2007年VOA标准英语-Boeing 787 Dreamliner Prepares to Take Flight

By Brian Padden
Washington
04 July 2007
 

On the July eighth the Boeing Company will reveal its newest passenger jet in 13 years, the 787 Dreamliner.  It is billed as the hottest-selling and most technologically¹ advanced commercial jet ever.  Boeing already has more than 600 orders for planes to 45 airline customers, worth an estimated $100 billion in sales.  What makes this aircraft so special?  As VOA's Brian Padden reports, Boeing is claiming that the 787 Dreamliner will change how people fly. 

One of the first production 787 models is rolled out of an assembly hangar

The Boeing Company is betting its future on its new 787 Dreamliner.  Unlike the last generation of jumbo jets, like the Airbus A-380 which seats 550 passengers, the 787 is smaller.  The Dreamliner is designed to carry up to 330 people, and to access regional airports.  And it is lighter², made from composite materials, primarily plastic.

Boeing's Randy Tinseth says the 787 Dreamliner has what both the flying public and the airline industry are looking for. "For airlines we are looking at a 20 percent improvement in fuel efficiency over today's airplanes, significantly better costs so that airlines can continue to be profitable.  And for passengers we are offering a totally new experience, larger windows, wide aisles³, wide seats, large overhead bins⁴, new lighting⁵ so you can rest better and we are even doing things to have cleaner air."

A Boeing 787 under construction

Guy Norris covers Boeing for Aviation Weekly. He says planning for the 787 began about 10 years ago when the company was suffering both serious financial losses and production delays.   He says Boeing changed its production process to farm out 70 percent of the work to nearly 50 partner aerospace⁶ companies.  

"And the combination, here we are 10 years later, is a result of those changes,” says Norris. “They produce this 21st century technology airliner⁷, with a production system that should produce the aircraft in record numbers and at record profitability."

The cabin of the 787 will be very comfortable for passengers (photo courtesy Boeing)

Boeing's main competitor, Airbus, may be at a disadvantage today, but it is not standing⁸ idly by.  It is also developing a new generation of airliners⁹.  Airbus's Barbara Kracht says, in an industry that is growing at a rate of 4.8 percent a year, there is room for both aerospace giants in the marketplace.

"The Boeing 787 is certainly a great product but we have the 330 available now and the 350, which is coming in the next decade,” she says. “So customers love to have competition which benefits everybody."

While sales for the 787 Dreamliner are brisk and Boeing's immediate¹⁰ future looks promising¹¹, there are still concerns.  Unforeseen production delays would cut profits and the airplane has yet to actually fly.  

1 technologically   

ad.技术上地

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a technologically advanced city. 上海是中国的一个技术先进的城市。
• Many senior managers are technologically illiterate. 许多高级经理都对技术知之甚少。

2 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

3 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

4 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

5 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

6 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

7 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 airliners   

n.客机，班机( airliner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fog grounded the airliners. 大雾迫使班机停飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They placed very stable and accurate atomic clocks on regularly scheduled jet airliners. 他们将非常稳定、准确的原子钟装在定期飞行的喷气式班机上。 来自辞典例句

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。