VOA慢速英语2015 国际航空运输协会称2014年是最安全的航空年

AS IT IS 2015-03-11 IATA: 2014 Is the Safest Year Ever for Airlines 国际航空运输协会称2014年是最安全的航空年

The International Air Transport Association is calling 2014 the safest year ever for commercial aviation. The association says there were fewer serious accidents last year than at any time in the history of flight. Yet the aviation industry also had several well-publicized crashes that killed many people.

The International Air Transport Association says 3.3 billion airplane passengers completed safe flights last year. Yet the association, known as IATA, says the number of deaths in air accidents was above the average of recent years.

The group reported that in terms of planes lost because of "hull¹ losses" it was the safest year on record. A hull loss is an accident in which the aircraft is destroyed or damaged so severely² that it cannot be repaired.

The chief executive officer of IATA, Tony Tyler, spoke³ to reporters in Hong Kong. The association represents about 250 airline companies. He characterized 2014 as a year of contrasts for aviation safety.

"We did have some very high profile, very tragic⁴ accidents and in fact we had three jet hull losses which caused loss of life and so it was certainly a year where airline safety was very much in the headlines. However, when we look at the picture as a whole, it was in fact a year when air safety improved quite significantly and in fact only one flight in every 4.4 million had an accident resulting in hull loss."

However, IATA’s statistics do not include the loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 last July. Pro-Russian separatist fighters are believed to have shot down the airplane near Russia’s border with Ukraine. All 238 passengers and crew members were killed. That crash was not considered an accident because a missile reportedly struck the plane down.

One of aviation's biggest unsolved mysteries took place last year. A year ago, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on its way to Beijing. The flight veered⁶ off its course after leaving Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. Officials believe the plane went down in the southern Indian Ocean, far off Australia's western coast. But no physical evidence of the crash has ever been found.

Tony Tyler says that after the MH 370 incident, the whole industry is united in finding a better way to monitor or track aircraft.

"And we need to make sure that those ways are developed and implemented⁷ as soon as we can."

IATA says there were 12 deadly accidents last year, with a total of 641 deaths. The aviation industry had an average of 19 deadly crashes, with 517 deaths, in each of the past five years.

Besides the two Malaysia Airlines incidents, other major accidents last year included a crash in Mali of an Air Algeria flight during bad weather. That crash killed 116 people. And an Air Asia flight went down in the Java Sea. There were no survivors⁸ among the 162 passengers and crew.

Nine of the 12 deadly crashes last year involved turboprop planes, which are powered by propellers⁹. They have a higher accident rate than jets.

IATA says it wants to make flying safer and has offered a six-point safety plan. The idea is to reduce risk. Some of the measures IATA supports include improving aviation centers and technology, and better training for crews. It also calls for identifying safety concerns as they develop such as issues related to lithium batteries on aircraft.

Words in This Story

aviation - n. the business or exercise of flying airplanes, helicopters, etc.

characterized - v. to describe the qualities of (someone or something)

statistics - n. a number that represents a piece of information (such as information about how often something is done, how common something is, etc.)

veer⁵ - v. to change direction quickly or suddenly

1 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 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。

4 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

5 veer   

vt.转向，顺时针转，改变；n.转向

参考例句：

• He is unlikely to veer from his boss's strongly held views.他不可能背离他老板的强硬立场。
• If you fall asleep while driving,you'll probably veer off the road.假如你开车时打瞌睡，可能会驶离道路。

6 veered   

v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转

参考例句：

• The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road. 公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。
• The truck veered off the road and crashed into a tree. 卡车突然驶离公路撞上了一棵树。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

8 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

9 propellers   

n.螺旋桨，推进器( propeller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The water was thrashing and churning about under the propellers. 水在螺旋桨下面打旋、翻滚。 来自辞典例句
• The ship's propellers churned the waves to foam. 轮船的推进器将海浪搅出泡沫。 来自辞典例句