万花筒 2008-07-24&-07-26 民航客机反导弹系统

Well the next time you fly, you are maybe on an airplane that is protected from shoulder-fired missiles. American Airlines is helping¹ the Homeland Security Department test ways to protect those planes. Joining me now from Washington to talk more about the new system is Noah Shachtman of Wired Magazine.

 

Good morning to you, Noah.
Morning.

What is this system called and how exactly does it work?

Ur, it's an infrared² counter measure, what it basically does is, it sits at the bottom of the plane, and it looks out for incoming missiles which are one of the deadliest and most pervasive³ terrorist threats out there, and so it looks out for missiles, and then when it finds one or if it finds one, it sends out a tiny infrared laser beam to shoot off confused missile and send it off course.

 

All right, how many planes have this system in operation right now?

 

Well, only in the US commercially, there is only three, and that's a real problem. Um, the, this is one of the deadliest threats at all out there, there are over 750, 000 of these missiles, ur, scattered⁴ across the globe. They cost only a few thousand bucks⁵ to buy and they can be shot off by just about anybody, so they are easy to operate, they are plentiful⁶ and they are cheap. And many other countries like Israel for example, have these kind of measures on all of their planes, but the US has only got this pilot experiment with three.

 

Yeah, and we are looking at some pretty great video and graphics⁷ that are showing how this would work. Ur, American Airlines, as JETEYE system, are there the only ones with the three or its spread across different airlines?

 

I believe it's only American Airlines right now, and even they have said that they are philosophically⁸ opposed to putting more of these missile, er, more of these missile counter measures on their jets.

 

Really? Why is that? It doesn't sound like it's so expensive.

 

Yeah. Well, ur, it all comes down to money. Um, although some studies say it'll only cost a dollar per coast to coast trip to maintain, er, these defenses, er, American Airlines and the other airlines say that, that's too much money for them. Ur, you know, look, these days they don't even give us like peanuts or soda⁹ on the plane, right? (Right. ) And they're charging us for extra bags, and so now they are trying to cheap out on this too.

 

Yeah, but I mean, don't you think the consumers, if they know about this, they feel like, wow, you know, an extra dollar for this kind of security, I mean, is it pretty foolproof?

 

Ur, I don't know if it's foolproof, but it's a lot better than what we've got now which is nothing.

 

Yup, how long do you figure they continue to test this system, Noah?

 

I don't know. Ur, look five years ago, there was a very scary incident in Kenya, in which a pair of shoulder-fired missiles was fired at, ur, an Israeli jet, and it nearly blew it up, killing¹⁰, almost killing hundreds, and so the Israeli government got on board and outfitted¹¹ all their jets with these counter measures. Five years later, only three of these jets in a test mode in the US, so you know, you'd keep that on, it's gonna take till, er, you know, it's gonna be a thousand years before we have the US fleet outfitted.

Yeah, but I'll tell you, if you are accurate, we just have a dollar of plane flight round trip, I mean, you know, coast to coast. Hey, it's so worth it, think about the other cost, should some like that happen? Anyway, Noah Shachtman of Wired. . . (You think ) Um. you what?

 

Yeah, you know, you think, I mean. (You think. ) You think if you're gonna spend this money for an extra bag or for, you know, to buy a sandwich on board, maybe you spend a dollar to have your plane protected against the missiles.

Yeah, I shall pony¹² up. OK. Noah Shachtman there of Wired Magazine. Thank you.

 

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。

3 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

4 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

5 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

7 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

8 philosophically   

adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地

参考例句：

• He added philosophically that one should adapt oneself to the changed conditions. 他富于哲理地补充说，一个人应该适应变化了的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Harry took his rejection philosophically. 哈里达观地看待自己被拒的事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 outfitted   

v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They outfitted for the long journey. 他们为远途旅行准备装束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They outfitted him with artificial legs. 他们为他安了假腿。 来自辞典例句

12 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。