2-55

 

55.

It can be hard to be precise with Hellfires. Apaches fly with such tremendous speed that it’s hardto take steady aim. Hard for some anyway. I developed pinpoint¹ accuracy, as if I was throwingdarts in a pub.

My targets were moving fast too. The speediest motorbike I shot was going about 50 k.p.h.

The driver, a Taliban commander who’d been calling in fire all day on our forces, was hunchedover the handlebars, looking back as we gave chase. He was purposely speeding between villages,using civilians² for cover. Old people, children, they were mere³ props⁴ to him.

Our windows of opportunity were those one-minute spans when he was between villages.

I remember Dave calling out: You’ve got two hundred meters till it’s a no-go.

Meaning, two hundred meters until this Taliban commander was hiding behind another child.

I heard Dave again: You’ve got trees coming on the left, wall on the right.

Roger.

Dave moved us into the five o’clock position, dropped to six hundred feet. Now—I took the shot. The Hellfire smacked⁵ the motorbike, sent it flying into a small thatch⁶ of trees.

Dave flew us over the trees, and through plumes⁷ of smoke we saw a ball of fire. And the bike. Butno body.

I was ready to follow up with the 30-mm, strafe the area, but I couldn’t see anything to strafe.

We circled and circled. I was getting nervous. Did he get away, mate?

There he is!

Fifty feet to the right of the motorbike: body on the ground.

Confirmed.

Away we flew.

 

1 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

4 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

5 smacked   

拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He smacked his lips but did not utter a word. 他吧嗒两下嘴，一声也不言语。
• She smacked a child's bottom. 她打孩子的屁股。

6 thatch   

vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋)

参考例句：

• They lit a torch and set fire to the chapel's thatch.他们点着一支火把，放火烧了小教堂的茅草屋顶。
• They topped off the hut with a straw thatch. 他们给小屋盖上茅草屋顶。

7 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。