VOA常速英语2014--Investigators Search for Two Key Items from Malaysian Crash 调查人员寻找马航失联飞机的两个关键证据

 

Investigators¹ Search for Two Key Items from Malaysian Crash 调查人员寻找马航失联飞机的两个关键证据

WASHINGTON — After several days of searching there is still no sign of the Malaysian Airlines jet that disappeared Saturday with 239 people on board. Flight 370 took off from Kuala Lampur bound for Beijing, but disappeared somewhere over the South China Sea.

Ten countries, 20 airplanes and more than 40 ships, including two U.S. destroyers, are combing the South China Sea.

10个国家,20架飞机以及包括两艘美国驱逐舰在内的超过40艘船只正在南中国海彻底搜寻。

Still, no clues have emerged as to how a state-of-the-art airplane could just disappear.

不过, 仍旧没有蛛丝马迹表明一架最先进的飞机如何凭空消失。

“At the moment, we don't have answers.

“目前,我们没有答案。

But it's important that we are out there, looking,” said Australian prime minister Tony Abbott.

但重要的是,我们正在进行搜寻工作,”澳大利亚首相托尼·阿伯特说道。

The flight took off in good weather from Kuala Lumpur, en route to Beijing.

这架飞机在一个好天气从吉隆坡起飞前往北京。

调查人员寻找马航失联飞机的两个关键证据.jpg

Now, the Malaysian government is expanding the search beyond the 92-kilometer radius² from where the last contact was made.

现在马来西亚政府正将搜寻范围扩大到班机失踪海域92公里半径以外的地区。

“We are looking at every angle,” said Azaharudin Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's civil aviation chief.

“我们正在从每个角度开展搜寻工作。”马来西亚民航局长阿萨丁·阿卜杜勒·拉赫曼说道。

Investigators are searching for two key pieces of evidence.

调查人员正在寻找两个关键证据。

The first piece is the plane's black box-which is actually bright orange to be visible in crash debris³.

其一是机上的黑匣子,实际上它是明亮的橙色物体在失事残骸中很容易发现。

Its two parts-the flight data recorder and the cockpit recorder-would provide investigators with a record of electronic instructions and any cockpit discussions prior to impact.

其二就是飞行数据记录器和驾驶舱录音机—这两件物品将为调查人员提供电子指令记录和任何关于事发前驾驶舱的讨论。

However, the black box only emits a signal for 30 days.

然而, 黑匣子发出的信号只能维持30天。

“It's a little audio pinger that's in that black box, that is sending out a signal that says, ‘I'm here, come find me.'

“黑匣子中有一个小型音频声波发射器,不断发送着我在这里,来找我吧的信号。

The clock is ticking.

时间紧任务重。

Thirty days to go, or we lose that pinger,” explained Stephen Ganyard, an aviation consultant⁴.

只剩下30天,或者我们跟丢脉冲发射器,”航空顾问斯蒂芬·甘亚德解释道。

The box has an underwater beacon⁵ that can transmit at a depth of 4,000 meters.

匣子里有一个可以在4000米深度传输的水下信标。

The second key to the investigation⁶ is any debris that would provide a clue about what happened.

第二调查关键是任何残骸碎片将有助于了解究竟发生了什么事。

Many point to the lessons learned after TWA flight 800 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 1996.

环球航空公司800航班于1996年坠入大西洋后给人们带来了许多经验教训。

"The debris from TWA 800, which was originally thought to be potentially a bomb on board, turned out to provide enough information to point to a different type of explosion," said aviation expert Vahid Motevalli via Skype.

“800的事故原本被认为是一枚潜在的炸弹引起,结果碎片提供足够的信息表明不同类型的爆炸,”航空专家瓦希德·默特瓦利通过Skype说道。

Four years after the crash, U.S. investigators ruled the cause was aircraft malfunction⁷.

那起事故4年后,美国调查人员将坠机原因归因于飞机故障。

No one knows what happened to Malaysian flight 370.

没有人知道马航370到底发生了什么事。

Experts say until authorities find either the black box or crash debris, it's all speculation⁸.

专家称直到当局找到黑匣子或碰撞碎片,现在的一切都只是猜测。

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

3 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

4 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

5 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 malfunction   

vi.发生功能故障，发生故障，显示机能失常

参考例句：

• There must have been a computer malfunction.一定是出了电脑故障。
• Results have been delayed owing to a malfunction in the computer.由于电脑发生故障，计算结果推迟了。

8 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。