VOA慢速英语2022--19岁少女打破最年轻独自飞行环游世界纪录

Teenage Female¹ Pilot Sets Flying Record

Nineteen-year-old Zara Rutherford set the world record Thursday as the youngest woman to fly alone around the world.

Rutherford took the Guinness World record that had been held by 30-year-old American flyer Shaesta Waiz since 2017. The youngest male to fly alone is Britain's Travis Ludlow. He set that record on July 12, 2021, when he was 18 years and 150 days old.

The British-Belgian pilot started her trip around the world on August 18. It covered 51,000 kilometers over 52 countries and five continents. On Thursday, Rutherford landed her small airplane back in western Belgium.

"It's just really crazy, I haven't quite processed it," she said.

The flight was supposed to take three months. But bad weather and visa delays kept her grounded and extended² the trip by about two months.

Rutherford started in Belgium and headed west over Britain, Iceland, and Greenland. The path took her over Canada, the United States, and Latin³ America.

Rutherford could not leave Alaska for a month because of weather and visa delays. A winter storm forced another long stop in the Russian Far East before she traveled to Korea, Indonesia, India, the Middle East, and back to Europe.

To meet the requirement for a round-the-world flight, Rutherford had to land on two points opposite each other on Earth: Jambi in Indonesia and Tumaco in Colombia.

The teenager said the last part of her trip, from Germany, had been difficult. She had to deal with rain and snow coming out of Frankfurt. But she was happy to be accompanied by the Belgian Air Force's Red Devils⁴ team before landing⁵.

"The people were incredible⁶, everywhere," she said.

Rutherford said she has been traveling in small planes with her pilot parents since she was six. She gained her pilot's license⁷ in 2020 and started flying herself at 14.

Rutherford dreams of being an astronaut. She hopes her trip will get more women interested in science, technology, and aviation⁸.

On her website, Rutherford wrote, "Boys learn through toys, street names, history classes and movies that they can be scientists, astronauts, CEOs or presidents."

She added, "Girls are often encouraged to be beautiful, kind, helpful and sweet. With my flight, I want to show young women that they can be bold⁹, ambitious¹⁰ and make their dreams come true."

Words in This Story

crazy –adj. very strange or unusual

accompanied –adj. the state of going somewhere with someone else

aviation –n. the business or activity of flying airplanes, helicopters or similar vehicles

toy –n. an object for a child to play with

1 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

2 extended   

adj.延伸的；伸展的；延长的；扩大的v.延伸(extend的过去式和过去分词)；伸展；延长

参考例句：

• an extended lunch hour 延长了的午餐时间
• France has greatly extended its influence in world affairs. 在世界事务中，法国的影响已大大地扩大了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

4 devils   

魔鬼( devil的名词复数 )； 家伙； 淘气鬼； 冒失鬼

参考例句：

• They believed she was possessed by devils. 他们认为她是魔鬼附身。
• The poor devils have been stuck at the airport for three days. 那些可怜的家伙被困在机场已经三天了。

5 landing   

n.登陆；着陆；楼梯平台

参考例句：

• Owing to engine trouble,the plane had to make a forced landing.由于发动机出了毛病，飞机不得不进行迫降。
• When are we landing?我们什么时候着陆？

6 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。

7 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

8 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。

9 bold   

adj.果敢的，冒险的，无畏的；冒失的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• Her words were so bold that people caught their breath.她的话太大胆了，使人们都倒抽了一口气。
• The room was decorated in bold colours.房间的色调布置得鲜明醒目。

10 ambitious   

adj.有雄心的，劲头十足的，有野心的

参考例句：

• One may be poor but never ceases to be ambitious.人穷志不穷。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。