经济学人318:空中旅行 起飞准备

 　　Science and technology

　　科学技术

　　Air travel

　　空中旅行

　　Preparing for take-off

　　起飞准备

　　A cheaper, cleaner way for the long taxi to the runway

　　一种更便宜更清洁的飞机跑道滑行方式

　　ENGINES on airliners¹ are highly efficient when they are in flight, but not when operating on the ground.

　　飞机上的发动机在飞行过程中效率是很高的，但是在地面上的时候却不是这样。

　　When a plane is taxiing under its own power, the engines burn vast amounts of fuel.

　　飞机依靠自身动力滑行时，发动机燃烧掉大量的燃料。

　　A Boeing 747 can consume a tonne of fuel and emit several tonnes of carbon dioxide during an average 17-minute taxi to take-off.

　　一架波音747起飞一般需要滑行17分钟，要消耗1吨燃料并且释放出几吨二氧化碳。

　　And when the aircraft lands there is likely to be another long drive to the passenger gate.

　　飞机着陆时，也要滑行很长一段才能到达乘客出口。

　　Which is why there are various methods being developed for aircraft to use other means of propulsion while moving around an airport.

　　这就是为什么要研究不同的方法让飞机在机场运行时使用其他的动力方式。

　　Towing aircraft with a tug², similar to how they are pushed back from the gate, is one way.

　　用飞机拖拉车牵引就是一种办法，类似于发动机的推力。

　　But constantly pulling on the front landing gear can lead to mechanical problems.

　　但是经常拉拽前起落架可能会导致机械故障。

　　Many pilots would also prefer to be in control of the driving once their aircraft is on the taxiway.

　　许多驾驶员在飞机滑行的时候也喜欢自己来控制操作。

　　One method that addresses both concerns is a semi-robotic tug called TaxiBot, developed by Israel Aerospace³ Industries.

　　能同时解决这两方面问题的一种方法是一种半机器人化的牵引车:牵引机器人。

　　Instead of using a tow bar attached to the aircraft's nose wheel, TaxiBot employs a mechanism⁴ which automatically scoops⁵ the wheel up into a rotating turret⁶.

　　它是由以色列航空工业公司研发的。牵引机器人运用一种机械装置可以自动托起飞机前起落架与旋转塔台连接。

　　The TaxiBot also avoids having any complicated links to connect to the cockpit, yet still gives the pilots driving control.

　　牵引机器人连接驾驶舱也不需任何复杂的元件，驾驶员却可以控制操作。

　　It does this by accelerating to the speed set for the taxiway, using its inbuilt GPS map system.

　　牵引机器人利用内置的GPS地图系统给跑道速度控制装置加速即可。

　　The pilots then use their usual controls to steer⁷ with the nose wheel and to brake with the main landing gear.

　　驾驶员用通常的控制器完成头部机轮的控制和主起落架的制动。

　　A safety driver remains⁸ in the TaxiBot, and he also drives the vehicle to and from the aircraft.

　　牵引机器人里也有一位司机，负责将其开到地方和驶离。

　　With the high price of aviation fuel—a tonne can cost more than $1,000—the savings⁹ at a busy airport could be large.

　　航空燃料的价格很高，一吨价值1000多美元，一个业务繁忙的机场因此可以节省大批资金。

　　At some airports the passenger gates can be several miles from the runway.

　　一些机场登机门和跑道之间相距好几英里。

　　All told, the world's airlines spend $7 billion-8 billion a year taxiing between passenger gates and the runway, says Yehoshua Eldar, who is in charge of business development at IAI.

　　以色列航空工业公司业务发展部负责人约书亚.埃尔达说：全世界的机场每年在跑道和登机门之间滑行上的花费合计达70-80亿美元。

　　The TaxiBot, though, uses just 20-30 litres of fuel for a typical trip.

　　可是牵引机器人一次标准的旅行却仅用20-30升燃料。

　　It also reduces the risk of debris¹⁰ being ingested by the engines and causing damage.

　　而且牵引机器人还可以降低飞机发动机吸入碎片造成破坏的风险。

　　Germany's Lufthansa will trial the system at Frankfurt Airport from May 2013.

　　德国汉莎航空公司将从2013年5月开始试行这个系统。

　　In the future some airliners may be driven to and from the runway with electric power.

　　将来飞机可能会利用电力在跑道上滑行。

　　The German Aerospace Centre has tested this idea in an aircraft using a fuel cell to power two electric motors built into the hub of an aircraft nose wheel.

　　德国宇航中心已经就此进行了实验：在一架飞机上用燃料电池给装在飞机头部机轮轮毂里的两台电动机提供动力。

　　The centre reckons that up to 19% of current airport emissions¹¹ could be saved using such a system.

　　该中心测算出应用这一系统最多可以减少19%的飞机排放物。

　　And it would also please the neighbours: there would be hardly any noise during taxiing.

　　而且机场周围的邻居也会高兴：飞机滑行过程中几乎没有任何噪音。

　　1.similar to 相似,相同

　　You should see something similar to figure 2.

　　你应该会看到类似图2的内容。

　　Try and visualize¹² this energy as a bright white light similar to that of sunlight.

　　试着想象这一能源，把它当做一种明亮如阳光一样的白光。

　　2.push back 使撤退，使回到原处

　　America's strategists will push back in 2011.

　　美国的战略家们会在2011年进行反击。

　　I push back our meeting to 27 may?

　　我能不能把我们的会议推迟到5月27日？

　　3.lead to 导致,引起

　　That can lead to serious consequences.

　　这会导致严重的后果。

　　All these ideologies¹³ lead to repression¹⁴.

　　所有这些思想最终都导致镇压。

　　4.prefer to 更喜欢

　　And for choice I prefer to take my holidays in continental¹⁵ europe.

　　另外，如果可以选择的话，我宁愿把度假地选在欧洲大陆。

　　Brazilians may prefer to focus on a recent business deal.

　　巴西人则可能更喜欢把重点放在最近的一宗商业交易上。

1 airliners   

n.客机，班机( airliner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fog grounded the airliners. 大雾迫使班机停飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They placed very stable and accurate atomic clocks on regularly scheduled jet airliners. 他们将非常稳定、准确的原子钟装在定期飞行的喷气式班机上。 来自辞典例句

2 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

3 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。

4 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

5 scoops   

n.小铲( scoop的名词复数 )；小勺；一勺[铲]之量；（抢先刊载、播出的）独家新闻v.抢先报道( scoop的第三人称单数 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• I used three scoops of flour and one(scoop)of sugar. 我用了三杓面粉和一杓糖。 来自辞典例句

6 turret   

n.塔楼，角塔

参考例句：

• This ancient turret has attracted many visitors.这座古老的塔楼吸引了很多游客。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔楼攀登上了要塞的城墙。

7 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

10 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

11 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

12 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

13 ideologies   

n.思想（体系）( ideology的名词复数 )；思想意识；意识形态；观念形态

参考例句：

• There is no fundamental diversity between the two ideologies. 这两种思想意识之间并没有根本的分歧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Radical ideologies require to contrast to their own goodness the wickedness of some other system. 凡是过激的意识形态，都需要有另外一个丑恶的制度作对比，才能衬托出自己的善良。 来自辞典例句

14 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

15 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。