经济学人302:可重复使用的航天器 乘喷气式火箭的乘客

 　　Science and technology

　　科学技术

　　Reusable spacecraft

　　可重复使用的航天器

　　Jet-set rocket-man

　　乘喷气式火箭的乘客

　　A small British firm is working on a nifty new jet-rocket hybrid¹ engine

　　英国一家小公司正在研发一款轻巧的新型喷气式火箭混合引擎

　　ROCKETS are a spectacular way to get into space.

　　火箭是进入太空的一种壮观的方法，

　　But they are also inefficient².

　　但是效率不高。

　　Unlike jet engines, which combine atmospheric³ oxygen with stored fuel to obtain thrust, rockets must work in a vacuum, and so must carry their oxygen with them.

　　它不像喷气式引擎，能将大气层中的氧和储存的燃料混合以获取推动力。火箭必须在真空中工作，因此必须携带自己的氧。

　　That increases their weight, with the result that a large fraction of a rocket's fuel is expended⁴ just lifting the rest of the fuel off the launch-pad.

　　那就增加了它们的重量。其结果就是火箭的很大一部分燃料被用来将其余的燃料送离发射塔。

　　Now Reaction Engines, a small British firm, reckons it has a way around the problem.

　　现在英国的一家小公司反应引擎认为他们已经找到了解决这一问题的方法。

　　On November 28th it said it had completed a series of tests of its SABRE engine, a high-tech⁵ hybrid of a rocket and a jet.

　　11月28日该公司说他们已对其军刀引擎完成了一系列测试，这是一种火箭和喷气式飞机的高科技结合体。

　　At low altitudes and speeds, SABRE would operate as a powerful, lightweight form of jet engine.

　　在低海拔和低速度，军刀靠一架强大的轻型喷气式引擎推动。

　　At higher speeds and altitudes, it would switch to internal oxygen and act as a rocket.

　　在更高的速度和高度时，它将切换使用内部携带的氧，像火箭一样工作。

　　By cutting the amount of oxygen a spacecraft needs to carry, this engine may at last allow aerospace⁶ firms to build a truly reusable winged space-plane that can fly into orbit and then glide⁷ back to land on an ordinary runway.

　　通过减少航天器需要携带的用氧量，这种引擎最终或许可以让航天公司建造一种真正可以重复使用的有翼航天飞机，它既能飞入太空，又能滑回地面，在普通跑道上着陆。

　　That would be a big advantage: all modern rockets are single-use machines. Reaction Engines reckon that its Skylon concept vehicle could, by contrast, undertake a flight every couple of days, slashing⁸ the cost of space flight.

　　这将会是一个巨大的进步：所有的现代火箭都是单次使用的机械，而反应引擎认为自己的天龙概念航天器与此不同，它们可以每隔几天飞行一次，大大降低了太空飞行的费用。

　　The key to the engine's performance is a small, light and powerful heat exchanger, designed to cool incoming air, which, at high speeds, will be heated by friction⁹ to around 1,000.

　　这种引擎的关键在于一个小型、轻质而强大的热交换器，用来将进入的空气冷却。在高速状态下，这些空气由于摩擦温度会升高到1000左右。

　　The heat exchanger will bring the air down to around 150.

　　这种热交换器将把这些空气的温度降到零下150度左右。

　　Among other benefits, that removes the need for the sort of heavy-duty construction that would otherwise be required to stop the engine from melting, helping¹⁰ to save precious weight.

　　这会带来很多好处，其中包括不再需要建造用来防止引擎熔化的高负荷结构，从而减轻了重量，而重量对一个航天器来说非常关键。

　　Space cadets may object that they have heard this all before.

　　航天新手们也许会反驳说他们之前已经听说过这些。

　　Spaceplanes are a long-held dream of aeronautical¹¹ engineers, and the SABRE engine is a development of an abortive¹² British spaceplane project called HOTOL, undertaken in the 1980s by Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace.

　　航天飞机很久以来就是航天工程师们的一个梦想，而军刀引擎是从被放弃了的英国航飞天机项目HOTOL发展而来。该项目1980年代由劳斯莱斯和英国航天承担。

　　But SABRE has survived close scrutiny¹³ by the European Space Agency, which could find no show-stopping problems, and has performed well in extensive ground tests.

　　但是军刀已经通过了欧洲航天局的严格审查，他们并未发现任何大问题，并且在更多的地面测试中表现良好。

　　Nor is space travel the only possible application: the firm talks of the military and civilian¹⁴ uses of a Mach five air-breathing aircraft, as well as the potential usefulness of its compact, ultra-light heat exchangers for earthbound applications.

　　太空旅行并不是唯一可能的应用：该公司谈到对一种5马赫喷气式飞机的军事和民事应用，以及小型的、超轻型的热交换器在地面项目中的应用。

　　1.switch to 切换到，转到

　　Switch to the root account, and in five minutes you have it installed and ready to use without rebooting.

　　切换到根用户，5分钟它就安装好并且在没有重启的情况下投入使用。

　　So he has always been happy with the switch to the gpl which he said is a fair and successful license¹⁵.

　　他说，所以他一直很满意切换到通用公共许可证，这是一个公平而成功的许可证。

　　2.design to 用于设计

　　We can use design to make a website unique and more memorable¹⁶.

　　我们能用设计使一个网站独一无二且更易记住。

　　Marriott has recently changed their design to be more like westin.

　　Marriott近期将他们的设计改得更类似于westin的方式。

　　3.require to 要求

　　Drain piping may require to be protected against freezing.

　　泄水管要求有防冻保护措施。

　　These objects require to be quarantined on the spot.

　　这些物品需要进行现场检疫。

　　4.as well as 既…又…；除…之外

　　That implies criticism as well as support.

　　这句话暗示着夫妻间的相互支持以及相互批评。

　　We continue to service customers as well as advertisers.

　　我们将继续向客户和广告商提供服务。

1 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

2 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

3 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

4 expended   

v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。
• The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

6 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。

7 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

8 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

9 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 aeronautical   

adj.航空（学）的

参考例句：

• Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world. 这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。 来自辞典例句
• The advent of aircraft brought with it aeronautical engineering. 宇宙飞船的问世导致了航天工程的出现。 来自辞典例句

12 abortive   

adj.不成功的，发育不全的

参考例句：

• We had to abandon our abortive attempts.我们的尝试没有成功，不得不放弃。
• Somehow the whole abortive affair got into the FBI files.这件早已夭折的案子不知怎么就进了联邦调查局的档案。

13 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

14 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

15 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

16 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。