Flying:Dream and Reality

 

 

(Movie Toy Story: To infinity¹ and beyond!)

Oh, to be free as a bird. It’s been the ¹⁾stuff of fantasy, and of reality. Sort of. ²⁾A self-contained flying man. This jet pack from the 1960s had barely enough fuel to fly 30 seconds. So the dream ³⁾languished for decades. Everyone agreed it was completely impractical³, except Michael Moshier.

Michael Moshier: The pilot controls the ⁴⁾flaps with the right-hand ⁵⁾control stick.

Moshier, a former Navy-pilot-turned-entrepreneur, has spent the last 5 years of his life working in secret designing a tiny twin ⁶⁾blade strap⁴ on helicopter called The Solotrek.

He said he finally made his first cautious test flight only two feet up at first. But to Moshier, two feet up was like being in heaven.

Michael Moshier: It was ⁷⁾exhilarating beyond description. I will tell you that I didn’t sleep that night or for several nights thereafter. It was just a monumental experience.

With a little more work, he says, the machine will ⁸⁾zip around the treetops at 80mph, stabilized⁵ by computers. He can picture the army using it to get over ⁹⁾rugged^{6 10)}terrain⁷, police on search and rescue missions, and if an occasional daredevil wants to beat traffic, well, Moshier believes a pilot who can walk and chew gum with minimal⁸ training should be able to get on the aircraft and fly it safely and suitably. There’s just this one ¹¹⁾nagging⁹ question, the machine will fly, but will the idea? True, Moshier has help from the Defense¹⁰ Department and from NASA, but won’t the machine be noisy or dangerous or hard to park?

Jeffrey Schroeder(NASA scientist): I think we can do it but it would be expensive. The challenge is to make it so that it has more of a mass appeal.

Perhaps we are only destined¹¹ to dream of only flying without wings and never do it. On the other hand, Michael Moshier was two feet up.

 

¹²⁾ Supersonic Jet

A test launch of what Japanese scientists hope will be the next generation of supersonic jet has failed spectacularly, ¹³⁾spiraling in the sky and crashing onto the Australian desert. The super jet was a ¹⁴⁾scale model of the plane that would be able to fly as fast as the Concord¹², with twice the range and triple the capacity. But it ¹⁵⁾dodged back to earth shortly after takeoff. Scientists sponsored by Japan’s government funded national aerospace¹⁴ laboratory, spent the last 6 months preparing to test it. Despite the crash they said, they would continue to work on the project and plan another test. CE

20、飞翔的梦想与现实

 

（电影《玩具总动员》：飞向无限！）

啊，像小鸟一样自由自在。这一直都是人类的幻想，同时我们也要面对现实，至少有一点儿吧。这是一个可以自我操控的飞人，这个飞行器产于二十世纪六十年代，它的全部油料最多只够飞行30秒种。就这样，几十年来这个梦想被搁置起来。所有人都一致认为要飞是不现实的，只有迈克尔·莫舍例外。

迈克尔·莫舍：飞行员用右边的驾驶杆控制飞行器的翼。

莫舍以前是一名美国海军的飞行员，如今他成了一名企业家。他用了整整5年时间，一直在秘密研制一种小型双叶片直升机，并给它命名为The Solotrek

他说他终于谨慎地进行了第一次试飞。在这次试飞中，他设计的飞行器只能飞离地面两英尺。但对莫舍来说，离地两英尺已经像进了天堂一般。

迈克尔·莫舍：我的兴奋程度真是难以形容。我告诉你吧，试飞成功的那天晚上和以后的几个晚上我都高兴得睡不着。这真是一次具有历史意义的经历。

莫舍说，只要再稍加努力，这个飞行器就可以靠电脑控制其稳定性，以每小时八十英里的速度在树顶上盘旋。他预测军队可用这种飞行器在地势崎岖的地区飞行，警察可以用它执行搜索营救任务。如果有谁想避开交通堵塞的话，莫舍认为，只要稍加训练，任何人都可以舒适地一边嚼着口香糖，一边操纵着他的飞机安全飞行。不过还有一个让人困扰的问题，这个飞行器会飞起来，可这个概念能不能让人接受呢？莫舍确实得到了美国国防部和美国宇航局的帮助，但这个飞行器会不会噪音太大，太危险，或者说是很难停靠？

杰弗里·施罗德（美国国家宇航局科学家）：我想这个飞行器是可行的，但价格不菲。现在面临的挑战是如何使普罗大众对这个飞行器感兴趣。也许我们命中注定只能在梦里作无翼飞翔，而在现实中却永远做不到。不过与此同时，迈克尔·莫舍已经离地两英尺了。

 

超音速飞机

一次超音速喷气飞机的试飞突如其来地失败了，飞机呈螺旋型从天空下坠，落到澳大利亚的沙漠之中。日本科学家对这次试飞寄予了厚望，原希望它能产生新一代的超音速飞机。这次测试的飞机是计划设计飞机的缩小比例模型，它的设计目标是达到协和式飞机的速度，而航距则是协和式的两倍，载客量为三倍。但它升空后不久就掉了下来。由日本政府的国家航天研究所资助的科学家用了六个月的时间为这次测试做准备。尽管此次试验以失败告终，但他们说他们还会不断努力，并准备再进行一次试验。CE

 

 

 

 

 

1) stuff [stQf]  n. 原料，材料，素材

2) A self-contained flying man: 一个可以自我控制的飞人。这是指在上个世纪六十年代由贝尔航空公司制造的单人飞行器，曾在1965年上映的影片《雷球》中出现。

3) languish² [5lANgwiF]  v. 变得衰弱无力，松懈

4) flap [flAp] n. （飞机的）襟翼，副翼

5) control stick: 操纵杆，驾驶杆

6) blade [bleid] n. 螺旋桨叶

7) exhilarating [ig5zilEreitiN] a. 令人高兴的，使人兴奋的

8) zip [zip] v. 有力而迅速地行动或移动

9) rugged [5rQgid] a. 高低不平的，多丘陵的

10) terrain [5terein] n. 地区，地带

11) nagging [5nAgiN] a. 令人烦恼不已的，使人不得安宁的

12) supersonic [5sju:pE5sCnik ] a. 超音速的

13）spiral [5spaiErEl ] v. 螺旋形行进

14）scale [skeil] n.比例，比率

15) dodge¹³ [5dCdV] v. 跳开，躲开

 

 

 

1 infinity   

n.无限，无穷，大量

参考例句：

• It is impossible to count up to infinity.不可能数到无穷大。
• Theoretically,a line can extend into infinity.从理论上来说直线可以无限地延伸。

2 languish   

vi.变得衰弱无力，失去活力，（植物等）凋萎

参考例句：

• Without the founder's drive and direction,the company gradually languished.没有了创始人的斗志与指引，公司逐渐走向没落。
• New products languish on the drawing board.新产品在计划阶段即告失败。

3 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

4 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

5 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

7 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

8 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

9 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

12 concord   

n.和谐；协调

参考例句：

• These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
• His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。

13 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

14 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。