VOA新闻杂志2022--美国最强航母首次部署北大西洋

New US Aircraft Carrier Deploys¹ in North Atlantic Ocean

The United States' newest aircraft carrier is now on its first deployment² to train with allies in the Atlantic. The move comes during a time of increased tensions around the world.

The aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford³, began its deployment in the North Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday as the lead ship in a carrier strike group.

An aircraft carrier is a huge ship that serves as an air base at sea.

The strike group includes six ships from NATO countries, several U.S. warships⁵ and a submarine.

"We're going to use the entire Atlantic as our playpen," said Navy Captain Paul Lanzilotta. He is the ship's commanding officer.

The Navy calls the carrier "America's biggest and baddest warship⁴." It has about 20 new technologies and a completely redesigned flight deck, the area where planes take off and land. The ship is able to launch 30 percent more flights than other U.S. carriers. The nuclear-powered carrier also has a new radar⁶ system.

The USS Ford is the world's largest warship. It weighs about 112,000 tons. Nimitz-class carriers are the next-largest, weighing 12,000 fewer tons. However, because of better design and technology, the USS Ford requires about 600 fewer sailors to operate than the Nimitz-class carriers.

The USS Ford is the first ship in the new "Ford class" of aircraft carriers. It is the first new class of aircraft carrier in more than 45 years. The lead ship of the Nimitz-class carriers, the USS Nimitz, is expected to be retired⁷ in the coming months. The launch of the USS Ford was delayed for years and went billions of dollars over budget.

The ship's current carrier strike group also includes forces from Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain. It is the largest partnership⁸ in the Atlantic Ocean since World War II, the U.S. Navy said.

Lanzilotta said the North Atlantic deployment will help the group prepare for longer deployments that will begin next year. The group will be carrying out several military exercises in the North Atlantic, said Vice⁹ Admiral Dan Dwyer. He is the commander of the U.S. Second Fleet, which operates in the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans.

Dwyer said, "we can no longer assume that geography provides us with the protection...that we've had in the past."

The deployment comes seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine. And it comes weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for 300,000 additional troops to replace heavy losses.

While the war in Ukraine has hurt Russia's ground forces, its navy remains¹⁰ unweakened by the fight, said Bruce Jones. He is a professor at Stanford University and the director of the Brookings Institution's Project on International Order and Strategy.

"We saw a substantial increase in Russian naval¹¹ activity in the lead-up to the Ukraine crisis in the Arctic ... so the North Atlantic is a very important place where we're going to end up having to deter¹² Russia," he told VOA.

Jones said the possible damage to the Nord Stream oil pipelines¹³ in the Baltic Sea is an example of the kind of operation that Russia's naval forces might conduct.

"Arguably, we're in a more dangerous period, because Russia may well be looking to escalate¹⁴ beyond Ukraine as the situation in Ukraine gets worse," he said.

Words in This Story

playpen — n. a place where someone can do what they want

assume — v. to think that something is true, or probably true, without know it

geography — n. an area of study dealing¹⁵ with the position of places on the Earth

substantial –adj. large in amount or number

deter — v. to cause a person or group to decide not to do something

escalate — v. to become worse or more severe than it already is

1 deploys   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的第三人称单数 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• It then deploys "decoy" programs designed to attract the virus. 然后，它释放“诱饵”去吸引病毒。
• But when that doesn't work, he deploys his secret defense mechanism. 但没有效果，它要施展绝密自卫武器了。

2 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

3 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

4 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

5 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

6 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。

7 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。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

12 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

13 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

14 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。