New US Aircraft Carrier Arrives in Norway for NATO Exercises

New US Aircraft Carrier Arrives in Norway for NATO Exercises

Norway's armed forces welcomed a nuclear American aircraft carrier on Wednesday. Norway called the U.S. its "most important ally" on the arrival of the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford¹.

The huge warship² entered a narrow Oslo waterway along with Norwegian military boats.

Norway's armed forces said all boats must stay about half a kilometer away from the aircraft carrier.

The U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford is known as the largest aircraft carrier and largest warship in the world. It will stay in Oslo for almost one week before leaving to take part in drills with the Norwegian military in the Arctic.

That is the area where Norway and Russia share a nearly 200-kilometer land border.

A Norwegian broadcaster showed the ship's arrival and many people watched from land.

Laila Wilhelmsen watched the large ship move through the small town of Droebak. She said she remembered seeing large ships in the area during the Cold War in the 1950s.

She spoke³ with the Norwegian broadcaster NRK and said: "Now we have teased Putin even more. It's scary, I think."

Wilhelmsen was referring to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Norway's Prime Minister is Jonas Gahr Store. He told a Norwegian news agency that he expected a reaction from Russia, but his country has long planned "allied⁴ exercises in Norwegian waters."

The Russian embassy in Oslo said, "...Such demonstrations⁵ of power look illogical and harmful."

The relationship between Russia and Norway has been tense since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Norwegian pilots were aboard the American ship to help navigate⁶ the narrow waterway, called a fjord. The main concern was the size of the ship and the depth of the fjord.

It is the first combat deployment⁷ for the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford. The aircraft carrier left Norfolk, Virginia, earlier in May.

The ship is the first of three new aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy. Two are still being built. The ships are nuclear powered and have 2,600 sailors, about 600 fewer than aircraft carriers of the past.

Words in This Story

tease –v. to laugh at and criticize in a way that is either playful or unpleasant

illogical –adj. not showing good judgement; not thinking effectively

navigate –v. to sail through waters using a planned path; the act of directing a ship, airplane or land vehicle along a planned path

1 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。

2 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。

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 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

5 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

6 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

7 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。