经济学人:特朗普欲将空中交通私有化(上)

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　　President Trump¹ wants to privatise air-traffic control 特朗普总统意欲将空中交通控制私有化

　　In June 1956 a TWA Constellation² collided with a United Air Lines DC-7 over the Grand Canyon³ in Arizona, killing⁴ all 128 people on both aircraft. 1956年6月，环球航空的星座机型（TWA）在亚利桑那州大峡谷与美国联合航空DC-7机相撞，两机128名人员全部罹难。

　　At the time it was the worst ever airline disaster. 这是当时史上最严重的一次空难。

　　Struggling with outdated⁵ technology and a post-war boom in air travel, overworked air-traffic controllers failed to spot that the planes were on a collision course. 由于过时的技术和战后航空旅行的繁荣发展，过度劳累的空中交通管制人员未能及时发现飞机处在碰撞航向。

　　That crash led to the creation of a new body, which became the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),  那次事故导致了一个新的机构诞生并成为联邦航空管理局（FAA），

　　in charge of running and modernising the world's biggest air-transport system. 负责运营和现代化世界最大的航空运输系统。

　　With that system again struggling to keep pace with demand, Donald Trump thinks it is time to privatise America's air-traffic control service. 随着这个系统再次难以跟上需求增长的速度，唐纳德·特朗普认为，是时候将美国的空中交通管制服务私有化了。

　　This week the president outlined a plan to turn air-traffic control into a separate non-profit entity⁶ financed by user fees,  本周总统提出一项计划，将空中交通控制转变为独立的非盈利实体并由用户费资助，

　　instead of the present patchwork⁷ of taxes and grants. 取代当前的税收和补助金的共同资助。

　　Shorn of its air-traffic responsibility, the FAA would become a safety body. 没有了其空中交通的责任，美国联邦航空局将成为一个安全机构。

　　America's air-traffic system is vast, consisting of 14,000 controllers working in 476 airport-control towers that handle take-offs and landings,  美国的空中交通系统是庞大的，由在476个机场控制塔工作的14000个管制人员处理飞机起降工作，

　　as well as in 21 “en route” centres looking after flights along the nation's airways⁸. 以及在21“途中”中心照顾沿着国家航道的航空公司的航班。

　　It has a good safety record, but elderly technology limits the number of flights that can be handled. 而且它有一个良好的安全记录，但过时的技术限制了可管理的航班数量。

　　This leads to delays and frustrated⁹ flyers. 这就导致了飞机延误和飞机乘客受挫。

　　With passenger numbers set to grow from 800m a year to almost 1bn by 2026, the problem will only get worse. 随着旅客人数将从每年8亿到2026增长到近10亿，这个问题只会变得更糟。

　　Mr Trump believes that, no longer mired¹⁰ in a federal bureaucracy, the air-traffic service will become more efficient and better able to invest in technology. 特朗普认为，如果不再陷入联邦官僚机构，空中交通服务将变得更有效率，并能更好地投资于技术。

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。

3 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

6 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

7 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

8 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。

9 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》