VOA标准英语2013--Airport Towers Close Under Forced US Budget Cuts

 

Airport Towers Close Under Forced US Budget Cuts

Air traffic controllers at the Frederick, Maryland, airport will no longer guide pilots around this busy airspace. Under mandatory¹ federal government spending cuts, this control tower - like 148 others at smaller airports across the country - is closing.

"For the tower to close we really would be treading backwards² here," said airport manager Kevin Daugherty. He said closing the control tower strips away an extra layer of safety at Maryland's second-busiest airport.

"When you have corporate³ jets mixing in with flight training traffic, gliders⁴, helicopters, it could be a mess. So that is the reason why the air traffic control tower was built here and opened," said Daugherty.

Shuttering a new tower

The government recently spent more than $5 million to build the tower, which opened last year. Now frustration⁵ is growing among contract controllers, like Mamie Ambrose, who are losing their jobs. 

"The FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] felt it was necessary to put a tower here because of the congestion⁶, and now, suddenly, it is not a safety issue. Suddenly they want to close a tower down that hasn't even been open for a year," said Ambrose.

Todd Kirkpatrick moved from South Carolina to work in the Frederick tower. Now, like many contract controllers working at smaller airports, he will have to relocate to find another job.

"I took almost all of my savings⁷ and everything to move and transfer up here to take this job. Now here it is, less than a year later, and they're going to close us down. I have to turn around and take what little money is left over and move back [to South Carolina] with no job, collecting unemployment [insurance] because I cannot afford to live here on what unemployment is going to pay," said Kirkpatrick.

Ripple⁸ effect

The airport will remain open, but pilots will have to coordinate⁹ their takeoffs and landings among themselves over the radio.

Frederick Mayor Randy McClement said the tower closure will harm efforts to attract new business to the area.

"We had a little uptick [increase] in those jets coming to us, the corporate jets, because of the [air traffic control] tower. Some corporations wouldn't fly into the Frederick Municipal Airport because there was no tower," said McClement.

Frederick city officials say they hope closing the airport tower will not affect safety at the airfield¹⁰, even though it will send important air traffic and business somewhere else. 

1 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

2 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 gliders   

n.滑翔机( glider的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The albatross is the king of gliders. 信天翁是滑翔鸟类之王。 来自《用法词典》
• For three summers, may bested and improved their gliders. 他们花了三个夏天不断地测试、改进。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

5 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

6 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

7 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

8 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

9 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

10 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。