英语听力文摘 English Digest 119、宠物航空公司

　　An estimated one million animals fly each year in America, usually in a plane's cargo¹ hold. One such trip for Jack² Russell Terrier Zoe was enough to convince her owners Alysa Binder³ and Dan Wiesel that pets needed to travel in style. The husband and wife team came up with the idea of Pet Airways⁴.
Some of the 50 'pawssengers', as they're called on America's newest airline, probably couldn't help but wag their tails when the maiden⁵ flight was ready for take off on Tuesday. One of the first to board was Vito, a Border Collie and Australian Shepherd mix. Her owner, Heather Donahue, saw her off:
"Well it was important for me that my dog Vito had a comfortable flight. And he's not a suitcase, you know, he's a family friend and a part of the family, so it was really important for us that he be safe and comfortable and be able to have a vacation with us."
Cats and dogs are able to enjoy pre-boarding walks and at each of the five airports Pet Airways serves, there is even a pet lounge providing pre-flight entertainment.
Upon boarding, the jet-setters are escorted by pet attendants who see to their every need during the flight.
The first flight, from New York to Los Angeles, was a success says Pet Airways. Flights are booked solid for the next two months and the airline is already considering expanding. Within the next three years it hopes to serve the pet jet-set in 25 North American cities.
cargo hold货舱
Jack Russell Terrier杰克罗素梗 （一种白色梗类犬）
pawssengers指乘客 'passenger'，这里用了爪子'paw'，蹄，意思就是这些乘客都是动物
wag their tails摇尾巴
maiden flight首航
Border Collie and Australian Shepherd mix边境柯利犬和澳洲牧羊犬混血
saw her off送行，告别
pre-boarding登机前 j
et-setters乘飞机到处旅行的人（这里指乘坐此次航班的宠物）
escorted护送
see to their every need照看及满足它们一切需求
booked solid(航班）完全预订满了
expanding扩大

1 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。

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 binder   

n.包扎物，包扎工具；[法]临时契约；粘合剂；装订工

参考例句：

• The cloth flower snaps on with a special binder.这布花是用一种特殊的粘合剂固定住的。
• Purified water was used as liquid binder.纯净水作为液体粘合剂。

4 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

5 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。