名人轶事:Red Adair

By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: October 31, 2004

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This is Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Faith Lapidus with People in America in VOA Special English.

Today we tell about Red Adair. He was famous for putting out dangerous oil

well fires around the world.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Paul Neal Adair was born in Houston, Texas in nineteen fifteen. He was one of

five sons of a metal worker. He also had three sisters. While growing up, he

became known as Red Adair because his hair was bright red. The color became a

trademark² for Adair. He wore red clothes and red boots. He drove a red car,

and his crew members used red trucks and red equipment.

As a young man, Red Adair dropped out of high school to help support his

family. He worked as a laborer³ for several different companies. In nineteen

thirty-eight, Adair got his first oil-related job with the Otis Pressure

Control Company.

VOICE TWO:

During World War Two, Adair served on a trained army team that removed and

destroyed bombs. After the war, he returned to Houston and took a job with

Myron Kinley. At the time, Kinley was the leader in putting out fires in oil

wells. Red Adair worked with Myron Kinley for fourteen years. But in nineteen

fifty-nine, Adair started his own company.

During his thirty-six years in business, Red Adair and his crews battled more

than two thousand fires all over the world. Some were on land. Others were on

ocean oil-drilling structures. Some fires were in burning oil wells. Others

were in natural gas wells.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Red Adair was a leader in a specialized⁴ and extremely dangerous profession.

Putting out oil well fires can be difficult. This is because oil well fires

are extinguished⁶, or put out, at the wellhead just above ground. Normally,

explosives are used to stop the fire from burning. The explosion robs the

fire of oxygen. But, once the fire is out, the well still needs to be

covered, or capped, to stop the flow of oil. This is the most dangerous part

of the process. Any new heat or fire could cause the leaking well and the

surrounding area to explode.

VOICE TWO:

Red Adair developed modern methods to extinguish⁵ and cover burning oil wells.

They became known in the industry as Wild Well Control techniques. In

addition to explosives, the techniques involved large amounts of water and

dirt. Adair also developed special equipment made of bronze metal to help

extinguish oil well fires. The modern tools and his Wild Well Control

techniques earned Red Adair and his crews the honor of being called the "best

in the business."

Red Adair was known for not being afraid. He was also known for his sense of

calm and safety. None of his workers were ever killed while putting out oil

well or gas fires. He described his work this way: "It scares you -- all the

noise, the rattling⁷, the shaking. But the look on everyone's face, when you

are finished and packing, it is the best smile in the world; and there is

nobody hurt, and the well is under control."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

One of Red Adair's most important projects was in nineteen sixty-two. He and

his crew put out a natural gas fire in the Sahara Desert in Algeria. The fire

had been burning for six months. This famous fire was called the "Devil's

Cigarette Lighter⁸." Fire from the natural gas well shot about one hundred

forty meters into the air. The fire was so big that American astronaut John

Glenn could see it from space as he orbited Earth. The desert sand around the

well had melted into glass from the extreme heat. News reports said Adair

used about three hundred forty kilograms of nitroglycerine explosive material

to pull the oxygen out of the fire.

VOICE TWO:

Adair's success with the "Devil's Cigarette Lighter" and earlier well fires

captured the imagination of the American film industry. In nineteen sixty-

eight, Hollywood made an action film called "Hellfighters." It was loosely

based on events in Red Adair's life. Actor John Wayne played an oil well

firefighter from Houston, Texas whose life was similar to Adair's. Adair

served as an advisor⁹ to Wayne while the film was being made. The two men

became close friends. Adair said one of the best honors in the world was to

have John Wayne play him in a movie.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

3 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

4 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

5 extinguish   

v.压制，压抑，熄灭，扑灭（火）等

参考例句：

• You may extinguish a nation,but not the love of liberty.你可以消灭一个国家，但不能消灭对自由的热爱。
• It took about 50 minutes to extinguish the fire.大约花了50分钟才把火扑灭。

6 extinguished   

使熄灭，扑灭( extinguish的过去式和过去分词 )； 使…不复存在

参考例句：

• His discovery extinguished the achievements of his colleague. 他的发现使他同事的成就黯然失色。
• Water extinguished the fire. 水把火浇灭了。

7 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

8 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

9 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

10 colonel   

n.(英国陆军、美国陆空军及海军陆战队)上校

参考例句：

• It's a pity we didn't mend our fences with the colonel.可惜我们还没有和上校先生调整好关系。
• An army major ranks between a captain and a colonel.陆军少校的军阶在上尉与中校之间。

11 profound   

adj.深奥的，造诣深的；深度的，极度的

参考例句：

• I give you my profound thanks for saving my life.我对您的救命之恩深表谢意。
• He has a profound knowledge of mathematics.他数学知识渊博。

12 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

13 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

16 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。

17 recognition   

n.承认，认可，认出，认识

参考例句：

• The place has changed beyond recognition.这地方变得认不出来了。
• A sudden smile of recognition flashed across his face.他脸上掠过一丝笑意，表示认识对方。

18 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。