常春藤生活英语【29】空中浩劫4

A passenger told a flight attendant¹ that she smelled something funny. Another one asked a different flight attendant if something was wrong. Suddenly, smoke began to fill a 747 jet carrying 263 passengers. There was no real sign of fire but everyone on board started to panic. The pilots looked outside the cockpit window and saw that the plane was coated by a thin cloud. Soon, a shower of sparks was shooting out of the engines.

This may sound like a nightmare² that one wishes to wake up from, but the fact is that it happened in 1982. In the all new Air Crash Investigation³ Season 4, National Geographic⁴ Channel recreates this horrific day. In Falling from the Sky, experts investigate this incident and try to determine what happened.

As soon as the sparks stopped, passengers looked out their windows in terror as fire covered the wings. Soon, all of the engines failed and the plane started going straight down. Suddenly, the engines restarted and the plane landed safely. What happened during those critical minutes? NGC and Falling from the Sky try to figure out the answer.

一名乘客告诉空服员她闻到怪味。另一位乘客则询问其它空服员是否有什么不对劲。突然间，搭载两百六十三名乘客的747喷射客机开始浓烟密布。虽然没有火警的确切征兆，但机上每个人都开始恐慌起来。驾驶员注视座舱窗外，看到飞机被一层薄云覆盖。不久后，引擎喷射出一阵火花。

这听来也许像是某人希望赶快从中醒来的恶梦，但它却在1982年真实上演。国家地理频道在全新的《空中浩劫４》中，重现这可怕的一天。在《英国航空９号班机》节目里，专家调查这起事件，试图厘清发生了什么事。

火花一结束，乘客马上惊恐地往窗外看着被火舌吞噬的机翼。很快地，所有引擎都熄了火，飞机开始直线坠落。突然间，引擎重新启动，飞机也安全着陆。在千钧一发之际，到底发生了什么事？国家地理频道和《英国航空９号班机》试着找出答案。

Building Your Vocabulary

1.panic　vi. 恐慌，惊慌失措（三态为：panic, panicked, panicked。）
Everyone panicked during the earthquake.
地震时大家都惊慌失措。

2.coat　vt. 覆盖
Dust coated the furniture in my basement.
我家地下室的家具盖满了灰尘。

3.investigate　vt. 调查
The police spent a whole year investigating the murder.
警方花了一整年的时间调查这起凶杀案。

4.determine　vt. 找出；确定
Dr. Lee determined⁵ that the cause of Carl's death was cancer.
李医师找出了卡尔的死因是癌症。

5.critical　a. 危急的，紧要关头的
Dave is at a critical stage in his education.
戴维正处于他学业上的关键时期。

Phrases for Learning

in terror　　惊恐地
Mandy ran out of the burning house in terror.
曼蒂惊慌地跑出着火的房子。

参考字词

1.flight attendant　n. 空服员

2.cockpit　n. 驾驶舱（本文中作形容词用）

3.spark　n. 火花

4.investigation　n. 调查

5.recreate　vt. 使再现，重现

6.horrific　a. 可怕的，恐怖的

Tips In Use

...she smelled something funny.
（……她闻到怪味。）

1.funny 在本句中表『古怪的，难以解释的』。
That's funny! I remember bringing my keys with me, but they're gone now.
（真奇怪！我记得我有带钥匙，但现在不见了。）

2.funny 常表『有趣的，滑稽的』。
Josh looks funny in that green suit.
（身着那套绿西装的乔许看来很滑稽。）

3.funny 亦表『非法的，不老实的』。
Al earned some money through funny business.
（艾尔透过不法活动赚了一些钱。）

Enjoy Box
黑盒子

调查空难原因的当务之急便是寻找『黑盒子』（black box）。究竟黑盒子是什么呢？黑盒子便是『飞航记录器』（Flight Recorder）的俗称，它通常安装在飞机失事后较易残存的部位──机尾。事实上，民航机上的黑盒子是由两个盒子组成的。一个是『驾驶舱录音器』（Cockpit Voice Recorder，简称 CVR），此记录器的麦克风通常就设在正、副驾驶的驾驶座头顶上，可以录下座舱内驾驶间的对话和与塔台的通话、引擎的噪音、失速警铃、起落架收启等声音。

另一个则是『飞行数据记录器』（Flight Data Recorder，简称FDR），此纪录器储存时间、高度、航速、方位、及地理位置等飞航数据。黑盒子除了须有精密的记录数据功能，还必须能耐摄氏一千一百度以上的高温达三十分钟之久、并能承受约六千多公尺水深的高压，其电池还需在空难后仍能连续供电达三十天之久。如此一来，即便飞机爆炸、自高空高速坠落、撞击或跌落深海，它仍能保存重要的相关资料。

此外，黑盒子需具有在深海的高压下还能自动发出讯号的功能，以利调查人员搜寻。令人意外的是，黑盒子其实不是黑色的，大多都采醒目的国际应急救援色，即橘红色或亮黄色，并涂有白色荧光条带，以反射外部光源以便于搜寻。不幸的空难发生后，找出黑盒子可协助分析空难发生的原因，做为往后改善飞行安全的参考。

1 attendant   

n.随从，跟班，出席者，服务员；adj.伴随的，出席的，注意的，在场的

参考例句：

• She was interrupted by the entrance of an attendant.服务员进来，打断了她的话。
• We met the officer attendant on the general.我们见到了随从将军的副官。

2 nightmare   

n.恶梦，可怕的事物，无法摆脱的恐惧

参考例句：

• I was glad to awake from such a nightmare.我庆幸终于从噩梦中醒来了。
• I had a nightmare last nightand,lost sleep.昨夜我作了个恶梦，失眠了。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。