经济学人299:飞行安全 事故连绵不绝

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　　飞行安全

　　Pressing on

　　高压

　　A spate¹ of accidents will not put Asians off air travel

　　事故连绵不绝，但不会阻止亚洲人乘坐飞机

　　ON DECEMBER 30th Indonesian officials said they had discovered debris² and bodies from AirAsia flight QZ8501, which had vanished two days previously³, floating in shallow seas near the south-west coast of Borneo. The airliner⁴ lost contact with air-traffic controllers while passing through rough weather on a short journey between the Indonesian city of Surabaya and Changi airport in Singapore. The plane was carrying 162 people, most of them Indonesians. As The Economist⁵ went to press, no survivors⁶ had been found.

　　印尼官员12月30日表示，已经发现在婆罗洲西南海岸周边的浅海中，漂浮着两天前消失的亚航QZ8501航班的残骸与尸体。这趟短途航班原定从印尼泗水飞往新加坡樟宜机场，在穿越气象条件恶劣的空域时与航空管制失去了联系。机上载有162人，多数为印尼人。截至本期《经济学人》付梓前，没有找到任何幸存者。

　　飞行安全.jpg

　　The crash, most probably an accident, comes at the end of a particularly tragic⁷ year in South-East Asia's aviation history. Search parties have not yet found the remains⁸ of Malaysia Airlines' flight MH370, which plunged¹⁰ into the Indian Ocean nine months ago killing¹¹ all 239 people on board. In September pro-Russian rebels shot down another Malaysia Airlines plane, MH17, over Ukraine, killing another 298.

　　这场空难的原因最有可能是事故。这一年是东南亚航空史上悲剧之年，以空难结尾。9个月前，马航MH370栽入印度洋，机上239人死亡。搜索小组至今仍没找到其残骸。9月另一家马航客机MH17在乌克兰上空被亲俄叛军打下，又有298人死亡。

　　These earlier calamities¹² nibbled¹³ at South-East Asia's popularity among tourists, especially among sightseers from China. But they have done little to dampen booming demand for air travel among South-East Asians themselves. The region is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets. Its 50-odd carriers are awaiting delivery of 1,600 new planes, about the same number as are in their fleets today. Boeing, an American planemaker, thinks regional airlines will need to order more than 3,000 new aircraft over the next 20 years.

　　东南亚在游客中的口碑为这些天灾人祸一点点侵蚀，尤其是中国的游客很受影响。但这些灾祸并没有抑制住东南亚地区间快速增长的航空需求。东南亚地区是全世界增长最快的航空市场。这里有五十多家航空公司，他们已订购的新客机有1600架，等待交付使用。这一数字与现有客机数量持平。美国飞机制造商波音认为，未来20年东南亚本地航线需要购置超过3000架新飞机。

　　This growth partly reflects the rapid rise of South-East Asia's middle classes, who are eager to shell out for more convenient ways to navigate¹⁴ the continent's archipelagoes. It has been nudged along by the region's governments, who have promised to liberalise aviation as part of plans for greater economic co-operation.

　　航空市场增长部分反映出东南亚中产阶级的快速兴起，该地群岛斑驳，他们很愿意为更舒适的交通方式埋单。东南亚各国政府也提供了助力，他们保证实行航空自由化以推进彼此更深入的经济合作。

　　Yet it also reflects growing confidence in airline safety, despite recent disasters. In much of the region rutted roads and fickle¹⁵ seas are a far bigger worry. A recent study of 160 ferry accidents since 2000, costing nearly 17,000 lives, showed that Indonesia and the Philippines were among the most lethal¹⁶ places to board a boat (only Bangladeshi vessels¹⁷ were more deadly). Images of grieving families in Singapore and Surabaya have horrified¹⁸ Indonesians, and the world. But journeys are still safer in the skies.

　　尽管最近发生了些许天灾人祸，但航空市场发展也反映出对飞行安全不断增长的自信。在东南亚大多数地方，坑洼的道路与变幻的海域远比飞行安全更让人忧虑。近些年有人做过研究，2000年后共发生过160起渡轮事故，其中17000人丧生，而其中印尼与菲律宾的渡轮是最危险的（只有孟加拉国的轮船更容易沉）。新加坡与泗水那些悲伤的空难家属让印尼国民以及整个世界为之战栗。但相比之下空中旅行仍然是更安全的。译者：周鼎烨

　　1.plunge⁹ into 把…放入

　　例句:With no agreement on an alternative, the palestinian authority might plunge into a crisis.

　　如果谈判未达成一致，巴勒斯坦权利机构将陷入一场危机之中。

　　2.demand for 要求

　　例句:The european economic crisis cut demand for solar cells.

　　欧洲经济危机削减对太阳能电池的需求。

　　3.need to 需要;必须

　　例句:But I need to let you go.

　　但我必须放手让你走。

　　4.eager to 渴望

　　例句:Cash-strapped european banks are also eager to peddle¹⁹ their private-equity investments.

　　囊中羞涩的欧洲银行也急于兜售他们的私募股权投资。

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