VOA慢速英语2009年-Agriculture Report - Earl Cooley: Remember

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Years ago, a young forester took an unusual new job. Earl Cooley became one of the first smokejumpers. Smokejumpers parachute¹ from airplanes. They fight fires that crews³ cannot reach quickly or easily from the ground.
　
Earl Cooley

Earl Cooley worked for the United⁴ States Forest Service, an agency⁵ of the Agriculture Department. The Forest Service had a plane that it wanted to use to drop water bombs onto wildfires. But that idea failed. So the agency decided⁶ to use the plane for what was then a new practice: smokejumping.

The first fire jump in the United States took place on July twelfth, nineteen forty, in the Nez Perce National Forest in Idaho.

Another smokejumper, Rufus Robinson, went first. Then out came Earl Cooley.

As he later described it, the plane was not much more than half a kilometer above the trees. The day was windy, and the jump was not as good as others he had made.

He began to turn over in the air when his chute opened, and there were problems with the lines at first. But he chose a large spruce tree to land in near the fire, and climbed down.

With hand tools, he and Rufus Robinson threw dirt on the fire and dug⁷ a line to contain it so the flames would not spread. They worked through the night and had the fire controlled the next morning, when other men arrived from a camp in the area.

Earl Cooley always said he was not afraid being a smokejumper. Over the years, he worked to develop the profession. He served as the first president of the National Smokejumper Association⁸. He also wrote about his experiences. But not all had happy endings.

On August fifth, nineteen forty-nine, he was involved in a disaster at a forest fire near Helena, Montana. He had to choose where a crew² would jump. But the wind changed and the fire grew unexpectedly⁹, taking thirteen lives.

Many years later, Earl Cooley told a newspaper that he still believed he had made the best decision he could. He retired¹⁰ from the Forest Service in nineteen seventy-five. But he continued to visit the mountaintop where the men were buried, until he could no longer make the climb.

Earl Cooley died on November ninth in Missoula, Montana. He was ninety-eight years old.

Today, more than two hundred seventy men and women are smokejumpers for the Forest Service. Smokejumpers are also used in Russia and other countries.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Karen Leggett.

 

1 parachute   

n.降落伞；v.用降落伞投送/降落

参考例句：

• No way,I'm not jumping from high places without a parachute.没可能的，没有降落伞我可不从高处往下跳。
• Please release the parachute when there is an emergency.有紧急情况，请打开降落伞。

2 crew   

n.全体船员，全体乘务员；vi.一起工作

参考例句：

• A captain controls his ship and its crew.船长管理他的船和船上的船员。
• The captain kept his crew at a distance.船长与他的船员总保持一段距离。

3 crews   

n.一群（或一帮、一伙）人( crew的名词复数 )；全体船员；（赛船的）划船队员；一队（或一班、一组）工作人员

参考例句：

• Fire crews refused to cross the picket line. 消防人员拒不冲破围厂队伍人墙。
• They are the stage crews for the new play. 他们是这台新戏的舞台工作人员。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

5 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 dug   

n.动物的乳房[乳头]v.挖，掘( dig的过去式和过去分词 )；（如用铲、锨或推土机等）挖掘；挖得；寻找

参考例句：

• He dug a deep hole in the garden. 他在花园里挖了个深坑。
• We dug a deep pit in the yard. 我们在院子中挖了个深洞。

8 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

9 unexpectedly   

adv.未料到地，意外地；竟；居然；骤然

参考例句：

• The volcano unexpectedly blew up early in the morning. 火山一早突然爆发了。
• I had just put the dinner on when Jim walked in unexpectedly. 我刚把晚饭摆上桌，吉姆突然走进来。

10 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。