2007年VOA标准英语-British Airshow Honors USAF

By Mandy Clark
Gloucestershire
18 July 2007
 

The 60th anniversary of the United States Air Force was celebrated¹ at an airshow in Britain over the weekend. All kinds of aircraft were featured at the show, from antique B-52s to the agile² Thunderbirds aerobatics team. As Mandy Clark reports, organizers wanted to celebrate the close relationship between the U.K. and U.S. military forces.

The Thunderbirds aerobatics display

F-15 fighter jets, stealth bombers³ and an aerobatic display to boot. For American Air Force fans, this was a rare treat.  The Royal International Air Tattoo⁴ is the world's largest annual military airshow, featuring more than 320 aircraft from 24 countries.  This year the United States Air Force was being honored -- celebrating it's 60th anniversary and the close relationship between Britain and America's Air Forces. 

The star attraction for many was the Thunderbirds aerobatics display.  It was the team's first time to the airshow but for pilot Ed Casey it felt familiar.  “Of course, Great Britain and we are so similar in our values and background, here we feel like we are home," says Casey.

Ed Casey, pilot

Enthusiasts⁵ of all ages enjoyed the range of rarely-seen aircraft. But it seemed no one could agree on a favourite plane.

People had various reactions.  "I liked the Stealth," says one.

"The Red Arrows were good," says another.

"We liked the display by the Lancer."

A graceful⁶ twirl of a Chinook helicopter and a flypast from the Red Arrows had even the aircrew grabbing their cameras.

The pilots were stars for the day, signing autographs and posing with fans. For fighter pilot Captain Jen Fugimoto the event meant a lot.
"It's just a great honour to be here,” said Fugimoto. “Obviously the British are our strongest allies, it's fantastic."

There was no doubt “red, white and blue” was the theme for the day.

But beyond celebrating the anniversary, the event also seemed to inspire a future generations of flyers.

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 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

3 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

5 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

6 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。