VOA慢速英語: 太陽能飛機環(huán)球飛行

Solar-Powered Plane to Fly Around the World

Pilots of the solar plane that already set records flying without a drop of fuel are close to making their first attempt to fly around the world

太陽能飛機環(huán)球飛行

The makers and pilots of a solar-powered plane will try to fly it around the world beginning next month.

下個月，太陽能動力飛機的制造商和飛行員會嘗試飛機的環(huán)球飛行。

The plane is called "Solar Impulse 2," or SI-2. It arrived in pieces recently in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The plane's material is mostly plastic strengthened with lightweight glass. It is now being assembled and prepared for its journey around the globe. The SI-2 team plans to circumnavigatethe Earth in 25 flying days over a five month period.

這架飛機叫做“太陽動力2號（Solar Impulse 2）”飛機的各個零部件已經(jīng)運送到阿拉伯聯(lián)合酋長國的阿布扎比。機身的材料是有一種輕質(zhì)玻璃加強的塑料材料?，F(xiàn)在已經(jīng)安裝完畢，準備開始環(huán)球航行。SI-2研究團隊計劃在五個月的時間內(nèi)完成環(huán)球25天的飛行。

The idea was first tested by Solar Impulse 1 in 2012. Pilots flew the plane on an intercontinental flight from Switzerland to Morocco. And in the summer of 2013, the plane was flown across the United States, from San Francisco to New York City.

2012年Solar Impulse 1飛機首次進行飛行試驗。飛行員駕駛飛機實現(xiàn)從瑞士刀摩洛哥的跨國飛行。2013年夏天，飛機從舊金山飛到紐約，橫跨美國。

The plane's wings are 72 meters across. They are covered with more than 17,000 solar cells. These special energy storage containers provide power to the batteries that permit the plane's four electric motors to operate at night.

飛機兩翼72米長，大概有17,000塊太陽能電池。這些特別的能源儲存裝置為電池提供能量，這樣確保飛機的四個電子馬達在夜晚也能正常運作。

Only one person can sit in the SI-2. In March, the first pilot will take off from Abu Dhabi and fly along the equator, where the sun's rays are strongest. The plane will land every few days so that the two pilots can take turns flying it.

SI-2飛機上只能乘坐一名飛行員。三月份，首位飛行員會從阿布扎比起飛，然后沿著太陽光線最強的赤道飛行。飛機隔幾天會著陸一次，這樣兩個飛行員能夠換班飛行。

Bertrand Piccard is one of the pilots. He also helped create the project. He says the flight around the world will require that he and the other pilot have a lot of endurance.

伯特蘭·皮卡德是其中一名飛行員。他同時也參與這個項目的創(chuàng)建工作。他表示環(huán)球飛行需要他和其他飛行員有足夠的忍耐力。

"It's very exciting for everybody, and we are also in the psychological preparation of the pilot and the team, because technology is OK, but you need to cope now with very long duration flights -- single pilot on board for five days and five nights; lot of stress for everybody."

“對每個人來說，這次環(huán)球飛行都讓人非常激動，我們也做好飛行的心理準備。技術(shù)已經(jīng)完備，但是你需要解決的是長時間的飛行問題——五個晝夜只有一個飛行員在飛機上，這對每個人來說都有很大壓力。”

Andre Borschberg is the other pilot. He helped Mr. Piccard create the solar planes. He says that although a computer called an autopilotcan fly SI-2, he and Mr. Piccard plan to rest or sleep for only 20 minutes at a time.

安德烈·博爾施博格是另一位飛行員。他幫助皮卡德建造太陽能飛機。他表示盡管叫做自動駕駛儀的電腦操作系統(tǒng)能夠操作SI-2的飛行，但是他跟皮卡德每次休息或睡眠時間只有20分鐘。

He says the number of times the pilots will be able to rest or sleep every night is difficult to estimate. He says they have trained in asimulatorto have six to eight breaks in a 24-hour period. That is about two hours of sleep every 24 hours. He says that is not a lot.

每天晚上飛行員能夠休息或者睡眠的次數(shù)很難估測。他說他們已經(jīng)在一個模擬裝置里進行訓練：24小時內(nèi)只有6到8次的休息。這也就是說24小時里只有兩個小時的睡眠時間。睡眠時間很顯然不是很多。

Bertrand Piccard says the goal of the project is to show that renewable energy and clean technologies can be used in other kinds of projects.

伯特蘭·皮卡德稱這個項目的目標是展示可再生能源和清潔技術(shù)在其它項目中的使用。

"If an airplane can fly with no fuel around the world, can you imagine how this technology could be used everywhere?"

“如果一架飛機能夠不用燃料環(huán)球飛行的話，你能想象這種技術(shù)在其它任何地方如何使用嗎？”

SI-2 is to return to Abu Dhabi in July.

SI-2預計7月份返回阿布扎比。

I'm Jonathan Evans.

我是喬納森·伊凡斯。

VOA Science Correspondent George Putic reported this story from Washington. Jonathan Evans wrote it in VOA Learning English. Christopher Cruise edited the story.

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Words in This Story

autopilot – n. a device that steers a ship, aircraft or spacecraft in place of a person

circumnavigate – v. to travel all the way around something in a ship or airplane

equator – n. an imaginary circle around the middle of the Earth that is the same distance from the North Pole and the South Pole

endurance – n. the ability to do something difficult for a long time

intercontinental – adj. traveling or occurring between continents

simulator – n. a machine that is used to show what something looks or feels like; a machine that is used to study something or to train people

In what other places could solar power be used? Do you use solar power? Do companies in your country use solar power? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the comments section.