2007年VOA标准英语-Boeing Orders Up on Commercial and Fuel Efficie

By Mil Arcega
Washington
09 April 2007
 
Watch Boeing Fuel Efficient Jets

Boeing 787, Fuel Efficient Jets

After years of lagging behind European rival Airbus, Boeing says 2007 is shaping up to be a very good year.  The Chicago based airplane manufacturer says it delivered more than 100 commercial airplanes in the first three months of the year. And this week, the company celebrated¹ orders for its new line of fuel-efficient jets. VOA's Mil Arcega reports.

Thousands of Boeing employees gathered at a hangar in Everett, Washington to hear the big news:  a record 500 orders for a new jet that has not even rolled off the production lines yet. 

General manager, Mike Bair says it is unprecedented². "It's absolutely unprecedented.  It's never happened in commercial aviation before."

Mike Bair is the general manager of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner program. He says interest in the company's new line of fuel-efficient jets is extremely high.  Brian King heads the company's airplane integration³ team. He says the plane appeals to energy conscious customers because the lighter⁴ planes burn 20 percent less fuel than comparably sized aircraft.

Brian King, Boeing Airplane Integration Team says, "Actually this is what airline customers are looking to do -- is try to cut down on their economy, get a fuel economical airplane and lightened load and this is actually going to do that."

But the success of the new plane brings new challenges for Boeing which is looking at ways to speed up production.  Bair says the first planes will roll off the production line in July.

Bair believes the growth will continue, "We'll be building this plane for 20 or 30 years.  It's not going to end at 500, so the orders will keep coming and this airplane will be in production for a long time,"

That is good news for assemblers such as Roger Cook.  Every 787 that comes out of the production line is already sold until 2012. "I'm a contractor⁵ so it may mean a longer period of employment."

The orders cap a lucrative⁶ first quarter for Boeing, which announced delivery of 106 commercial airplanes in the first three months of 2007 -- its highest total in nearly five years.  It also comes on the heels of rival Airbus's launch of its super-sized jumbo A380s, following costly⁷ production delays.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

4 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

5 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

6 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。