中国——A320
The world’s biggest plane maker has 1)unveiled its first China made aircraft, an A320 assembled in Tianjin.
The Airbus 320 2)rolled out in the mainland’s northern port city of Tianjin, is the first aircraft assembled at the China factory of the world’s biggest commercial plane maker. The 164-seat capacity jet is a 3)showpiece of Airbus as it tries to secure more orders from the world’s second-largest aviation market.
The plane will start flying the Chengdu-to-Beijing route starting tomorrow. The factory in Tianjin is expected to assemble 10 more A320 aircraft[s] by the end of the year and Airbus is looking to expand its capacity to the level of assembling four jets a month by late 2011. Airbus, which is competing with Boeing for the China market, won a US$17 billion order for 160 planes in November 2007.
世界最大的飞机制造商展示了它第一架在天津组装的中国造A320客机。
这架A320客机在中国大陆北方港口城市天津下线,这是空中客车这个全球最大的商业飞机制造商在中国工厂组装完成的第一架客机。这架164座的喷汽机展示了空客为从中国这个全球第二大航空市场争取更多订单所作的努力。
这架飞机将从明天起投入到成都至北京的航线运营中。这家位于天津的工厂预计于年底前再组装10架A320客机。空客计划在2011年底之前使该工厂的飞机组装能力达到每月四架。与波音争夺中国市场的空客公司在2007年11月赢得了160架飞机,共计170亿美元的订单。
美国——失重婚礼
Couples around the world are always testing new boundaries when it comes to finding exciting and unusual ways to get married. Like the American couple in our next story, who exchanged vows at zero 4)gravity with the help of a specially modified aircraft.
Some couples shed pounds for their wedding, but Erin Finnegan and Noah Fulmor went all the way—choosing to become totally weightless. The New York-based couple married in what organizers say was the world’s first zero-gravity wedding. To do this, they 5)chartered a padded Boeing 727 aircraft, from Zero Gravity Corporation which provides commercial weightless flights to anyone who wants to experience floating in space. The couple spent eight minutes of their 60-minute flight exchanging vows and rings, and used the rest of the time, figuring out how to do other things in mid-air.
To recreate outer-space conditions of micro-gravity, the plane performed 6)parabolic flight 7)maneuvers over the Gulf of Mexico after 8)taking off from north Florida.
世界各国的情侣在寻找刺激及不寻常的结婚方式方面总是不遗余力。接下来这个故事中的美国情侣就在一架经过特别改装的飞机里,在失重状态下举行了婚礼。
有的夫妇为婚礼努力减轻体重,而艾玲·芬纳根和诺亚·福尔摩则将“减肥”进行到底,选择了一个彻底无重的婚礼。这对来自纽约的夫妇举行的婚礼被组织方称为世界第一个失重婚礼。为了举办这场失重婚礼,他们从失重飞行体验公司那里租了一架机身内壁填了垫料的波音727飞机,该公司专为那些希望体验在太空漂浮感觉的人提供商业失重飞行。在总共一个小时的飞行中,这对夫妇花了八分钟时间宣誓和交换戒指,其余的时间他们都是在费脑筋弄明白如何在半空中做各种事情。
为了营造外太空的微重力状态,飞机从佛罗里达州北部起飞后,在墨西哥湾上空完成了一连串抛物线动作。
德国——除名
The United Nations cultural agency, 9)UNESCO, has dropped the German city of 10)Dresden and the 11)Elbe River Valley from its list of world 12)heritage sites. It’s only the second time that a site has been removed from the UN Heritage list. It follows a decision to build a motorway bridge across the river.
The City Council in Dresden was warned several years ago that it might lose its 13)prestigious world heritage title because of plans to build the new bridge. Environmental campaigners argued the 4-lane road bridge would destroy the beautiful landscape of the Elbe Valley, famous for its 14)rolling meadows and splendid palaces. Officials at UNESCO had suggested the authorities should build a tunnel under the River Elbe instead of the bridge. But the authorities decided to go ahead with plans to build the 15)controversial bridge, claiming it would help reduce traffic 16)congestion in the city centre.
联合国的文化机构联合国教科文组织已经将德国城市德累斯顿以及易北河谷从世界遗产名录中除名,这是有史以来第二次有世遗遗迹遭到除名,其原因是当地政府决定兴建一座跨河高速公路大桥。
早在几年前,德累斯顿市政厅就曾被警告:兴建大桥的计划将有可能使该市被享有盛誉的世遗名录除名。环保人士声称这座四车道的大桥会破坏易北河谷的优美地貌,该地区以起伏延绵的草地及辉煌壮观的皇宫闻名遐迩。联合国教科文组织官员曾建议该市修建穿越易北河底的隧道,而不是跨河大桥。然而德累斯顿当局不予理会,坚持推行这项颇具争议的大桥计划,声称大桥有助缓解市中心的交通压力。
联合国的附属机构
本文提到的联合国教科文组织是隶属于联合国的众多机构中的其中一个。以下是在新闻中出现频率较高的部分组织:
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 国际原子能组织
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) 联合国儿童基金会
International Court of Justice(ICJ) 联合国国际法庭
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 世界知识产权组织
World Health Organization (WHO) 世界卫生组织
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 联合国难民事务高级专员署办公室(简称联合国难民署)
International Labour Organization (ILO) 国际劳工组织
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 联合国粮食农业组织
