VOA慢速英语2019 越南获准开通直飞美国航班

Vietnam Airlines Can Now Fly Directly to US

United States officials decided¹ last week to let Vietnam fly passenger airplanes directly to U.S. airports. The decision is seen as another sign of international recognition for the Southeast Asian country.

美国官员上周决定允许越南客机直飞美国。该决定被视为这个东南亚国家获得国际认可的另一个标志。

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on February 14 that it has awarded a “Category 1” rating for Vietnam. The rating means that Vietnamese companies have met international guidelines for air safety. And Vietnamese airlines can get permits from the FAA to fly directly to the United States and “carry the codes of U.S. carriers.”

美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）于2月14日宣布授予越南“一类”评级。该评级意味着越南公司符合国际航空安全准则，越南航空公司可以获得美国联邦航空管理局许可直飞美国，并“携带美国航空公司的代码（即航班代码共享）。”

Vietnam’s Communist Party news website Nhan Dan reported that Vietnamese officials began working toward this goal in 2012. They set out to solve 49 safety problems that the FAA found a year later, the website said.

越南人民报（Nhan Dan）新闻网站报道称，越南官员于2012年开始朝着这个目标努力。该网站称，他们开始着手解决一年之后美国联邦航空管理局发现的49个安全问题。

The FAA said its “Category 1” rating for Vietnam is based on an assessment² made in August 2018. In order to keep the rating, Vietnam must follow international safety standards for aircraft operations and maintenance.

美国联邦航空管理局表示他们对越南的“一类”评级是基于2018年8月的一项评估。为了保持这个评级，越南必须遵守飞机运营和维护的国际安全标准。

Adam McCarthy is chief economist³ with Mekong Economics, a development advisory⁴ service based in Hanoi. He noted⁵, “It’s been a slow and progressive bringing back [of] Vietnam into the international community.”

亚当·麦卡蒂（Adam McCarthy）是湄公河经济的首席经济学家，这是一家位于河南的开发咨询服务公司。他指出：“这是缓慢而渐进地将越南带入国际社会。”

Bigger economy, more fliers

经济更强，飞机乘客更多

Last month, Vietnam officially joined the 11-country Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership⁶. The trade agreement covers about 13.5 percent of the world economy. The European Union is also expected to negotiate its own trade deal with Vietnam.

上个月，越南正式加入由11个国家签署的《全面与进步跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》。该贸易协定约占世界经济的13.5%。预计欧盟也将会与越南谈判贸易协定。

These developments are expected to bring additional investment to the Vietnamese economy. Foreign investment has fueled Vietnam’s economic growth of 6 to 7 percent a year since 2012.

预计这些发展将会给越南经济带来额外投资。自2012年以来，外国投资推动越南经济年增长率达6%到7%。

The growth is set to expand the middle class to about one-third of the country’s 93 million population by next year, the Boston Consulting Group estimates. And Vietnamese are spending some of their new wealth on airfares.

波士顿咨询集团预计，到明年这些增长将会使该国的中产阶级扩大到占该国9300万人口的1/3左右。越南人开始将他们一些新的财富花在机票上。

In 2017, Vietnam had 94 million air passengers, including 13 million foreign nationals. That was 16 percent higher than the number a year earlier. The International Air Transport Association projects the country will become the world’s fifth fastest growing aviation market by 2035.

2017年，越南发送了9400万飞机乘客，其中包括1300万外国人，比前一年的数字高出了16%。国际航空运输协会预计，到2035年，该国将会成为全球增长第五快的航空市场。

Returnees, students and business travelers

海归、学生和商务乘客

The U.S. Census⁷ Bureau estimated that the United States is home to about 2.1 million people of Vietnamese ancestry⁸ in 2017. Many came after the former, U.S.-supported South Vietnam lost to the Communist north in the 1970s.

美国人口普查局估计，2017年美国大约有210万越南人。许多人于上世纪70年代美国支持的南越败给北越之后来到了美国。

Song Seng Wun is an economist with CIMB in Singapore. He said, “There are [Vietnamese] residents in the U.S. itself, so that alone would be good enough for airline connections if they see fit to.”

Song Seng Wun 是新加坡联昌国际银行的经济学家。他说：“美国本地就有越南居民，如果他们认为合适，单此一项就能满足航线连接的需求。”

The Nhan Dan website noted that about 30,000 Vietnamese students travel to the United States each year. And there will be more travelers as trade between the two countries expands.

越南人民报网站指出，每年约有3万名越南学生前往美国。随着两国贸易扩大，将会有更多的乘客。

In the past, American carriers, such as United Airlines and Delta⁹ Airlines, operated direct flights to Vietnam. But they suspended those flights because of cost consideration.

过去，美国联航和达美航空等美国航空公司有直飞越南的航班，但是他们出于成本考虑停飞了这些航班。

In addition to the national carrier Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways¹⁰ have also included flights to the U.S. in their plans. However, the companies will need to add airplanes that can fly non-stop to the U.S.

除了越南航空这家国家航空公司，越捷航空（VIetjet）和越竹航空（Bamboo Airways）也计划开通直飞美国的航班。然而，这些公司需要添置能够不停靠直飞美国的飞机。

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

code - n. a set of letters, numbers, symbols that identifies something, like airplanes

assessment - n. the act of making a judgement about something

maintenance - n.? the act of keeping property or equipment in good condition by making repairs, correcting problems, etc.?

aviation - n.? the business or practice of flying airplanes, helicopters, etc.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 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。

7 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

8 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

9 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

10 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。