VOA标准英语2010年-Memories of Pioneering Pilot Bill Brid

Bill Bridgeman was a pioneering test pilot, once known as the fastest man alive.  He told his story in a best-selling book called "The Lonely Sky," in 1955.  The book has been reissued, and recalls a time when flight records were broken almost monthly, a time famously chronicled in Tom Wolfe's 1979 book "The Right Stuff."  "The Lonely Sky" was a best-seller two decades before that, and remains¹ a classic for aviation fans.

 

Bridgeman tested experimental airplanes for the Douglas Aircraft Company.  Flying an advanced craft called the Skyrocket in August 1951, he reached Mach 1.88 - nearly twice the speed of sound - and claimed the world speed record and unofficial altitude record.   Bridgeman appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine, hailed as the "Fastest Man Alive." 

 

His achievement surpassed a flight four years earlier by famed test pilot Chuck Yeager, who was the first aviator² to break the sound barrier in the X-1 experimental aircraft.  Yeager went on to claim other records, however, and his fame kept growing.

Bridgeman's wife and coauthor, Jackie Hazard, was a former reporter, and says she and her husband met when a newspaper sent her to interview him.

Hazard says Yeager and Bridgeman were colleagues and rivals, and Yeager at times flew the "chase plane," watching tests of the experimental aircraft.   During one such test flight, she says, Bridgeman's plane went into a spin, something the engineers had warned against.

"Now, down below on the ground, all these engineers are listening," says Hazard.  "So he didn't obviously say anything and Chuck doesn't say anything, and Bill goes into a spin.  And Chuck just follows him down and he gets to the end of the spin, pulls out, and Chuck looks over and says, 'Oops.'"

She says test pilots protected each other, and Yeager was covering for his friend, even though engineers learned what happened by examining data from the test flight.  They had been tipped off by Yeager's humorous exclamation³.

By late 1953, other pilots, including Scott Crossfield, would go on to break speed records, approaching and passing Mach 2.  And Chuck Yeager would go on to claim more speed and altitude records. 

Hazard remembers her late husband as a quiet but confident man, a trait he shared with his fellow test pilots.

"I think most of the test pilots are extremely confident.  And they're not much for small talk.  Bill never was, but he had a great sense of humor... He didn't like the publicity⁴ he got at all, but he put up with it" says Hazard.

Bridgeman tried to join the corps⁵ of U.S. astronauts through the Air Force, but was not chosen for the program after the National Aeronautics⁶ and Space Administration was formed in 1958.  The new space agency, known as NASA, favored fliers who were engineers, and many veteran test pilots like Yeager and Bridgeman found themselves left out of the program.

Hazard says these men had a pioneering spirit.

"I don't think you can say the same thing about astronauts, because that's engineering and it's mechanical and it's technical," says Hazard.  "They've got courage.  I'm not saying they don't have courage.  You've got to have courage to get in one of those things.  But it's not the same as the test pilot.  They're a different breed entirely⁷."

She says the early pilots who pierced the upper reaches of the atmosphere had a spirit of independence.  Most were veteran fliers from World War II, but she says test flights were different, because Bridgeman and the other pilots on those experimental missions had only their flying skills to rely on in case of trouble.

"When he was out in the Pacific flying, he wasn't alone.  He had all of his buddies⁸ [in the sky near him] and they were all going out to bomb the Japanese islands or something.  But when you're waiting for this flight in the Skyrocket, you're alone," says Hazard.

After many dangerous flights in experimental aircraft, Bridgeman retired⁹ and began flying routine commercial flights from Long Beach to Catalina Island, off the coast of California.  One calm day in 1968, his airplane plummeted¹⁰ into the ocean and he was killed instantly at the age of 53.  No one ever learned the reason for the crash; there was speculation¹¹ that he had suffered a heart attack or that mechanical failure brought down the airplane.

Hazard says her husband's legacy¹² can still inspire future pioneers who are willing to push the limits.
 

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 aviator   

n.飞行家，飞行员

参考例句：

• The young aviator bragged of his exploits in the sky.那名年轻的飞行员吹嘘他在空中飞行的英勇事迹。
• Hundreds of admirers besieged the famous aviator.数百名爱慕者围困那个著名飞行员。

3 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

4 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

5 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 aeronautics   

n.航空术，航空学

参考例句：

• National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
• He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 buddies   

n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人

参考例句：

• We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
• The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

12 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。