【課文】
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
What is a hovercraft riding on when it is in motion?
Many strange new means of transport have been developed in our century, the strangest of them being perhaps the hovercraft. In 1953, a former electronics engineer in his fifties, Christopher Cockerell, who had turned to boat-building on the Norfolk Broads, suggested an idea on which he had been working for many years to the British Government and industrial circles. It was the idea of supporting a craft on a 'pad', or cushion, of low-pressure air, ringed with a curtain of higher pressure air. Ever since, people have had difficulty in deciding whether the craft should be ranged among ships, planes, or land vehicles -- for it is something in between a boat and an aircraft. As a shipbuilder, Cockerell was trying to find a solution to the problem of the wave resistance which wastes a good deal of a surface ship's power and limits its speed. His answer was to lift the vessel out of the water by making it ride on a cushion of air, no more than one or two feet thick. This is done by a great number of ring-shaped air jets on the bottom of the craft. It 'flies', therefore, but it cannot fly higher -- its action depends on the surface, water or ground, over which it rides.
The first tests on the Solent in 1959 caused a sensation. The hovercraft travelled first over the water, then mounted the beach, climbed up the dunes, and sat down on a road. Later it crossed the Channel, riding smoothly over the waves, which presented no problem.
Since that time, various types of hovercraft have appeared and taken up regular service. The hovercraft is particularly useful in large areas with poor communications such as Africa or Australia; it can become a 'flying fruit-bowl', carrying bananas from the plantations to the ports; giant hovercraft liners could span the Atlantic; and the railway of the future may well be the 'hovertrain', riding on its air cushion over a single rail, which it never touches, at speeds up to 300 m.p.h. -- the possibilities appear unlimited.
EGON LARSEN The Pegasus Book of Inventors
【New words and expressions 生詞和短語】
hovercraft n. 氣墊船
Norfolk Broads n. 諾福克郡的湖泊地區(qū)
cushion n. 座墊
ring v. 圍
Solent n. (英國的)蘇倫特海峽
sensation n. 轟動(dòng)
dune n. 沙丘
plantation n. 種植園
hovertrain n. 氣墊火車
【課文注釋】
1.the strangest of them being perhaps the hovercraft 這是現(xiàn)在分詞being的獨(dú)立主格結(jié)構(gòu)。
2.turned to direct one's interest or attention towards; go into 求助于, 轉(zhuǎn)向，在本段中的含義是“改行”。
例句：I had to turn to the dictionary for help.
我只得求助于字典了。
The pop singer turned to figure in soap operas.
那位流行歌星轉(zhuǎn)向屏幕，在肥皂劇中扮演角色。
3.had been working 過去完成進(jìn)行時(shí)，通常表示某個(gè)過去正在進(jìn)行的動(dòng)作或狀態(tài)，持續(xù)到過去某個(gè)時(shí)刻，還未完成，一直持續(xù)到之后的當(dāng)前才結(jié)束 。
例句：He had been bumming around the park all day.
他在公園里蕩了一整天了。
He stopped swimming.He had been swimming for the last three hours.
他停止游泳了。在過去的三個(gè)小時(shí)里，他一直在游泳。
4. range v. 排列, 歸類于
例句：The documents may range from a single sheet to a large packet of papers.
文件可以單頁排列，也可以多頁打包排列。
5.in between,介乎......之間，這是一種組合介詞。
6.a surface ship,水面船只。
7.sensation n. 感覺, 轟動(dòng), 激動(dòng), 知覺
例句：He had a sensation of dizziness.
他有一種暈眩的感覺。
The new discovery caused a great sensation.
