用激光技术为迷航的飞行员示警

 

Laser Technology to be Used to Warn Straying Pilots

用激光技术为迷航的飞行员示警

 

In September 2004, a Delta¹ pilot claimed a laser beam injured him as he was about to land his jet in Salt Lake City.  Then similar incidents followed in New Jersey², Oregon and other states.  

 

Since last November, more than a hundred such laser incidents have been reported by pilots.   All of the flights landed safely, but federal officials worried the intense lights could distract, disorient or even temporarily blind a pilot, according to ophthalmology expert Bowles Hamill:

 

Bowles Hamill: The retina in the back of the eye can actually become burned, thermally³ burned from these lasers.

 

Now the Air Force is planning to use lasers to warn planes once they strayed the restricted air space over Washington D.C.

 

But Air Force official Ed Daniel assures the new laser is different than those used by potential terrorists or pranksters. 

 

Ed Daniel: At five miles [eight kilometers] it's dispersed⁴ to a hundred feet [30 meters].  It's not centrally on the pilot's eyeball, but dispersed over an area.

 

The No-Fly Zone covers an area over 5,000 square kilometers. It's the same no fly zone that a small aircraft flew into last week, causing a security breach⁵ and evacuation of the Capitol Building and the White House.

 

Beginning Saturday, if a plane is detected in the No-Fly Zone, a laser beam will be projected towards it to warn the pilot the plane is in forbidden airspace.

 

The program's goal is to avoid further security incidents and to implement⁶ a more cost-effective warning system.

 

It currently costs the defense⁷ department more than $30,000 to scramble⁸ a single fighter.  In last week's incident, they scrambled⁹ two.

 

An FAA spokeswoman says the private pilots, military, and law-enforcement aircraft have violated the restricted airspace more than a thousand times since the creation of the No-Fly Zone in February 2003.

 

Paige Kollock, VOA news.

 

注释：

Salt Lake City 盐湖城

disorient [dis5C:rient] vt. 使失去方向感，使迷惑

ophthalmology [7CfWAl5mClEdVi] n. 眼科学

retina [5retinE] n. 视网膜

stray [strei] v. 迷路，偏离

prankster [5prANkstE] n. 恶作剧者

evacuation [i7vAkju5eiFEn] n. 撤退，疏散

scramble [5skrAmbl] v. 匆忙，拼凑

FAA 联邦航空局

1 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。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 thermally   

热地

参考例句：

• The magnetizing field is then removed while the body is thermally isolated. 在该物体热绝缘时把磁场撤去。
• They could thermally desorb these ions by heating the foil to red heat. 他们通过加热金属箔至红热以解吸这些离子。

4 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

5 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

6 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

9 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》