VOA标准英语2008年-Russian Airliner Crashes, Killing All 88 People

Russian officials say 88 people were killed early Sunday when a Boeing 737 crashed in the Ural mountains just outside the Siberian city of Perm. The passenger jet was getting ready to land after making the trek¹ eastward² from Moscow. Emma Stickgold has this report for the VOA in Moscow.
　
A fuselage piece of a Boeing-737-500 with the company's name Aeroflot, partly seen, lies at the crash site on the outskirts³ of the city of Perm in central Russia, Sunday, 14 Sept. 2008

Witnesses said the crash lit up the darkened sky in the central Ural mountains.

Wreckage⁴ from the early morning crash lay strewn about a set of railroad tracks a few hundred meters from residential⁵ buildings, as helicopters circled overhead, and crews worked to clean up the debris⁶.

All passengers and the crewmembers aboard died in the crash, after the jet, operated by Russian airline Aeroflot, lost contact with ground dispatchers.

Irina Danenberg is an Aeroflot spokeswoman.

She says that seven children were among the dead. She says the passenger list included 21 nationalities, including the United States, Switzerland, France, Germany, Turkey and Italy.

Railway tracks between Perm and Yekaterinburg along the Trans-Siberian route were shut down temporarily, as charred⁷ plane debris had yet to be cleared off the tracks.

Officials said investigators⁸ had located the "black box" flight recorder that often offers a glimpse into what transpired⁹.

Aeroflot said in a statement that it will offer up to $80,000 for each victim in compensation.

Russia and other former Soviet¹⁰ republics have attracted criticism from international aviation experts for its relatively¹¹ poor record on air traffic safety. Many have cited a lack of training among pilots, a steady stream of cost-cutting efforts, including the use of older aircraft, and not enough government control over the industry.

Thirty-three Russian aviation accidents resulted in the death of 318 people last year -a six-fold increase since 2005.

 

1 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

2 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

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 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

6 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

7 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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》

9 transpired   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

10 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。