回顾蛟龙号深海之旅

China's deep-sea submersible has returned to Qingdao port in East China after reaching a depth of 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench¹ in the western Pacific Ocean late last month. It was a significant step for China's deep-water technology.

During the two year-period from August 2009 to August 2011, the Jiaolong submersible conquered the depth from 600 meters to 5,188 meters below sea level. This means that China has become the fifth country in the world to master deep-sea diving technology. The attempt to dive 7,000 meters in June, 2012 had unique significance.

"Each diving depth is a new challenge for the Jiaolong submersible, particularly the 7,000-meter depth. You need to review it from different perspectives."

Different from previous diving attempts, the location of the 7,000-meter dive was in the deepest region in the world: the Mariana Trench in the West Pacific Ocean.

"The deeper it is, the more pressure there is. Compared with previous diving attempts, we had more scientific experience. We also made improvements on the submersible."

Successfully reaching 7,000-meters below sea-level means the ability to explore over 99.8% percent of the ocean worldwide. Moving from below 5,000-meters to below 7,000-meters is not just a difference of 2,000 meters; it's a leap forward in China's diving technology.

1 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。