VOA慢速英语2009-IN THE NEWS - Industry Gathers for Paris Air

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Next week is the one hundredth anniversary of the Paris Air Show, the biggest in the world. It takes place every two years, and organizers say even with the economic downturn they expect a "full house." Airbus, Boeing and other manufacturers will be there to sell aircraft.
　
A passenger airplane lands at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The air travel industry is facing one of the most difficult periods in its history

But observers are not expecting any major signs of a recovery for the airline industry.

Industry leaders, meeting this week in Malaysia, were told that their industry faces its most difficult situation ever. Airlines are worried not just about the recession but also about higher oil prices.

And now comes the new H1N1 flu virus. The World Health Organization this week declared the first pandemic, or worldwide spread, of influenza¹ in forty-one years. But countries are being urged not to restrict travel.

The air show also follows the crash last week of an Air France jet in the Atlantic Ocean off Brazil. All two hundred twenty-eight people on the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris were killed.

Before the flight went down, sensors² gave conflicting information on air speed to the plane's computers, possibly because of ice. Such problems had led Air France to begin replacing older sensors on some of its Airbus planes, but not the one that crashed.

Air France is now moving quickly to put in newer versions of the speed sensors. But the cause of the crash is still under investigation³.

Bodies and wreckage⁴ have been found over a wide area. The plane hit storms before the crash. Incorrect air speed readings could have led the pilots to fly so fast that the plane broke apart. Wrong data can also cause pilots to fly too slow and lose lift.

In the United States, officials are investigating a different safety issue -- the safety of regional airlines. These smaller carriers now operate about half the airline flights within the United States. They carry one in four passengers.

They have grown as major airlines have cut or changed their service. In fact, the big airlines often save money by using smaller ones to carry passengers. The pilots are paid less, and there are questions about whether they get enough training or rest.

The Federal Aviation Administration plans an industry safety meeting next week. And new legislation could be coming.

Congress is holding hearings into a crash in February near Buffalo⁵, New York. The flight was operated for Continental⁶ Airlines by another company, Colgan Air. Fifty people died.

Deadly airline crashes are increasingly rare. But regional carriers have had four in the last five years, while major airlines have had one.

Transportation safety investigators⁷ held hearings this week into an accident that involved a major airline. Everyone survived the water landing of a US Airways⁸ jet on the Hudson River in New York in January. Birds disabled both engines. At the hearings, one of the subjects discussed was the increase in populations of large birds in North America that could threaten other planes.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Mario Ritter.

1 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

2 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

5 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

6 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。