经济学人299:飞行安全 事故连绵不绝

 　　Air safety

　　飞行安全

　　Pressing on

　　高压

　　A spate¹ of accidents will not put Asians off air travel

　　事故连绵不绝，但不会阻止亚洲人乘坐飞机

　　ON DECEMBER 30th Indonesian officials said they had discovered debris² and bodies from AirAsia flight QZ8501, which had vanished two days previously³, floating in shallow seas near the south-west coast of Borneo. The airliner⁴ lost contact with air-traffic controllers while passing through rough weather on a short journey between the Indonesian city of Surabaya and Changi airport in Singapore. The plane was carrying 162 people, most of them Indonesians. As The Economist⁵ went to press, no survivors⁶ had been found.

　　印尼官员12月30日表示，已经发现在婆罗洲西南海岸周边的浅海中，漂浮着两天前消失的亚航QZ8501航班的残骸与尸体。这趟短途航班原定从印尼泗水飞往新加坡樟宜机场，在穿越气象条件恶劣的空域时与航空管制失去了联系。机上载有162人，多数为印尼人。截至本期《经济学人》付梓前，没有找到任何幸存者。

　　飞行安全.jpg

　　The crash, most probably an accident, comes at the end of a particularly tragic⁷ year in South-East Asia's aviation history. Search parties have not yet found the remains⁸ of Malaysia Airlines' flight MH370, which plunged¹⁰ into the Indian Ocean nine months ago killing¹¹ all 239 people on board. In September pro-Russian rebels shot down another Malaysia Airlines plane, MH17, over Ukraine, killing another 298.

　　这场空难的原因最有可能是事故。这一年是东南亚航空史上悲剧之年，以空难结尾。9个月前，马航MH370栽入印度洋，机上239人死亡。搜索小组至今仍没找到其残骸。9月另一家马航客机MH17在乌克兰上空被亲俄叛军打下，又有298人死亡。

　　These earlier calamities¹² nibbled¹³ at South-East Asia's popularity among tourists, especially among sightseers from China. But they have done little to dampen booming demand for air travel among South-East Asians themselves. The region is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets. Its 50-odd carriers are awaiting delivery of 1,600 new planes, about the same number as are in their fleets today. Boeing, an American planemaker, thinks regional airlines will need to order more than 3,000 new aircraft over the next 20 years.

　　东南亚在游客中的口碑为这些天灾人祸一点点侵蚀，尤其是中国的游客很受影响。但这些灾祸并没有抑制住东南亚地区间快速增长的航空需求。东南亚地区是全世界增长最快的航空市场。这里有五十多家航空公司，他们已订购的新客机有1600架，等待交付使用。这一数字与现有客机数量持平。美国飞机制造商波音认为，未来20年东南亚本地航线需要购置超过3000架新飞机。

　　This growth partly reflects the rapid rise of South-East Asia's middle classes, who are eager to shell out for more convenient ways to navigate¹⁴ the continent's archipelagoes. It has been nudged along by the region's governments, who have promised to liberalise aviation as part of plans for greater economic co-operation.

　　航空市场增长部分反映出东南亚中产阶级的快速兴起，该地群岛斑驳，他们很愿意为更舒适的交通方式埋单。东南亚各国政府也提供了助力，他们保证实行航空自由化以推进彼此更深入的经济合作。

　　Yet it also reflects growing confidence in airline safety, despite recent disasters. In much of the region rutted roads and fickle¹⁵ seas are a far bigger worry. A recent study of 160 ferry accidents since 2000, costing nearly 17,000 lives, showed that Indonesia and the Philippines were among the most lethal¹⁶ places to board a boat (only Bangladeshi vessels¹⁷ were more deadly). Images of grieving families in Singapore and Surabaya have horrified¹⁸ Indonesians, and the world. But journeys are still safer in the skies.

　　尽管最近发生了些许天灾人祸，但航空市场发展也反映出对飞行安全不断增长的自信。在东南亚大多数地方，坑洼的道路与变幻的海域远比飞行安全更让人忧虑。近些年有人做过研究，2000年后共发生过160起渡轮事故，其中17000人丧生，而其中印尼与菲律宾的渡轮是最危险的（只有孟加拉国的轮船更容易沉）。新加坡与泗水那些悲伤的空难家属让印尼国民以及整个世界为之战栗。但相比之下空中旅行仍然是更安全的。译者：周鼎烨

　　1.plunge⁹ into 把…放入

　　例句:With no agreement on an alternative, the palestinian authority might plunge into a crisis.

　　如果谈判未达成一致，巴勒斯坦权利机构将陷入一场危机之中。

　　2.demand for 要求

　　例句:The european economic crisis cut demand for solar cells.

　　欧洲经济危机削减对太阳能电池的需求。

　　3.need to 需要;必须

　　例句:But I need to let you go.

　　但我必须放手让你走。

　　4.eager to 渴望

　　例句:Cash-strapped european banks are also eager to peddle¹⁹ their private-equity investments.

　　囊中羞涩的欧洲银行也急于兜售他们的私募股权投资。

1 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

2 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。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

5 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

8 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。

9 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

10 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

11 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。

12 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》

13 nibbled   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• She nibbled daintily at her cake. 她优雅地一点一点地吃着自己的蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several companies have nibbled at our offer. 若干公司表示对我们的出价有兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

15 fickle   

adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的，不坚定的

参考例句：

• Fluctuating prices usually base on a fickle public's demand.物价的波动往往是由于群众需求的不稳定而引起的。
• The weather is so fickle in summer.夏日的天气如此多变。

16 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

17 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

19 peddle   

vt.(沿街)叫卖，兜售；宣传，散播

参考例句：

• She loves to peddle gossip round the village.她喜欢在村里到处说闲话。
• Street vendors peddle their goods along the sidewalk.街头摊贩沿著人行道兜售他们的商品。