VOA慢速英语2015 又一架飞机失踪令游客担忧

 

AS IT IS 2014-12-30 Another Missing Plane Worries Travelers 又一架飞机失踪令游客担忧

A plane disaster Sunday has increased fears among already worried travelers, especially those in Southeast Asia.

AirAsia flight QZ8501 disappeared from radar¹ Sunday while flying from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore. The plane was carrying 155 passengers and seven crewmembers. All but seven were Indonesian. Three South Koreans were also on the plane along with a passenger each from Britain, France, Malaysia and Singapore.

AirAsia is a budget airline with links to AirAsia Malaysia. Malaysian air transportation has had a difficult 2014.

In March, the national carrier, Malaysia Airlines, had a plane disappear over the Indian Ocean. That plane was carrying 239 passengers and crew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China.

Investigators² have found no sign of the plane or the people it carried. The plane’s disappearance³ shocked the world.

Several months later, Malaysia Airlines suffered another disaster. Flight 17 went down in Ukraine on July 17 after an apparent missile strike. It was traveling from Amsterdam, Holland to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the time. All 298 people on the plane were killed in the crash.

Many travelers feared flying Malaysian airlines after flights 370 and 17.  Now, many travelers are concerned about AirAsia.

Daniel Lim is a 26-year-old financial official. He flew on two AirAsia flights recently. He told Reuters news agency it is beginning to look “like a Malaysia problem now.”

Mr. Lim called the situation “unsettling.”  He said he is a little worried about flying on any Malaysian airline now.

Liow Tiong Lai is Malaysia’s transport minister. He told reporters Monday to remember that the aircraft is registered in Indonesia. It is an Indonesian aircraft, he said.

Mr. Lai said “don’t be prejudiced,” about Malaysian air carriers. He said he is sure about the safety of Malaysian planes.

But many travelers do not share Mr. Lai’s confidence. And business is expected to be affected⁴. A report from Hong Leong Investment Bank said that the three air disasters will probably have a bad effect on demand for air travel in the region.

Words in this Story

budget – adj. low in price

unsettling – adj. making you upset or nervous

prejudiced – n. having or showing an unfair feeling of dislike for a person or group because of race, sex, religion, etc.

confidence – adj. the feeling of being certain that something will happen or that something is true

1 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。