Lesson 29 The hovercraft气垫船

First listen and then answer the following question: What is a hovercraft riding on when it is in motion?

Many strange new means of transport have been developed in our century, the strangest of them being perhaps the hovercraft.

In 1953, a former electronics engineer in his fifties, Christopher Cockerell, who had turned to boat-building on the Norfolk Broads, suggested an idea on which he had been working for many years to the British Government and industrial circles.

It was the idea of supporting a craft on a 'pad', or cushion, of low-pressure air, ringed with a curtain of higher pressure air. Ever since, people have had difficulty in deciding whether the craft should be ranged among ships, planes, or land vehicles -- for it is something in between a boat and an aircraft.

As a shipbuilder, Cockerell was trying to find a solution to the problem of the wave resistance which wastes a good deal of a surface ship's power and limits its speed.

His answer was to lift the vessel out of the water by making it ride on a cushion of air, no more than one or two feet thick.

This is done by a great number of ring-shaped air jets on the bottom of the craft. It 'flies', therefore, but it cannot fly higher -- its action depends on the surface, water or ground, over which it rides.

本世纪已研制出许多新奇的交通工具,其中最新奇的要数气垫船了。1953年,有一位50多岁名叫克里斯托弗.科克雷的原电子工程师,改行在诺福克郡的湖泊地区从事造船业,他向英国政府和工业界提出了他研究多年的一项计划。他的设想是:用一个低压空气或软垫来支撑船体,软垫周围用高压空气环绕。自那以后,人们很难决定是否应该将这种运载工具列为轮船、飞机,或是陆上交通工具,因为它是介于船和飞机之间。作为一个船舶技师,科克雷尔在寻找解决波浪阻力的方法,因为波浪阻力浪费掉了船在水面行驶的大量动力,从而限制了船的速度。他的解决办法是把船体提离水面,让船在一个气垫上行驶,气垫只有一两英尺厚。船底装上大量环状喷气嘴以实现这一目的。这样,船就能飞了,但飞不高。它的飞行限决于它所悬浮的水面或地面。

The first tests on the Solent in 1959 caused a sensation. The hovercraft travelled first over the water, then mounted the beach, climbed up the dunes, and sat down on a road.

Later it crossed the Channel, riding smoothly over the waves, which presented no problem.

1959年,在苏伦特海峡进行的首次试航引起了轰动,气垫船先是在水面上行驶,后又登上海岸,爬上沙丘,最后停在路上。后来气垫船跨越英吉利海峡,平衡地在波浪上方行驶,波浪不再产生阻力。

Since that time, various types of hovercraft have appeared and taken up regular service.

The hovercraft is particularly useful in large areas with poor communications such as Africa or Australia; it can become a 'flying fruit-bowl', carrying bananas from the plantations to the ports; giant hovercraft liners could span the Atlantic; and the railway of the future may well be the 'hovertrain', riding on its air cushion over a single rail, which it never touches, at speeds up to 300 m. p. h. -- the possibilities appear unlimited.

从那以后,各种各样的气垫船出现了,并开始了定期航行服务。气垫船在非洲、澳大利亚等交通不发达地区特别有用。它能成为“飞行水果盘子”,把香蕉从种植园运到港口。大型的气垫班轮或许能跨越大西洋。未来的火车或许能成为“气垫火车”,靠气垫在单轨上行驶而不接触轨道,时速可达每小时300英里。气垫船的前途是不可限量的。

EGON LARSENThe Pegasus Book of Inventors

A hovercraft
9个相关单词

与课文关联的单词

hovercraft

//n. 气垫船

norfolk broads

//n. 诺福克郡的湖泊地区

cushion

/ˈkʊʃ(ə)n/n. 座垫

ring *

/rɪŋ/v. 围

solent

//n. (英国的)苏伦特海峡

sensation

/senˈseɪʃ(ə)n/n. 轰动

dune

//n. 沙丘

plantation

/plɑːnˈteɪʃ(ə)n/n. 种植园

hovertrain

//n. 气垫火车
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引子 更新于:2024-08-24 13:07:15

Many strange new means of transport have been developed in our century, the strangest of them being perhaps the hovercraft.

Many strange new means of transport have been developed in our century, the strangest of them being perhaps the hovercraft(独立主格).

 

知识点(1)Lesson03-03

语法:形容词的顺序 大小 形状 年龄 新旧 颜色 国际 材料 用途 + 中心名词

※ 举例:一张新的很沉的黑色的中国式的圆形的大木餐桌

※ a heavy big round new black Chinese wooden dining table

 

※ For most of them, 50 pence is a small price to pay for a nice big bar of chocolate.

※ One of Mary's prize possessions was a little white lamb which her husband had given her.

※ The towers are built on immense underwater platforms made of steel and concrete.

※ The towers are built on immense ferro-concrete platforms which are sunk beneath the water. 