這項(xiàng)新發(fā)現(xiàn)很轟動(dòng)。
8.present no problem 沒有出現(xiàn)任何問題
【詞義辨析】
modern, contemporary, current, recent, present, up-to-date這些形容詞均有“現(xiàn)代的、當(dāng)代的”之意。
modern: 指現(xiàn)代或近代，時(shí)期可長可短;也可指新穎、時(shí)髦的。
contemporary: 僅指當(dāng)今這個(gè)時(shí)代，不涉及任何過去的時(shí)代，但可表示不同的人或物存在于同一時(shí)代。
current: 指目前存在和發(fā)生的。
recent: 表示新近的，近的，時(shí)間的長短依據(jù)所修飾的人或物而定。
present: 是這些詞中語氣強(qiáng)的一個(gè)。指現(xiàn)在正發(fā)生、起作用的。
up-to-date: 一般用于非正式場合，指很時(shí)新、能反映當(dāng)前的新發(fā)展。
offer, present, propose, volunteer這些動(dòng)詞均含“提出、提供”之意。
offer: 普通用詞，多指主動(dòng)提出或提供意見或東西等，但是否接受由對(duì)方自行決定。
present: 既可指提出意見、建議等，又可指拿出某物供人欣賞或贈(zèng)送。
propose: 指直接而主動(dòng)地提出問題或建議等，也指在討論或爭辨中提出具體意見或建議。
volunteer: 與offer同義，側(cè)重出于自愿，而不是奉命做某事。
9.may well be,很可能是。
例句：This novel may well become a classic.
這本小說很可能成為經(jīng)典著作。
Since he can play many musical instruments, he may well be called a man of
accomplishments.
他能演奏許多樂器，當(dāng)然稱得上是個(gè)多才多藝的人。
10.speed up 加快速度
例句：Harden up a little, we need more speed.
把帆索拉緊一點(diǎn)，我們需要加快速度
The order No.105 is so urgently required that we have to ask you to speed up
shipment.
第105號(hào)訂單所訂貨物我們要急用，請(qǐng)你們加快裝船速度。
【參考譯文】
本世紀(jì)已研制出許多新奇的交通工具，其中新奇的要數(shù)氣墊船了。1953年，有一位50多歲名叫克里斯托弗.科克雷的原電子工程師，改行在諾?？丝さ暮吹貐^(qū)從事造船業(yè)，他向英國政府和工業(yè)界提出了他研究多年的一項(xiàng)計(jì)劃。他的設(shè)想是：用一個(gè)低壓空氣或軟墊來支撐船體，軟墊周圍用高壓空氣環(huán)繞。自那以后，人們很難決定是否應(yīng)該將這種運(yùn)載工具列為輪船、飛機(jī)，或是陸上交通工具，因?yàn)樗墙橛诖惋w機(jī)之間。作為一個(gè)船舶技師，科克雷爾在尋找解決波浪阻力的方法，因?yàn)椴ɡ俗枇速M(fèi)掉了船在水面行駛的大量動(dòng)力，從而限制了船的速度。他的解決辦法是把船體提離水面，讓船在一個(gè)氣墊上行駛，氣墊只有一兩英尺厚。船底裝上大量環(huán)狀噴氣嘴以實(shí)現(xiàn)這一目的。這樣，船就能飛了，但飛不高。它的飛行限決于它所懸浮的水面或地面。
1959年，在蘇倫特海峽進(jìn)行的首次試航引起了轟動(dòng)，氣墊船先是在水面上行駛，后又登上海岸，爬上沙丘，后停在路上。后來氣墊船跨越英吉利海峽，平衡地在波浪上方行駛，波浪不再產(chǎn)生阻力。
從那以后，各種各樣的氣墊船出現(xiàn)了，并開始了定期航行服務(wù)。氣墊船在非洲、澳大利亞等交通不發(fā)達(dá)地區(qū)特別有用。它能成為“飛行水果盤子”，把香蕉從種植園運(yùn)到港口。大型的氣墊班輪或許能跨越大西洋。未來的火車或許能成為“氣墊火車”，靠氣墊在單軌上行駛而不接觸軌道，時(shí)速可達(dá)每小時(shí)300英里。氣墊船的前途是不可限量的。
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
What is a hovercraft riding on when it is in motion?
