逐舰。目前的计划是再安装两台柴油发动机，为了做到这点，必须在这些崭新的驱逐舰的船体上切割出一个洞。

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

3 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

4 specifications   

n.规格；载明；详述；（产品等的）说明书；说明书( specification的名词复数 )；详细的计划书；载明；详述

参考例句：

• Our work must answer the specifications laid down. 我们的工作应符合所定的规范。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This sketch does not conform with the specifications. 图文不符。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

8 envisaged   

想像，设想( envisage的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He envisaged an old age of loneliness and poverty. 他面对着一个孤独而贫困的晚年。
• Henry Ford envisaged an important future for the motor car. 亨利·福特为汽车设想了一个远大前程。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

11 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

12 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

13 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

15 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。