【英语语言学习】现代战争中的歼击机

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Wade¹ Goodwyn. Drones have revolutionized the United States capabilities² on the battlefield. The aircraft has characteristics of a sniper - silently killing³ before the target knows it's there. Predator⁴ drones - the first to be utilized⁵ in war - can stay in the air for dozens of hours without refueling. But like nearly everyone else, the U.S. military was slow to recognize the capability⁶ of drones. They were first developed in the 1970s, but weren't armed until just before 9/11. Air Force pilots considered flying the slow-moving drones the equivalent of desk duty.

RICHARD WHITTLE⁷: People who arrived for the assignment were asked what did you screw up to get here?

GOODWYN: Richard Whittle is the author of new book - "Predator: The Secret Origins Of The Drone Evolution." He joined us for a conversation at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with retired⁸ Lieutenant⁹ General David Deptula, who helped shape and run the drone program. As the general stood next to the first U.S. Predator drone to fire a shot in battle, he traced the history of how drones have changed modern warfare¹⁰.

DAVID DEPTULA: So if you go back to World War II, it took weeks if not, generally, months to go out and conduct the reconnaissance, then do the analysis of the reconnaissance to then determine what it is you wanted to hit. So between the time you acquired a target and hit it - months. In Vietnam, it was weeks. In Desert Storm, it was days. Now you take what's nominally¹¹ known as the targeting cycle and compress that cycle from months to weeks to days to now single-digit minutes.

GOODWYN: What year did that happen?

DEPTULA: It happened in 2001.

GOODWYN: 2001.

DEPTULA: ...With that aircraft that's right behind us.

GOODWYN: And this Predator we're looking at was involved in one of the most desperate battles of the Afghan war. Rick, tell the story of what happened at Roberts Ridge¹².

WHITTLE: Well, that's March 4, 2002, and the Predator played an important role that day. There's some army rangers¹³ who were on top of the ridge who were in a very tough firefight, nearly surrounded by al-Qaida. And in the course of that day the Predator put a hellfire missile into a bunker that took out a large number of the al-Qaida.

The Predator was able to direct fighter planes that came in and dropped the bombs on other al-Qaida. When night fell and rescuers were coming, the Predator had a laser light. And the sensor¹⁴ operator would shine that light down and talk to the rangers, and say hey, buddy¹⁵, I'm still here, and then guided the rescue helicopter to the proper landing spot on the mountain. And according to the commander of the Predator unit out there at the CIA, I think he says that was our coming-out party.

GOODWYN: The Predator was kind of thought to be a great leap forward in the military's ability to accurately¹⁶ define a target and then destroy that target with precision. But over time in Pakistan and Yemen, in particular, the drones have earned a reputation for indiscriminate slaughter¹⁷ of innocent civilians¹⁸. Can you talk to me about how the predator has been seen in different places by different cultures, and what its reputation is now?

DEPTULA: Let me jump in there and start off and let Rick finish it up. What you just described is an accurate description of how our adversaries¹⁹ would like the public to come away with - in terms of an impression of drones. It is absolutely 180 degrees opposite of reality.

GOODWYN: You agree that people in Pakistan and Yemen feel differently though.

DEPTULA: Sure because they've been lied to, deceived and have been subject to propaganda and information operations of the highest order because our adversaries cannot do anything about stopping what is in fact the U.S. most effective weapon against terrorism.

GOODWYN: But mistakes have been made - innocent civilians have been killed.

DEPTULA: Absolutely.

GOODWYN: Wedding parties mistaken for...

DEPTULA: ...But not to the same degree as soldiers on the ground create or artillery²⁰ which has an average miss distance - 155mm piece, average miss distance is 800 feet.

GOODWYN: Rick, you want to weigh in on the issue of kind of the reputation and the...

WHITTLE: Yeah. I think that indiscriminate is the wrong word because this is a very discriminating²¹ weapon. Mistakes have been made. Innocent people have been killed, but, you know, the problem is you have to be sure that you're firing at the right target. And the intelligence that comes from the ground is important too. So you know, there have been instances I think where they mistook people for al-Qaida or Taliban who weren't.

GOODWYN: Last question for you. Now drones are being used by the border patrol. News organizations are buying them. The guy who lives next door can fly his drone and see through the sliding glass door of the 14th floor of an apartment. It's not just the battlefield. Drones are changing the space we live in.

WHITTLE: I think that the Predator opened the door to what is now a drone revolution because it changed the way people thought about unmanned aircraft. You know, previously²² it was just a niche²³ technology in the military. So this technology is now exploding. And society has to come up with ways to cope with it, you know, just as when airplanes - when powered flight came along. We needed airports and the Federal Aviation Administration. And we needed to create regulations for air traffic control. We're at that stage now with this technology. This is a new era in aviation, and we as a society need to figure out how we're going to cope with it.

GOODWYN: General David Deptula and author Richard Whittle, thank you for joining us.

DEPTULA: Glad to be here.

WHITTLE: You bet. Thanks very much.

1 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

2 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 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。

4 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

5 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

7 whittle   

v.削（木头），削减；n.屠刀

参考例句：

• They are trying to whittle down our salaries.他们正着手削减我们的薪水。
• He began to whittle away all powers of the government that he did not control.他开始削弱他所未能控制的一切政府权力。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

10 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

11 nominally   

在名义上，表面地； 应名儿

参考例句：

• Dad, nominally a Methodist, entered Churches only for weddings and funerals. 爸名义上是卫理公会教徒，可只去教堂参加婚礼和葬礼。
• The company could not indicate a person even nominally responsible for staff training. 该公司甚至不能指出一个名义上负责职员培训的人。

12 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

13 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

14 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

15 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

16 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

17 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

18 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

19 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

20 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

21 discriminating   

a.有辨别能力的

参考例句：

• Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
• Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。

22 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

23 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。