2007年VOA标准英语-World's Largest Passenger Aircraft Makes First

By Kane Farabaugh
New York, New York
20 March 2007
 
watch Farabaugh report

It is the largest passenger aircraft ever built.  With a capacity to hold up to 550 passengers, and with better fuel efficiency than other airliners¹, the Airbus A380 made a historic first stop in New York on Monday.  It is the first of several visits planned throughout the United States this week.  VOA's Kane Farabaugh was on the runway as the aircraft touched down at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport on Long Island and files this report.

 
Airbus A380 in New York
In a weather condition airline pilots call "severe clear," you could see it coming almost ten miles away.

Under heavy security and before hundreds of cameras, the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft, made a relatively² quiet landing on the runway at JFK International Airport in New York.

The man behind the controls of Lufthansa Flight 8940, Chief Pilot Juergen Raps, compares piloting the aircraft to driving an Italian sports car.

 
Lufthansa Pilot Juergen Raps
"If you imagine a plane of this size and this weight, you imagine it would move like a bus or like a truck,” Raps says.  “But as I said, if you compare it, it would handle like a Ferrari – it's very responsive at the controls, and it reacts very fast.  So you can fly very precisely³ and at the same time it's very stable.  Very nice to fly."  

The Airbus's arrival at JFK, complete with passengers and a full crew, marks the first visit by the new so-called megaliner to U.S. soil. 

Port Authority Executive Director Anthony Shorris says the historic occasion also marks a new beginning in air travel to and from New York.  The city hopes to reap an economic benefit after investing tens of millions of dollars in upgrading the airport to accommodate the new aircraft.

"In the first full year of operations for the A380 we hope it will generate as much as $80 million in economic activity, $30 million or more in payroll⁴ and perhaps 1,000 jobs," Shorris says.

Airbus is also hoping to reap an economic benefit from a project already plagued with difficulties.  Two years behind schedule, Airbus has lost more than an estimated $6 billion in forecasted profits that the A380 was supposed to generate.

 
Airbus A380
The company is hoping today's successful landing in New York and the subsequent arrival of another A380 at Los Angeles International Airport will help reverse some of the negative publicity⁵ generated by the production delays.

Not only is the A380 one of the quieter long-haul planes in the skies, it is also one of the most fuel efficient, consuming about 80 miles [130 kilometers] per gallon per passenger seat.

Singapore Airlines takes delivery of the first A380 in October.  Lufthansa will begin regular service with the A380 from Frankfurt to JFK in the summer of 2009.

1 airliners   

n.客机，班机( airliner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fog grounded the airliners. 大雾迫使班机停飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They placed very stable and accurate atomic clocks on regularly scheduled jet airliners. 他们将非常稳定、准确的原子钟装在定期飞行的喷气式班机上。 来自辞典例句

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

4 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

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。