太阳能飞机飞越大西洋后在西班牙降落

AS IT IS 2016-06-24 Solar-Powered Airplane Lands in Spain 太阳能飞机飞越大西洋后在西班牙降落

An airplane powered totally by the sun landed in Seville, Spain early Thursday after completing a 71-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

The plane, a Solar Impulse¹ 2 model, has just one seat. It left from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York Monday morning.

This was the plane’s 15th stop in its planned around-the-world trip. The trip began in Abu Dhabi in March of 2015.

Swiss aviator² Bertrand Piccard operated the solar-powered plane on this leg of the tour. The Solar Pulse 2 had an average speed of 70 kilometers an hour during his flight.

The plane’s power comes from 17,000 solar cells built into the wings. The cells capture³ the sun’s energy, which is stored in batteries on the plane.

The Solar Pulse 2 has a 72-meter wingspan. That is longer than the wingspan of a Boeing 747 passenger plane. The solar-powered plane weighs about as much as an automobile⁴.

Piccard’s friend and business partner Andre Borschberg will operate the plane on the final part of the trip. He plans to fly from Seville to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

Words in This Story

cells – n. containers for holding substances that are used for producing electricity

batteries – n. devices⁵ that are placed inside a machine to supply it with electricity

wingspan – n. the distance from the tip of one wing of an airplane to the tip of the other wing

aviator – n. a person who flies airplanes

1 impulse   

n.（一时的）冲动，冲力，脉冲，神经冲动

参考例句：

• She wrote that letter on impulse.她一时冲动写了这封信。
• I don't know how to resist my impulse.我不知道怎样抑制自己的感情冲动。

2 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。

3 capture   

vt.捕获，俘获；占领，夺得；n.抓住，捕获

参考例句：

• The company is out to capture the European market.这家公司希望占据欧洲市场。
• With the capture of the escaped tiger,everyone felt relieved.逃出来的老虎被捕获后，大家都松了一口气。

4 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

5 devices   

n.设备；装置( device的名词复数 )；花招；（为实现某种目的的）计划；手段

参考例句：

• electrical labour-saving devices around the home 节省劳力的各种家用电器
• modern labour-saving devices such as washing machines and dishwashers 诸如洗衣机和洗碗机之类的现代化省力设备