Many strange new means of transport have been developed in our century, the strangest of them being perhaps the hovercraft. In 1953, a former electronics engineer in his fifties, Christopher Cockerell, who had turned to boat-building on the Norfolk Broads, suggested an idea on which he had been working for many years to the British Government and industrial circles. It was the idea of supporting a craft on a 'pad', or cushion, of low-pressure air, ringed with a curtain of higher pressure air. Ever since, people have had difficulty in deciding whether the craft should be ranged among ships, planes, or land vehicles -- for it is something in between a boat and an aircraft. As a shipbuilder, Cockerell was trying to find a solution to the problem of the wave resistance which wastes a good deal of a surface ship's power and limits its speed. His answer was to lift the vessel out of the water by making it ride on a cushion of air, no more than one or two feet thick. This is done by a great number of ring-shaped air jets on the bottom of the craft. It 'flies', therefore, but it cannot fly higher -- its action depends on the surface, water or ground, over which it rides.
The first tests on the Solent in 1959 caused a sensation. The hovercraft travelled first over the water, then mounted the beach, climbed up the dunes, and sat down on a road. Later it crossed the Channel, riding smoothly over the waves, which presented no problem.
Since that time, various types of hovercraft have appeared and taken up regular service. The hovercraft is particularly useful in large areas with poor communications such as Africa or Australia; it can become a 'flying fruit-bowl', carrying bananas from the plantations to the ports; giant hovercraft liners could span the Atlantic; and the railway of the future may well be the 'hovertrain', riding on its air cushion over a single rail, which it never touches, at speeds up to 300 m.p.h. -- the possibilities appear unlimited.
EGON LARSEN The Pegasus Book of Inventors
【New words and expressions 生詞和短語】
hovercraft n. 氣墊船
Norfolk Broads n. 諾福克郡的湖泊地區(qū)
cushion n. 座墊
ring v. 圍
Solent n. (英國的)蘇倫特海峽
sensation n. 轟動(dòng)
dune n. 沙丘
plantation n. 種植園
hovertrain n. 氣墊火車
【課文注釋】
1.the strangest of them being perhaps the hovercraft 這是現(xiàn)在分詞being的獨(dú)立主格結(jié)構(gòu)。
2.turned to direct one's interest or attention towards; go into 求助于, 轉(zhuǎn)向，在本段中的含義是“改行”。
例句：I had to turn to the dictionary for help.
我只得求助于字典了。
The pop singer turned to figure in soap operas.
那位流行歌星轉(zhuǎn)向屏幕，在肥皂劇中扮演角色。
3.had been working 過去完成進(jìn)行時(shí)，通常表示某個(gè)過去正在進(jìn)行的動(dòng)作或狀態(tài)，持續(xù)到過去某個(gè)時(shí)刻，還未完成，一直持續(xù)到之后的當(dāng)前才結(jié)束 。
例句：He had been bumming around the park all day.
他在公園里蕩了一整天了。
He stopped swimming.He had been swimming for the last three hours.
他停止游泳了。在過去的三個(gè)小時(shí)里，他一直在游泳。
4. range v. 排列, 歸類于
例句：The documents may range from a single sheet to a large packet of papers.
文件可以單頁排列，也可以多頁打包排列。
5.in between,介乎......之間，這是一種組合介詞。
6.a surface ship,水面船只。
7.sensation n. 感覺, 轟動(dòng), 激動(dòng), 知覺
例句：He had a sensation of dizziness.
他有一種暈眩的感覺。
The new discovery caused a great sensation.
