2020年经济学人 查尔斯·耶格尔将军(2)

But when on October 14th 1947 he was dropped in the Bell X-1, a rocket-powered experimental plane, from the bomb bay of a B-29, he had no idea what lay ahead. Fun, probably, as he loved the X-1, and in his post-war test-pilot job he preferred tactical flying that focused on one aircraft, rather than a dozen different planes every week. It was more like combat, and the band of pilots he now belonged to, at Muroc air force base in California, were ex-warriors who felt the same way.

但1947年10月14日，他被扔在贝尔X-1火箭动力实验飞机上，在B-29的炸弹舱里，他根本不知道前方会发生什么。可能很有趣，因为他喜欢X-1，在战后试飞员的工作中，他更喜欢专注于一架飞机的战术飞行，而不是每周有十几架不同的飞机。这更像是战斗，他现在所属的飞行员队伍，在加州的穆洛克空军基地，其他飞行员也曾经是勇士，他们感同身受。

Glamorous¹ Glennis was painted on the bright orange fuselage in tribute to his wife, the wife with whom he'd had a horseback race two nights before, busting² a couple of ribs³ when his horse flipped⁴ him, which still hurt like hell. The engineers back at base feared that breaching⁵ the sound barrier might rip the aircraft apart. The least he expected was something like a bump in the road, to show he'd done it: strong proof for the friendly rivals back at base. Instead, at around 700mph (1,126kph) he felt nothing particular, just a bit of resistance, like poking⁶ his finger through Jell-O.

迷人的格伦尼斯被画在明亮的橙色机身上，向他的妻子致敬，两天前和他一起骑马的妻子，他落下了马，几根肋骨被摔断了，现在还非常疼。回到基地的工程师们担心，打破声屏障可能会把飞机撕成碎片。他最不希望看到的是道路上的一个颠簸，以证明他做到了这一点：为基地的友好对手提供了有力的证据。相反，在700英里/小时左右，他没有感到什么特别的，只是有点阻力，就像用手指戳果冻一样。

He got the Collier trophy⁷ for it, a nice statuette on a plinth, and the family went to the White House to collect it, his father, a staunch Republican, refused to shake Harry⁸ Truman's hand. But it was quite a let-down. He had to go much faster to get the effects he had been halfanticipating. That happened in December 1953, after a few flights approaching Mach 2, twice the speed of sound. He was warned that if he went any faster his X-1Aaircraft might go divergent. It did.

他因此得到了科利尔奖杯，拥有底座的漂亮小雕像，全家都去白宫领取，他的父亲，一个坚定的共和党人，拒绝与哈里·杜鲁门握手。但这让人很失望。他必须加快速度才能达到他所预料不到的效果。这发生在1953年12月，几次飞行接近2马赫，是音速的两倍。他被警告说，如果他再快一点，他的X-1飞机可能会散架。是的。

1 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

2 busting   

打破，打碎( bust的现在分词 )； 突击搜查（或搜捕）； （使）降级，降低军阶

参考例句：

• Jim and his wife were busting up again yesterday. 吉姆和他的妻子昨天又吵架了。
• He figured she was busting his chops, but it was all true. 他以为她在捉弄他，其实完全是真的。

3 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

4 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

5 breaching   

攻破( breach的过去式 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。
• Third, an agency can abuse its discretion by breaching certain principles of judge-made law. 第三，行政机关会因违反某些法官制定的法律原则而构成滥用自由裁量权。

6 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

7 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

8 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。