新奇事件簿 波音737Max全球停飞

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has grounded the entire global fleet of its 737 Max aircraft. The move follows last week's fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash. That was the second time in five months a 737 Max has crashed. Last October, a plane from the Indonesia-based carrier Lion Air crashed in what aviation experts are saying are similar circumstances. Investigators¹ have recovered the black boxes from the crash site in Ethiopia and will study the data in them to ascertain² the reason for the aircraft falling from the sky. Dan Elwell, a spokesman from the USA's Federal Aviation Administration, said: "It became clear…that the track of the Ethiopian Airlines flight was very close and behaved very similarly to the Lion Air flight."

飞机制造商波音已全球停飞737 Max。上周埃塞俄比亚航空发生致命飞机坠毁后，该公司实施了此举。这是5个月内第二起737 Max坠毁事故。去年10月，总部位于印尼的狮子航空的一架飞机坠毁，航空专家称两起事故情况类似。调查人员在埃塞俄比亚的坠机点找到了黑匣子并将研究其中的数据以查明飞机坠机的原因。美国联邦航空管理局的一名发言人Dan Elwell表示：“很明显...埃塞俄比亚航空公司的飞行航迹和表现与狮航班机非常相似。”

Boeing has huge hopes for the 737 Max and views it as a key part of its future. The Max started flying commercially in 2017. Boeing has received over 5,000 orders for the aircraft and has delivered 371 to date. News of the grounding has been disastrous³ for Boeing's finances. The company's market value has plummeted⁴ by nearly $26 billion since the crash in Ethiopia. Boeing president, chief executive and chairman Dennis Muilenburg said: "We are doing everything we can to understand the cause of the accidents (in partnership⁵ with the investigators), deploy⁶ safety enhancements, and help ensure this does not happen again." Boeing said that it "continues to have full confidence in the safety of the 737 Max".

波音对737 Max寄予厚望且将其视为公司未来的关键部分。2017年，Max开始了首次商业飞行。波音至今接受了五千多份MAX的订单且已经交付了371份。停飞的消息对波音的财务状况是一个灾难。自飞机在埃塞俄比亚坠机后，该公司的市值蒸发近260亿美元。波音总裁、CEO兼主席丹尼斯·米伦伯格表示：“我们将尽一切可能和调查人员合作弄清事故原因、增强安全部署并帮助确保此类事故不会再发生。”波音表示“仍对737 Max的安全性充满信心”。

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 ascertain   

vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清

参考例句：

• It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。
• We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。

3 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

4 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

6 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。