读者文摘:关于热气球的十三个事实(2)

Sevevn. Distance records are all the more remarkable¹ because, unlike airplanes, balloons are very hard to steer².

距离记录是更加非凡的，因为不像飞机，热气球非常难以驾驶。

The wind at 100 feet might be going east, while the wind at 200 feet might be going west, says Becky Wigeland, curator of the National Balloon Museum in Indianola, Iowa.

爱荷华州印第安诺拉国家气球博物馆馆长贝基·维格兰说，在100英尺高的地方风向可能是东，而在200英尺高的地方风向可能是向西。

"So you just keep going up and down until you get the wind that you want. That's all you can do," she says.

她说，“你需要不停地上下移动，直到你得到你想要的风。这是你唯一能做的事情。

Eight. That doesn't stop balloon pilots from doing some crazy stunts³. One of their favorite games is called Hare and Hound.

那不会阻止热气球运动员做一些疯狂的表演。他们最喜欢的游戏之一叫做野兔与猎犬。

One balloon (the hare) launches first. Then all the other balloons (the hounds) chase the hare.

一个热气球（野兔）先出发。然后所有其他的热气球（猎犬）追赶野兔。

When the hare lands, the hounds try to land as close as they can to their prey⁴.

野兔着陆时，猎犬会在离猎物尽可能近的地方着陆。

Nine. The most famous balloon hunt happened during the Civil War.

最著名的热气球捕猎发生于内战期间。

An aeronaut named Thaddeus Lowe convinced President Abraham Lincoln of the merits of hot-air balloon reconnaissance over the First Battle of Bull Run.

在布尔朗战役的第一次战役中，一位名叫撒迪厄斯·洛的热气球驾驶员使亚伯拉罕·林肯总统相信了热气球侦察的优点。

Lowe went on to command the Union Balloon Corps⁵, with mixed results.

洛继续指挥联邦热气球兵团，结果喜忧参半。

The Confederate Army's attempts to burst his balloons earned Lowe the title of "the most shot-at man in the war."

南部邦联军队试图击破他的气球，这为洛赢得了“战争中最厉害的人”的称号。

Ten. It's no surprise Lowe survived; flying in a hot-air balloon is very safe.

洛能存活下来丝毫不令人惊讶，在热气球里飞行非常安全。

Since 1964, the National Transportation Safety Board has investigated 799 accidents involving balloons in the United States. Of those, 73 resulted in fatal injuries.

自从1964年以来，美国国家运输安全委员会调查了799起与气球有关的事故。其中73人受重伤。

Eleven. The greatest balloon faux pas actually took place in a movie.

最严重的气球失误实际上发生在一部电影里。

Remember when Dorothy piles into one at the end of The Wizard of Oz to fly home to Kansas?

还记得桃乐茜在《绿野仙踪》最后一集中飞回堪萨斯州的情景吗？

The writing on the envelope reads "State Fair Omaha"—which is in Nebraska.

信封上写着“奥马哈博览会”——它位于内布拉斯加州。

To be fair, novelist Timothy Schaffert has pointed⁶ out that in L. Frank Baum's novel, the wizard came from Omaha.

公平地说，小说家蒂莫西·斯查福特已经在莱曼·弗兰克·鲍姆的小说《来自奥马哈的巫师》中指出了这一点。

Twelve. Balloons seem to inspire creative flights of fancy.

气球似乎能激发想象力的创造性飞行。

For instance, a story in the April 13, 1844, edition of the New York Sun had an intriguing⁷ headline:

比如，1844年4月13日的一个故事，纽约太阳报的编辑写了一个吸引人的标题：

"ASTOUNDING⁸ NEWS! THE ATLANTIC CROSSED IN THREE DAYS! SIGNAL TRIUMPH OF MR. MONCK MASON'S FLYING MACHINE!!!"

“令人震撼的新闻！三天之内横渡大西洋！蒙克·梅森先生的飞行器取得重大胜利！！！

The tale of the balloon that crossed an ocean before safely landing near Charleston, South Carolina, riveted⁹ readers.

气球在南卡罗莱纳州查尔斯顿附近安全着陆前飞越海洋的故事吸引了众多读者。

The problem: The story was fake news, written by an ambitious journalist. His name: Edgar Allan Poe.

问题是：这是个假新闻，其作者是一位雄心勃勃的记者。他的名字：埃德加·爱·伦坡。

Thirteen. The reactions that hot-air balloons engender¹⁰ have led to a fizzy tradition.

热气球引起的反应形成了一种活跃的传统。

Back in 19th-century France, balloons would terrify the locals, so pilots packed champagne¹¹ to appease¹² people where they landed.

而在19世纪的法国，热气球会吓坏当地人，所以飞行员会带着香槟来取悦着陆地的人们。

Something similar happened one Sunday morning this past June, when balloonist Mark Stodolski unexpectedly landed in the backyard of a homeowner in Stow, Massachusetts.

在今年六月的一个周日早晨，一件相似的事情发生了，当时热气球驾驶员马克·斯托尔斯基意外地降落在马萨诸塞州斯托市一位房主的后院。

"Oh, do you mind?" Stodolski asked the surprised man, according to the Boston Globe.

据《波士顿环球报》报道，斯托尔斯问这位惊讶的人，“你介意吗？”

"No, you're cool," he replied. Stodolski handed a bottle of champagne to the man, who then went back to bed.

他回复道，“不介意，你很棒。”斯托尔斯给了这个人一瓶香槟，然后他就回房睡觉了。

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

3 stunts   

n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。
• The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

5 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 riveted   

铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意

参考例句：

• I was absolutely riveted by her story. 我完全被她的故事吸引住了。
• My attention was riveted by a slight movement in the bushes. 我的注意力被灌木丛中的轻微晃动吸引住了。

10 engender   

v.产生，引起

参考例句：

• A policy like that tends to engender a sense of acceptance,and the research literature suggests this leads to greater innovation.一个能够使员工产生认同感的政策，研究表明这会走向更伟大的创新。
• The sense of injustice they engender is a threat to economic and political security.它们造成的不公平感是对经济和政治安全的威胁。

11 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

12 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。