VOA标准英语2009年-Iran Plane Crash Kills All 168 Aboard

An Iranian passenger jet flying from Tehran to the Armenian capital Yerevan crashed in a field near the city of Qazvin, killing¹ all 168 people on board. The plane was a Russian-made Tupolev model that is not allowed to fly over Western Europe.
　
Iranian workers search site where Russian-made passenger plane crashed near Qazvin, about 75 miles west of Tehran, 15 Jul 2009

The plane, which belonged to Iran's Caspian Airlines, was headed from Tehran to the Armenian capital Yerevan.

Iran's civil aviation authority spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh told English-language Press TV the plane crashed 16 minutes after takeoff from Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport.

The Iranian News Network indicated the plane was carrying Iran's national judo² team, and a spokesman for the team said he feared that its athletes, who were due to compete in Armenia, were all lost.

The international spokesman for Iran's Red Crescent Society, Abdal Raouf Adeeb, told al-Alam TV rescue workers from his organization are sifting³ through the debris⁴ from the plane.

He said the weather at the time of the crash was bad and the plane crashed in a rural, farming area with few residents. he said the plane broke up into very small pieces, making identification difficult. He also noted⁵ the black box from the plane was found and it should eventually reveal the cause of the crash.

The plane, a Russian-built Tupolev 154M jet from the 1980s, is an aging aircraft that is no longer allowed to fly over most western European airspace because of noise regulations.

Unconfirmed reports said the Russian pilot of the plane may have been attempting an emergency landing after facing engine problems, shortly after takeoff.

Iranian TV showed a large crater⁶ and indicated the plane was probably traveling at high speed when it crashed.

Iran has suffered from a rash of plane crashes in recent years, due to an aging fleet of passenger jets, many of which are leased from Russia. Economic sanctions have also prevented Iran from purchasing spare parts for many of its older Boeing and Airbus jets.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 judo   

n.柔道

参考例句：

• The judo is a kind of fighting sport.柔道是一种对抗性体育活动。
• Which is more important in judo, strength or techniques?柔道运动中，力量和技术哪个更重要？

3 sifting   

n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• He lay on the beach, sifting the sand through his fingers. 他躺在沙滩上用手筛砂子玩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was sifting the cinders when she came in. 她进来时，我正在筛煤渣。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。