美国国家公共电台 NPR--19岁的扎拉·卢瑟福成为最年轻的独自环球飞行的女性

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19-year-old lands in Belgium, becoming youngest woman to fly solo around the world

Transcript¹

Nineteen-year-old pilot Zara Rutherford touched down at an airfield² in western Belgium on Thursday, becoming the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, as she closed the loop five months after taking off on her record-breaking journey.

Rutherford's circumnavigation aboard her Shark UL plane took 155 days – two months longer than planned, thanks to loads of bad weather and visa holdups. Along the way, she crossed enormous stretches of desolate³ ocean and had to spend weeks in a tiny Siberian village. She also had to alter course to avoid North Korean airspace and wildfires in California.

"It's just really crazy, I haven't quite processed it," she told reporters after landing in Kortrijk.

Since her Aug. 18 departure, Rutherford covered 28,000 nautical⁴ miles, stopping in 41 countries and five continents. It's a journey that will land her in the Guinness World Records book, supplanting⁵ U.S. aviator⁶ Shaesta Waiz, who set the previous record in 2017 at age 30. Last year, Travis Ludlow of the United Kingdom set the overall record for youngest aviator to solo circumnavigate — at age 18.

For anyone contemplating⁷ a similar adventure, Rutherford, who was met after landing by her Belgian mother and British father — both pilots themselves — had some simple but direct advice: "Go for it."

"It takes a lot of time, patience, a lot of work, but it is incredible," she said.

Celebrating with two weeks of sleep

Her brother was also there to meet her. And her mother, Beatrice, said the family would celebrate together, at least at first. "I think Zara wants to celebrate by sleeping about two weeks," she added.

Rutherford said sometimes she feared for her life, and at other times just wanted to be home with family.

Speaking with NPR from near Prague on Tuesday just ahead of her final few legs, Rutherford said she was "really excited" to finally complete the journey. "It's been a long five months – really difficult. I'm looking forward to seeing my family again," she said.

Rutherford employed Visual Flight Rules throughout the journey, meaning weather, and visibility, were limiting factors.

Clouds and sudden thunderstorms near the equator were troublesome, she told NPR. "In Singapore, I got quite close to a lightning strike," she said, adding that she also contended with "severe turbulence⁸" in Alaska and Bulgaria.

Unexpectedly flying through California's wildfires

One of the things she wasn't expecting was California's wildfires. "I was flying along and then the smoke got really bad," she told NPR. "I was at 10,000 feet at this point, just trying to out climb it, but it wasn't working out."

"At one point, I just couldn't see anymore," she said. "It got really turbulent."

But there are at least as many fond memories, she told NPR. Siberia, for example. "It's very remote and I'll probably never get a chance to see it again in my lifetime," she said.

"Alaska was amazing as well. Taiwan was gorgeous. Another highlight was Saudi Arabia, I mean, just stunning⁹ scenery. Really kind people as well," she said.

Rutherford says that growing up, she has seen few women in aviation and computer engineering. Her next mission is to change that.

"Basically my dream is that in the future, if a girl wants to go into aviation or wants to go engineering, it's not special," she said. "It's just like, 'oh, cool, like, just another person who's doing a cool thing with their life.' But it doesn't matter what gender¹⁰ they are."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。

3 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

4 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

5 supplanting   

把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的现在分词 )

参考例句：

6 aviator   

n.飞行家，飞行员

参考例句：

• The young aviator bragged of his exploits in the sky.那名年轻的飞行员吹嘘他在空中飞行的英勇事迹。
• Hundreds of admirers besieged the famous aviator.数百名爱慕者围困那个著名飞行员。

7 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

8 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

9 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

10 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。