VOA慢速英语2015 一年之后,马航MH370依旧没有消息

A Year Later, Still No Word on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 一年之后,马航MH370依旧没有消息

It has been one year since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing¹. The airplane disappeared over the Indian Ocean on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The plane, a Boeing 777, was carrying 239 people.

The past 12 months have been a difficult time for families with loved ones on the plane. They are no closer to knowing what happened. The only thing confirmed is an airline official’s statement from one year ago.

“MH370 lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2:40 a.m. this morning…”

Satellite records show Flight 370 likely crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. But months of air, sea and underwater searches have failed to find any evidence of the plane.

More than 20 countries joined in the investigation². At first, crews looked along the expected flight path and in the South China Sea. They later expanded their searches across parts of southern Asia. In all, crews searched more than one million square kilometers. The search of a smaller area is to be completed in May.

Already some people are asking, if the plane is not found, what then?

Malaysia officially declared the plane’s disappearance³ an accident earlier this year. That announcement cleared the way for Malaysia Airlines to make payments⁴ to relatives of the victims. But the move angered families in both Malaysia and China.

American Philip Wood was on Flight 370. His partner, Sarah Bajc, spoke⁵ to reporters after Malaysian officials made the announcement. She said they provided⁶ no proof⁷ or physical evidence to support the declaration⁸.

In her words, “There still is absolutely no verification for what they’ve done to come up with this decision. Just a few months ago, they were saying the flight was under the control of a hijacker⁹. So how is it all of a sudden an accident?”

Sarah Bajc was not alone in her calls for more clarity¹⁰.

Most of the passengers of Flight 370 were Chinese nationals. In their search for answers, some family members organized protests¹¹. This has led to the government questioning their moves and watching their activities.

Recently, some family members traveled to Malaysia to demand answers. Jiang Hui says one of their demands was to see images of their family members entering the airplane.

He says the family members have always asked for a recording¹² of the passengers as they prepared to leave for Beijing. “As far as I know,” he says, “there are some Malaysian family members who have already seen it. They are family members (just like us). Why can’t we see our relatives?”

Steve Wang did not go to Malaysia with the others. But his mother was on Flight 370. He says the families are seeking to show the world that they want the truth.

“When such kind of things happens, you have to take action. Just, just, just imagine that I am a common peoples in, in the Malaysia. If such kind of things happens, I would be scared.”

Steve Wang says his mother was a retired¹³ professor. He says she loved taking pictures and was on her way home from a trip to Nepal.

“She go to every place in China and other countries. I think her life is really, is really happy, because it is the best time for her to enjoy the life -- just retired, still young, still have energy and still have passion.”

He adds he is sure the truth will eventually come out, although that may take years. When asked to describe what the past 12 months were like, he had three things to say.

In his words, “The first is nightmare¹⁴. The second is sadness and pain. And the third is try to be strong.”

Aviation¹⁵ industry leaders are looking to improve safety worldwide. They hope to get better, more dependable equipment to monitor the movement of planes. The International Civil Aviation Organization has been considering several ideas. One proposal¹⁶ is to require aircraft to report their position once every 15 minutes, instead of the current once an hour. That requirement is expected to be in place by November of next year.

In another measure, the United States plans to do away with flight recorders, or black boxes, that have battery power for 30 days. Newly-manufactured devices¹⁷ will last 90 days. They are to be required in U.S. aircraft by 2020.

Words in This Story

airplane – n. a vehicle with wings that flies

difficult – adj. not easy; hard to do, make or carry out

official – n. a person with power in an organization; a representative of an organization or government; adj. of or out an office; approved by the government or someone in power

satellite – n. a small object in space that moves around a larger object; an object placed in orbit¹⁸ around the earth

accident – n. something that happens by chance or mistake; an unplanned event

1 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

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 payments   

n.支付，付款，缴纳，报酬( payment的名词复数 )；付出的[要付出的]款项；报答，报偿

参考例句：

• Welfare payments cease as soon as an individual starts a job. 一旦就业，即停发福利救济。
• The law can compel fathers to make regular payments for their children. 这项法律可强制父亲定期支付子女的费用。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

7 proof   

adj.防...的，耐...的，能防护；n.校样，证据，证明；vt.检验，给...做防护措施

参考例句：

• He is living proof of the wonders of modern medicine.他是当代医学奇迹的活证明。
• The proof was fished up from some old papers.校样在旧文件中被找到了。

8 declaration   

n.宣布，宣告，宣言，声明（书），申报

参考例句：

• We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
• At the recent convention a declaration was adopted.在最近举行的大会上通过了一项宣言。

9 hijacker   

n.拦路抢劫者

参考例句：

• We needed a credibIe hijacker who knew the pIane. 也需要一个懂飞机的让人相信的劫机犯。
• I've never heard of a hijacker Ietting passengers deboard before. 以前也从没听说过有劫机犯让乘客离开。

10 clarity   

n.清澈，透明，明晰

参考例句：

• His writing has great clarity of style.他的写作风格清晰易懂。
• Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity.莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。

11 protests   

n.[体]抗议；抗议，反对( protest的名词复数 )v.声明( protest的第三人称单数 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• The protests have forced the government to back-pedal on the new tax. 抗议活动已迫使政府撤销新的税目。
• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。

12 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

13 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。

14 nightmare   

n.恶梦，可怕的事物，无法摆脱的恐惧

参考例句：

• I was glad to awake from such a nightmare.我庆幸终于从噩梦中醒来了。
• I had a nightmare last nightand,lost sleep.昨夜我作了个恶梦，失眠了。

15 aviation   

n.航空，航空学，飞机制造业

参考例句：

• Ten years ago,they began to develop the aviation. 十年前，他们开始发展航空工业。
• Pilots of large aircraft are masters of aviation.大型飞行器的驾驶员是航空学方面的专家。

16 proposal   

n.提议，建议；求婚

参考例句：

• I feel that we ought to accept his proposal.我觉得我们应该接受他的建议。
• They could not gain over anyone to support their proposal.他们无法争取到支持他们建议的人。

17 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

18 orbit   

n.轨道；vt.使沿轨道运行；使进入轨道运行；vi.沿轨道运行，环行

参考例句：

• The space rocket was launched and went into orbit.宇宙火箭发射后进入轨道。
• We can draw the earth's orbit round the sun.我们可以画出地球绕太阳运行的轨迹。