First-aid Helicopter

A first aid helicopter embarked¹ on a trial flight in Beijing yesterday. The aircraft will mainly be used for short-distance first-aid cases, and will be utilized² during search and rescue missions.

It will provide assistance for those who are lost in the mountains, are involved in road accidents, suffer from heart attacks, and fall foul³ of other medical emergencies. In the future, residents can call and rent the helicopter in the event of an emergency.

Zhangwan has the story.

 
Yesterday morning, a first-aid helicopter embarked on a trial flight in Beijing.

During the emergency drill, a 999 ambulance carrying a patient becomes stuck in a traffic jam on Badaling Highway. At a distance of about 52 kilometers away from the First-Aid center, it would take half an hour to get there, even without the traffic jam. 

In order to save time, the emergency services decide to use the first-aid helicopter immediately after the ambulance driver calls for help. The helicopter takes off at Badaling Airport; meanwhile the ambulance drives off the highway and waits in an open space. 20 minutes later, the patient is sent into surgery.

Beijing Red Cross is the operator of the 999 emergency service. Han Lu, the vice⁴ president, introduces the coordinated⁵ command of the ambulance and the helicopter.

"Thanks to the first-aid helicopter, we can reach any place in Beijing within 1 hour. At the moment, the helicopter is mainly used in medical emergencies. In the future it will be used to rescue and transport patients from outer suburbs and counties."

Two helicopters are to be used during medical emergencies, each with a pilot, a doctor, a nurse and first aid equipment on board. He Chi, vice president of Hainan airlines Helicopter Company, introduces the plan to use helicopters in the case of an emergency.

"We will have 6 helicopters that will be used during medical emergencies by the end of this year, providing a more efficient, timelier and safer service with a larger coverage⁶."

According to He, 10 helicopter launch and landing pads will be built over the course of the next 5 years, especially near large hospitals.

First-aid helicopters are commonly used in western countries: Germany have been using first-aid helicopter since 1980, and the US began using them in 1970. Japan's first-aid helicopters cover half of the country's territory. But China is now catching⁷ up with the trend.

However, there are a number of problems for China's first-aid helicopters, and the biggest one is the cost. The 20 billion yuan helicopter costs an additional 30 thousand yuan per hour to run. Han Lu says that Beijing Red Cross will seek cooperation with various official departments as well as a number of social organizations.

"We'll seek government support, and we also need to set up a fund with the cooperation of insurance companies, so that the expense can be affordable⁸ to ordinary people."

In western countries, a big portion of this expense is paid for by insurance companies. It is hoped that more and more Chinese patients will be able to benefit from this service at an affordable price.

For CRI, I'm Zhangwan.

1 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

2 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

7 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

8 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。