VOA常速英语2014--Maryland Company Sends Locator to Plane Search 马里兰商号用探测器进行平面搜索（在线收听）

Maryland Company Sends Locator to Plane Search 马里兰商号用探测器进行平面搜索

LARGO, MARYLAND — Experts say no one will really know what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 until the black box - the flight recorder - is retrieved.  Time is running out because that flight recorder only emits an audible signal - a ping - for 30 days.  The U.S. Navy has deployed one of its “pinger locators” to the Indian Ocean search area. 

宽广的马里兰州——专家说没人能真正了解马航370航班出了什么事。直到黑匣子-飞行记录器-恢复运转，因为飞行记录器只是发出了有声信号-砰地一声持续了30天所以时间都耗完了。美国海军运用声波发射器于印度洋领域进行探测。

The sound is what it's all about.  The sound coming from the black boxes - the flight data recorders that hold the key to what happened aboard Malaysia flight 370.

The locator will be towed more than 6,000 meters behind the Australian navy ship “Seahorse Standard.”  It will be submerged two-thirds of the way to the bottom of the ocean. The locator sends sounds to an acoustic listening device and laptop aboard the ship.

这声音究竟是怎么回事，来自黑匣子的声音-飞行数据记录器关键性地掌握了马航370航班上所发生的事情。探测器基于澳洲海军船的海平面拉长6000多米。通向海底三分之二的水域，在船上的声听装置与笔记本电脑靠探测器传播声音。

“You might hear that tiny little chirp and say, ‘Did you hear something?’ And then we will listen more intently and try to fine-tune it,” said Paul Nelson, who is with Phoenix International, the company that manufacturers the pinger locators.

”你可能会听到微小的喳喳声，会问到，'你听到什么了吗？’然后，我们会更专心地听并尝试微调探测器，保罗.尼尔森说。他是与凤凰国际一起的声波发射器制造商。

Fine-tuning it, means turning the boat around and repositioning the locator to pass over the area again.  That maneuver takes eight hours.  And time is ticking.  The black box’s batteries can last longer than the reported 30 days, but the sound will eventually fade.

微调探测器是指改变船只，同时重新配置探测器使其迈过此区。此策略花了八小时，时间就这样滴滴答答走了。黑匣子的电池能比所报道的30天更长些，但声音最终会消逝。

“The advertised shelf life for the pinger when it’s in the water is 30 days," said Jim Gibson, general manager at Phoenix Internatiomal. "We have individuals that have been on operations that have heard the pinger well beyond 45 days.”

“声波发生器所公布在水里的保质期限为30天，”吉姆.吉普森说，“我们有人听到声波发射器良性运转超过了45天。”

The search is now centered several thousand kilometers southwest of Perth, Australia.

如今，以澳洲城市佩斯西南部几千米处为中心进行搜索。

Following the locator, another Phoenix device could splash into the ocean. Once debris is identified on the ocean floor, a tool with a strong manipulator arm retrieves items and puts them into a box which is then hauled to the surface.

跟随探测器，凤凰国际装置纷纷潜入海底。一旦认出海底中的残骸就可以用强力的操作手臂的工具检索物品，把它们放进盒子里，然后拖到水面。

“It operates similar to what a helicopter would do," Paul Nelson said.  "It hovers around the bottom and moves around place to place with a video camera.”

“探测器运行相似于直升机运行，"保罗.尼克森说。探测器与一台摄像机环绕底部的上空盘旋，从一地到另一地。

The machine, called Remora, assisted in the recovery of Air France Flight 447 - the aircraft was lost for five days but the black box was not found until two years later.  Remora brought up the engines, computers, black boxes and more.

这种机器称为障碍物，有助于法航447航班恢复常态。飞机失联5天了，但等到两年后才找到了黑匣子。障碍物将机车、电脑。黑匣子与其他东西吊上来了。

But it all takes time, in difficult conditions, including the effect of pressure at extreme ocean depths.

但是在危况中需要花些时间，包括承受海底深处压力。

And, Remora is tiny in compared to the size of a typical debris field.

而且，与典型的碎片区相比，障碍是微不足道的。

"If you don’t do it in time and in the right time, you miss items," Nelson said. "So it’s very slow and meticulous.  Patience is required in this type of operation.”

“如果你没在对的时间及时完成，”尼尔森说，“那么他会很慢很细，在这种活动是需要耐心的。”

As the search approaches three weeks, patience is not  in abundance.

虽进行了三周的搜索，但耐心不足。