VOA标准英语2010年-Could More Realistic Flight Training P

Authorities think so, and they've designed simulators that shake, rattle¹, and roll

Ted² Landphair | Washington DC 25 March 2010
 

U.S. space agency simulators help prepare airplane pilots for crisis situations. But critics say they don't adequately replicate³ out-of-control situations.

In the mock-ups of airplane cockpits called flight simulators, pilots learn or perfect take-offs, landings, and how to quickly employ sophisticated electronic instruments in today's jet aircraft.

What they don't learn so well, apparently⁴, is how to deal with sudden, potentially catastrophic emergencies.

Computer screens can simulate spins and twists and free falls, but until recently they have not been able to reproduce the yawing and shaking that can suddenly and ominously⁵ confront and panic a pilot.

The U.S. Army Air Force used a crude simulator, bolted to a platform that bounced and shook, to train pilots during World War II. This one is preserved in a museum.

The aircraft company Boeing calculates that between 1999 and 2008, almost 2,000 people died worldwide in crashes in which pilots lost control of big aircraft that might have been saved.

A recent and heavily studied example occurred in February 2009, when pilots of a turboprop encountered icing conditions as they approached Buffalo⁶, New York, in a snowstorm. When the plane began to shake and stall, the lead pilot jerked the controls to turn the wings upward, when turning the plane's nose downward could have saved it. It crashed, killing⁷ all 49 people aboard and a man on the ground.

The USA Today newspaper reports that NASA researchers and private companies have developed simulators that realistically duplicate the shaking, rollovers and final, silent dives that occur when a big plane stalls.

Some flight simulators make use of cameras and terrain⁸ mock-ups. The terrain can even appear dead ahead in a free-fall crisis replication.

There's no assurance that such a simulator session would enable every pilot who confronts a real emergency to gain control of a wildly pitching, falling aircraft. 

But Michael Barr, who teaches aviation safety at the University of Southern California, told the newspaper that pilots should not be given licenses⁹ until they have shown they can successfully pull their mammoth¹⁰ airplanes out of violent, rocking and shaking calamities¹¹ and stalls. 

Even if they are make-believe.
 

1 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 ominously   

adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地

参考例句：

• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mammy shook her head ominously. 嬷嬷不祥地摇着头。 来自飘（部分）

6 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

9 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

10 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

11 calamities   

n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• One moment's false security can bring a century of calamities. 图一时之苟安，贻百年之大患。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》