這項(xiàng)新發(fā)現(xiàn)很轟動(dòng)。
8.present no problem 沒有出現(xiàn)任何問題
【詞義辨析】
modern, contemporary, current, recent, present, up-to-date這些形容詞均有“現(xiàn)代的、當(dāng)代的”之意。
modern: 指現(xiàn)代或近代，時(shí)期可長可短;也可指新穎、時(shí)髦的。
contemporary: 僅指當(dāng)今這個(gè)時(shí)代，不涉及任何過去的時(shí)代，但可表示不同的人或物存在于同一時(shí)代。
current: 指目前存在和發(fā)生的。
recent: 表示新近的，近的，時(shí)間的長短依據(jù)所修飾的人或物而定。
present: 是這些詞中語氣強(qiáng)的一個(gè)。指現(xiàn)在正發(fā)生、起作用的。
up-to-date: 一般用于非正式場合，指很時(shí)新、能反映當(dāng)前的新發(fā)展。
offer, present, propose, volunteer這些動(dòng)詞均含“提出、提供”之意。
offer: 普通用詞，多指主動(dòng)提出或提供意見或東西等，但是否接受由對(duì)方自行決定。
present: 既可指提出意見、建議等，又可指拿出某物供人欣賞或贈(zèng)送。
propose: 指直接而主動(dòng)地提出問題或建議等，也指在討論或爭辨中提出具體意見或建議。
volunteer: 與offer同義，側(cè)重出于自愿，而不是奉命做某事。
9.may well be,很可能是。
例句：This novel may well become a classic.
這本小說很可能成為經(jīng)典著作。
Since he can play many musical instruments, he may well be called a man of
accomplishments.
他能演奏許多樂器，當(dāng)然稱得上是個(gè)多才多藝的人。
10.speed up 加快速度
例句：Harden up a little, we need more speed.
把帆索拉緊一點(diǎn)，我們需要加快速度
The order No.105 is so urgently required that we have to ask you to speed up
shipment.
第105號(hào)訂單所訂貨物我們要急用，請(qǐng)你們加快裝船速度。
【參考譯文】
本世紀(jì)已研制出許多新奇的交通工具，其中新奇的要數(shù)氣墊船了。1953年，有一位50多歲名叫克里斯托弗.科克雷的原電子工程師，改行在諾?？丝さ暮吹貐^(qū)從事造船業(yè)，他向英國政府和工業(yè)界提出了他研究多年的一項(xiàng)計(jì)劃。他的設(shè)想是：用一個(gè)低壓空氣或軟墊來支撐船體，軟墊周圍用高壓空氣環(huán)繞。自那以后，人們很難決定是否應(yīng)該將這種運(yùn)載工具列為輪船、飛機(jī)，或是陸上交通工具，因?yàn)樗墙橛诖惋w機(jī)之間。作為一個(gè)船舶技師，科克雷爾在尋找解決波浪阻力的方法，因?yàn)椴ɡ俗枇速M(fèi)掉了船在水面行駛的大量動(dòng)力，從而限制了船的速度。他的解決辦法是把船體提離水面，讓船在一個(gè)氣墊上行駛，氣墊只有一兩英尺厚。船底裝上大量環(huán)狀噴氣嘴以實(shí)現(xiàn)這一目的。這樣，船就能飛了，但飛不高。它的飛行限決于它所懸浮的水面或地面。
1959年，在蘇倫特海峽進(jìn)行的首次試航引起了轟動(dòng)，氣墊船先是在水面上行駛，后又登上海岸，爬上沙丘，后停在路上。后來氣墊船跨越英吉利海峽，平衡地在波浪上方行駛，波浪不再產(chǎn)生阻力。
從那以后，各種各樣的氣墊船出現(xiàn)了，并開始了定期航行服務(wù)。氣墊船在非洲、澳大利亞等交通不發(fā)達(dá)地區(qū)特別有用。它能成為“飛行水果盤子”，把香蕉從種植園運(yùn)到港口。大型的氣墊班輪或許能跨越大西洋。未來的火車或許能成為“氣墊火車”，靠氣墊在單軌上行駛而不接觸軌道，時(shí)速可達(dá)每小時(shí)300英里。氣墊船的前途是不可限量的。