VOA新闻杂志2023 波音交付最后一架747飞机

Boeing Completes Last 747 Jet Airplane

波音交付最后一架747飞机

Boeing has manufactured its last 747 jet airplane. The move ends the long production history of one of the company's most popular aircraft.

波音公司制造了最后一架747喷气式飞机。此举结束了该公司最受欢迎的飞机之一的漫长生产历史。

The aerospace¹ company built the last 747 for American-based airline Atlas² Air. The plane was delivered to the company on Tuesday. The final 747 was the 1,574th one manufactured by Boeing at its production center in the state of Washington. Thousands of employees were expected to take part in a ceremony for the airplane.

这家航空公司为美国阿特拉斯航空公司制造了最后一架747。飞机于周二交付给该公司。最后一架747是波音公司在华盛顿州生产中心制造的第1574架。预计数千名员工将参加飞机的仪式。

Boeing completed the first 747 in 1969. The aircraft has served as a supply plane, an airliner³ with the ability to carry nearly 500 passengers and a transport plane for space shuttles. The 747 also serves as Air Force One, the official aircraft for the president of the United States.

波音于1969年完成了第一架747。这架飞机曾作为一架补给飞机、一架能够运载近500名乘客的客机和一架航天飞机的运输机。747还作为美国总统的公务机“空军一号”。

The plane revolutionized travel by connecting international cities that had never been directly linked before. Its ability to carry many passengers meant more people could travel by air.

这架飞机通过连接以前从未直接联系过的国际城市，彻底改变了旅行。它能够承载许多乘客，这意味着更多的人可以乘飞机旅行。

But over the past 15 years, Boeing and its European competitors have launched their own versions of large planes that are more profitable and use less fuel. The newer aircraft also have just two engines instead of the 747's four.

但在过去的15年里，波音公司及其欧洲竞争对手推出了自己的大型飞机，这种飞机利润更高，耗油更少。新型飞机也只有两个发动机，而不是747的四个发动机。

"If you love this business, you've been dreading⁵ this moment," said longtime airline expert Richard Aboulafia. He added that the end of 747 production clearly demonstrates that "nobody wants a four-engine airliner anymore." However, Aboulafia said it should not be forgotten that for many years, the 747 had a major influence on the development of the airline industry.

“如果你热爱这项业务，你会担心这一刻，”长期航空专家理查德·阿布拉菲亚说。他补充说，747生产的结束清楚地表明，“没有人想要四引擎客机了。”然而，阿布拉菲亚表示，不应忘记，多年来，747对航空业的发展产生了重大影响。

Boeing approved production for the 747 after losing a contract for a huge military transport plane, the C-5A. The idea was to put new, powerful engines designed for transport aircraft into planes designed to carry passengers.

波音公司在失去一架大型军用运输机C-5A的合同后，批准了747的生产。这个想法是将为运输机设计的新型、强大的发动机安装到载客飞机上。

It took Boeing workers less than 16 months to complete the first 747. The major effort ended up earning the manufacturing team a nickname called "The Incredibles." The plane's production required a huge factory in Everett, Washington. It is still the world's biggest building by volume.

波音工人用了不到16个月的时间完成了第一架747。这一重大努力最终为制造团队赢得了一个绰号，称为“不可思议的人”。飞机的生产需要在华盛顿州埃弗雷特的一家大型工厂。它仍然是世界上体积最大的建筑。

The body of the aircraft, known as the fuselage, measured about 69 meters long. The tail was as tall as a six-story building. The design included a second level that extended upward over the first third of the plane. Some airline companies turned the second level into a first-class sitting area.

机身被称为机身，长约69米。尾巴有六层楼那么高。该设计包括一个向上延伸超过平面前三分之一的第二层。一些航空公司把第二层变成了头等舱。

The large, new plane model became known as the "Queen of the Skies."

这架大型新型飞机被称为“天空女王”

"It was the first big carrier, the first wide-body. So, it set a new standard for airlines to figure out what to do with it, and how to fill it," said Guillaume de Syon. He is a history professor and airline expert at Pennsylvania's Albright College.

“这是第一个大型航空公司，第一个宽体客机。因此，它为航空公司制定了一个新标准，以确定如何使用它，以及如何填充它，”纪尧姆·德西昂说。他是宾夕法尼亚州奥尔布赖特学院的历史教授和航空专家。

Delta⁶ was the last U.S. airline to use the 747 for passenger flights, which ended in 2017. Some international carriers continue to use the plane to transport passengers, including Germany's Lufthansa.

达美航空是最后一家使用747客机的美国航空公司，该航班于2017年结束。一些国际航空公司继续使用这架飞机运送乘客，包括德国汉莎航空公司。

Atlas Air ordered four 747-8 models early last year and the final one left Boeing's factory on Tuesday.

阿特拉斯航空去年年初订购了四架747-8机型，最后一架于周二离开波音工厂。

Boeing's relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration has been strained since deadly crashes of its best-selling plane, the 737 Max, happened in 2018 and 2019.

波音公司与美国联邦航空管理局（Federal Aviation Administration）的关系自2018年和2019年波音公司最畅销的737 Max飞机发生致命坠机事件以来一直紧张。

The FAA took nearly two years – far longer than Boeing expected – to approve design changes and permit that plane back in the air.

美国联邦航空局花了将近两年的时间——远远超过波音公司的预期——批准了设计变更并允许该飞机重返空中。

Words in This Story

deliver –v. to bring something to a person or place

交付–把某物带到某人或地方

dread⁴ – v. to feel worried or frightened about something that has not yet happened

恐惧--对尚未发生的事情感到担忧或恐惧

nickname – n. a name used informally instead of a person's real name

昵称--非正式使用的名字，而不是一个人的真实姓名

standard – n. a level of quality, especially a level that is acceptable

标准--质量水平，尤指可接受的水平

first-class –adj. the best or highest level of something

头等舱的--事物的最好或最高水平

strain – v. to cause problems for a situation or relationship

使紧张--给一种情况或关系带来问题

1 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。

2 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

3 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

4 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

5 dreading   

v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was dreading having to broach the subject of money to her father. 她正在为不得不向父亲提出钱的事犯愁。
• This was the moment he had been dreading. 这是他一直最担心的时刻。

6 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。