美国国家公共电台 NPR--After 53 years, the last Boeing manufactures its last 747

After 53 years, the last Boeing manufactures its last 747

Transcript¹

The last 747 jumbo jet rolled out of the factory this week after 53 years in production. How did the Boeing plane revolutionize airlines and what does its retirement² mean for the industry today?

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Boeing has stopped making a passenger jet that defined long-distance flight in the late 20th century. NPR's Karan Chaudhary has this report.

KARAN CHAUDHARY, BYLINE³: After 53 years and more than 1,570 planes, the last Boeing 747 rolled off the assembly line in Washington state this week on its way to serve as a cargo⁴ plane. The 747 was the biggest and the fastest commercial airliner⁵ of its era, its iconic staircase spiraling toward first class.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEVER RAINS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA")

ALBERT HAMMOND: (Singing) ...A westbound 747.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "747")

LADY A: (Singing) This 747...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I LOST MY HEART ON A 747")

TOM PAXTON: (Singing) ...On a 747.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LET'S GROOVE")

EARTH, WIND AND FIRE: (Singing) And glide⁶ like a 747 and lose...

K CHAUDHARY: I wanted to talk to some experts about the 747, so I called my parents. They're both pilots - Captains Deepa and Rohit Chaudhary. The first time my mom saw a 747 was when she was a small kid.

DEEPA CHAUDHARY: We saw a huge bird coming in to land. And I was so mesmerized⁷, I asked my parents to stop their car and wait for this to land. And I instantly fell in love with that beauty.

K CHAUDHARY: Tom Gray was the instrumentation engineer for the 747. He installed devices to measure things like the pressure and temperature of the aircraft.

TOM GRAY: It flew so many people around the world. I think it made flying cheaper, and more people flew because of the 747.

K CHAUDHARY: When one pilot took a bathroom break during a test flight, Gray sat in command.

GRAY: I got four minutes of flight time on a 747.

K CHAUDHARY: The plane can carry more than 400 passengers and fly at 92% of the speed of sound. That was a major revolution for flying. NASA even used one of these airliners⁸ to transport the Space Shuttle.

GRAY: We actually flew the Enterprise off the top of the 747.

(SOUNDBITE OF INTERCOM BEEPING)

K CHAUDHARY: Karan Chaudhary, NPR News.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

5 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

6 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

7 mesmerized   

v.使入迷( mesmerize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country girl stood by the road, mesmerized at the speed of cars racing past. 村姑站在路旁被疾驶而过的一辆辆车迷住了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My 14-year-old daughter was mesmerized by the movie Titanic. 我14岁的女儿完全被电影《泰坦尼克号》迷住了。 来自互联网

8 airliners   

n.客机，班机( airliner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fog grounded the airliners. 大雾迫使班机停飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They placed very stable and accurate atomic clocks on regularly scheduled jet airliners. 他们将非常稳定、准确的原子钟装在定期飞行的喷气式班机上。 来自辞典例句