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Lesson 20 Pioneer pilots 飞行员的先驱

In 1908 Lord Northcliffe offered a prize of￡1, 000 to the first man who would fly across the English Channel. Over a year passed beforethe first attempt was made. On July 19th, 1909, in the early morning, Hubert Latham took off from the French coast in his plane the ‘Antoinette IV’. He had travelled only seven miles across the Channel when his engine failed and he was forced to land on the sea. The‘Antoinette’floated on the water until Latham was picked up by a ship.

Two days later, Louis Bleriot arrived near Calais with a plane called‘No. XI’. Bleriot had been making planes since 1905 and this was his latest model. A week before, he had completed a successful overland flight during which he covered twenty－six miles. Latham, however, did not give up easily. He, too, arrived near Calais on the same day with a new‘Antoinette’. It looked as if there would be an exciting race across the Channel. Both planes were going to take off on July 25th, but Latham failed to get up early enough. After making a short test flight at 4. a. m. , Bleriot set off half an hour later. His great flight lasted thirty－seven minutes. When he landed near Dover, the first person to greet him was a local policeman. Latham made 15 another attempt a week later and got within half a mile of Dover, but he was unlucky again. His engine failed and he landed on the sea for the second time.

New Words and Expressions 生词和短语​

pioneer(title)/'paiə'niə/n. 先驱 Calais(1. 8)/'kælei/n. 加来（法国港市）

  • lord（1. 1)/lɔ:d/n. 对（英国）贵族的尊称；勋爵
  • overland（1. 9)/'əuvə'lænd/adj. 陆上的

Notes on the text 课文注释​

  1. the English Channel, 英吉利海峡。 大西洋延伸的部分，长约350英里（约560公里），将英法两国的领土分开。
  2. Over a year passed before the first attempt was made. 一年多时间之后，才有人进行第一次尝试。
  3. pick up此处作“（从海里）救起”解。
  4. did not give up easily, 不轻易作罢。give up当“放弃”讲。
  5. It looked as if there would be an exciting race across the Channel. 看起来似乎有一场精采的飞越英吉利海峡的比赛。as if引导的从句作起系动词作用的look的表语，其中谓语动词 would be表示与未来的事实不相符的虚拟结构。
  6. got within half a mile of Dover, 到了离多佛不到半英里的地方。
  7. Dover, 多佛港，是英吉利海峡的一个港口，对面是法国港口加来。多佛与加来相距21英里（34公里），是英吉利海峡最窄的部分。

参考译文​

1908年，诺斯克利夫勋爵拿出1, 000英镑，作为对第一个飞越英吉利海峡的人的奖励。然而一年多过去了才有人出来尝试。1909年7月19日凌晨，休伯特·莱瑟姆驾驶“安特瓦奈特4号”飞机从法国海岸起飞，但他只在海峡上空飞行了7英里，引擎就发生了故障，他只好降落在海面上。“安特瓦奈特”号飞机在海上漂浮，后来有船经过，莱瑟姆方才获救。

两天之后，路易斯·布莱里奥驾驶一架名为“11号”的飞机来到加来附近。布莱里奥从1905年起便开始研制飞机，“11号”飞机是他制作的最新型号。一周以前，他曾成功地进行了一次 26英里的陆上飞行。但是莱瑟姆不肯轻易罢休。同一天，他驾驶一架新的“安特瓦奈特”号飞机来到了加来附近。看来会有一场激烈的飞越英吉利海峡的竞争。两架飞机都打算在7月25日起飞，但莱瑟姆那天起床晚了。布莱里奥凌晨4点15分作了一次短距离试飞，半小时后便正式出发了。他这次伟大的飞行持续了37分钟。当他在多佛着陆后，第一个迎接他的是当地一名警察。莱瑟姆一周以后也作了一次尝试，飞到了离多佛不到半英里的地方。这次他又遭厄运，因引擎故障第二次降落在海面上。