 

知识点(2)Lesson03-03

语法注意:名词前有量词,形容词放在量词;形容词一般修饰量词而不修饰中心名词

※ a nice cup of tea 一杯好茶

※ a beautiful stretch of field 一片美丽的田野

※ a stagnant pool of water 一潭死水

※ great lengths of drill pipe

※ strange new means of transport

※ For most of them, 50 pence is a small price to pay for a nice big bar of chocolate.

※ Our next obstacle was a shallow pool of water about half a mile across.

 

知识点(3)【词汇】

transport n. [U] (US transportation) 交通,交通工具

※ A lot of people object to mobile phones, especially when they are used in public places like restaurants or on public transport.

※ Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation are daily necessities.

 

知识点(4)【词汇】

develop v. 英文解释:to design or make a new idea, product, system etc. over a period of time 研制,设计,开发

※ Scientists are developing new drugs to treat arthritis.

※ He claims that several countries have developed nuclear weapons secretly.

 

知识点(5)【复习】  独立主格

※ The village seemed deserted, the only sign of life being an ugly-looking black goat on a short length of rope tied to a tree in a field nearby.

 

知识点(6)【课文仿写】    

※ 造句:苹果公司 (Apple Inc.) 研制出了很多有趣的新产品,其中最成功的可能就是iPhone 了。

※ Many interesting new products have been developed by Apple Inc., the most successful of them being perhaps the ‘iPhone’.

 

 

In 1953, a former electronics engineer in his fifties, Christopher Cockerell, who had turned to boat-building on the Norfolk Broads, suggested an idea on which he had been working for many years to the British Government and industrial circles.

In 1953(时间状语), a former electronics engineer in his fifties, Christopher Cockerell(同位语), who had turned to boat-building on the Norfolk Broads(who...定语从句), suggested an idea on which he had been working for many years(on which...定语从句) to the British Government and industrial circles.

 

知识点(1)【词汇】

electronics n. 含义1. [U] the scientific study of electric current and the technology that uses it 电子学

※ a degree in electronics

※ the electronics industry an electronics engineer

 

electronics n. 含义2. [pl.] electronic equipment 电子设备

※ Weather can interfere with a car's electronics. 

 

知识点(2)

表达“年龄”:

in his fifties 五十岁左右

in his early fifties 五十一二岁

in his mid-fifties 五十五岁左右

in his late fifties 五十八九岁

 

知识点(3)

turn to sth. 英文解释: to devote or apply oneself to something, as to a field of study致力于……

※ Unsuccessful in mathematics, the student turned to biology.

 

知识点(4)课文地点介绍

Norfolk n.诺福克郡 a county in eastern England, consisting mainly of rather flat farmland and some lakes called the Norfolk Broads (诺福克郡的布罗兹湖区), where many people spend holidays sailing in small boats or barges.

 

知识点(5)【词汇】

industrial adj.工业的;产业的

 

【辨析】

industrious adj.勤奋的;勤劳的;忙碌的

 

知识点(6)【词汇】

circle n. 英文解释:a group of people who know each other and meet regularly, or who have similar interests or jobs(有共同兴趣、职业等的人形成的) 圈子,阶层,界

 

 

It was the idea of supporting a craft on a 'pad', or cushion, of low-pressure air, ringed with a curtain of higher pressure air.

It was the idea of supporting a craft on a 'pad', or cushion(插入语), of low-pressure air(介词of引出同位语), ringed with a curtain of higher pressure air(非谓语动词做后置定语,修饰low-pressure air). 

 

知识点(1)【词汇】

craft n. 含义1. [pl. craft] a boat or ship 船舶

※ We passed several other craft on the river.

 

craft n. 含义2. [pl. craft] an aircraft or spacecraft 航天器,宇宙飞船

※ The astronauts piloted their craft down to the lunar surface.

 

知识点(2)【词汇】

pad n. 英文解释:a thick flat object made of cloth or rubber, used to protect or clean sth., or to make sth. more comfortable 垫

pad of … …的垫子

※ Press on the wound with a large pad of cotton wool.

 

知识点(3)【词汇】

ring v. 英文解释:to surround sth. 包围,环绕

※ Armed police ringed the hijacked plane.

 

be ringed with sth. 被…  的包围

※ Her eyes were ringed with black lashes.

 

知识点(4)【词汇】

curtain n. 英文解释:a thing that covers, hides or protects sth. 掩蔽物,覆盖物,防护物

curtain of … … 的帘状物

※ a curtain of fog / smoke

※ They could see nothing through the curtain of rain.

 

 

Ever since, people have had difficulty in deciding whether the craft should be ranged among ships, planes, or land vehicles -- for it is something in between a boat and an aircraft.

Ever since(时间状语), people have had difficulty in deciding  whether  the  craft should be ranged among ships, planes, or and vehicles(宾语从句)―for it is something in between a boat and an aircraft(for... 原因状语从句).

