2006年VOA标准英语-Troubled Air Zimbabwe Announces Turnaround

By Tendai Maphosa
Harare
12 April 2006
 
Air Zimbabwe, the failing national carrier, is to restructure its operations in a bid to regain¹ viability².
 

Air Zimbabwe 767   
  
The plan announced by Air Zimbabwe chairman Mike Bimha will see the airline split into five strategic business units to ensure better performance. It will also lay off 30 percent of the airline's employees.

Bimha is quoted in the state-controlled daily, The Herald³, as saying staff levels had remained the same against the backdrop of a shrinking fleet and huge losses. He attributed he losses to a drastic drop in the number of passengers flying Air Zimbabwe.

But last week the newspaper quoted the airline's acting⁴ chief executive officer Oscar Madombwe as saying in 2005 it ferried less than a quarter of the million passengers who used it in 1999.

Air Zimbabwe's passenger fleet has dropped from more than 20 aircraft in the 1980s to less than 10. In the past few years the airline has had cash flow problems that have seen it temporarily suspended by the International Air Transport Association for non-payment of dues.

Last November, the airline ran out of jet fuel and failed to service its routes. The fuel problem persists and sometimes aircraft have to fly via Lilongwe in Malawi to refuel. Airline CEO Madombwe said this is expensive.

He also blamed the negative publicity⁵ about the political and economic situation in the country and the shortage of hard currency to buy equipment and new planes.

Madombwe said there is a perception that because the airlines planes are old, they are unsafe. Some of Air Zimbabwe's planes are more than 30 years old.

Madombwe pointed⁶ out that Air Zimbabwe has an excellent safety record. He said the fact it was not on the list of 93 airlines banned from European Union air space for safety reasons earlier this year confirms it is a safe airline.

But a regular Air Zimbabwe flier, speaking to VOA on condition of anonymity⁷ said delays and cancellations with little or no notice, rather than safety is the problem with the airline. He said while these problems also happened with other airlines, Air Zimbabwe has shown a certain disregard for its passengers.

1 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

2 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

3 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。