 

知识点(1)Lesson03-02、Lesson03-29

ever since adv. & prep. & conj. continually since that time 从那以后,一直……(用完成时)

※ The big clock which used to strike the hours day and night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since(adv.).

※ There are countless people who, ever since(prep.) their early years, have learned to associate. 

※ Assuming that his family had been killed during an air-raid, Hans settled down in a Village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since(adv.).

※ It's been the same way ever since(conj.) we were kids. 

※ He has been depressed ever since(conj.) he got divorced. 

 

知识点(2)Lesson03-43

have difficulty (in) doing sth.    做某事很困难

= have trouble (in) doing sth.   

= have a hard time doing sth.    

※ She had a hard time writing the dear John letter(绝交信).

※ We had no difficulty (in) finding the house.

※ I had some trouble (in) reading his letter. His handwriting is very bad. 

 

have a good time doing sth. 做某事开心、轻松

 

知识点(3)【词汇】

range v. (fml.) 英文解释:to assign to a category, classify 归类,分类

 

知识点(4)

in between adv. & prep. 

= between

※ I lost my keys somewhere in between the car and the house.

※ One town ends where the next begins and there's a road that runs in between.

 

 

As a shipbuilder, Cockerell was trying to find a solution to the problem of the wave resistance which wastes a good deal of a surface ship's power and limits its speed.

As a shipbuilder, Cockerell was trying to find a solution to the problem of the wave resistance which wastes a good deal of a surface ship's power and limits its speed(which...定语从句)(to ... 后置定语,修饰solution).

 

 

His answer was to lift the vessel out of the water by making it ride on a cushion of air, no more than one or two feet thick.

His answer was to lift the vessel out of the water by making it ride on a cushion of air(方式状语), no more than one or two feet thick(后置定语). (to … 不定式做表语)

 

知识点(1)Lesson04-13、Lesson04-29  形容数量多少

【Part1】

语法:no more than … 只有、仅仅,只不过……

语法:not more than … 最多……,不超过……

※ No more than 20 people are present. 

※ We were standing no more than 10 meters away from the scene of the crime and we didn't realize it.

※ His answer was to lift the vessel out of the water by making it ride on a cushion of air, no more than one or two feet thick.

※ When one seriously studies the social orders that have had the opportunity to develop autonomously, the figure becomes no more than an exact and matter-of-fact observation.

 

※ Not more than 20 people are present. 

※ She is not more than thirty.

 

【Part2】

语法:no less than+数词+计量名词(时间;距离;金额) (强调数量特别大)“足足有……;有……之多”

语法:not less than+数词+计量名词(时间;距离;金额) “至少有……;不少于……”

※ He won no less than $1,000,000 in the lottery. 

※ He won not less than $1,000,000 in the lottery.

 

语法:no fewer than+ 数词 + 普通名词“足足有……;有……之多”

语法:not fewer than+数词+普通名词 “至少有……;不少于……”

※ No fewer than a thousand people came. 

※ Not fewer than a thousand people came. 

 

注意:当代英语:less than渐渐取代fewer than

 

【Part3】

语法:less than+数词+计量名词(时间;距离;金额) 还不到…

※ less than 20 minutes / a foot / 2 miles / 10 dollars 

※ The holes are only borings, less than a foot in diameter.

 

语法:fewer than+数词+普通名词

※ There are fewer than 20 applications.

※ The whole of Switzerland has fewer than six million inhabitants. 

 

【Part4】Lesson03-36、Lesson04-21

nothing but … 只,只有 

※ He had nothing but a cup of tea this morning.

※ William S. hart was, perhaps, the greatest of all Western stars, for unlike Gary Cooper and John Wayne he appeared in nothing but Westerns.

※ I have heard of writers who read nothing but their own books; … 

 

【Part5】【扩展】

nothing more than(贬义)只不过是

※ He dismissed Bryan as nothing more than an amateur.

 

 

This is done by a great number of ring-shaped air jets on the bottom of the craft. 

知识点(1)Lesson03-18 复合形容词

shaped adj. used with many nouns to make adjectives describing the shape of something形状的;[suffix] 和其他词放在一起构成复合形容词

※ Oddly shaped forms that are suspended from the ceiling and move in response to a gust of wind are quite familiar to everybody.

※ I was not surprised to find that the machine still refused to work after I had reassembled it, for the simple reason that I was left with several curiously shaped bits of metal which did not seem to fit anywhere.

※ My cousin, Harry, keeps a large curiously-shaped bottle on permanent display in his study.

※ She has a perfectly shaped figure.

※ heart-shaped       心形的

※ pear-shaped  梨形的

※ V-shaped                V形的

 

知识点(2)【词汇】

jet n. 英文解释:a narrow stream of liquid or gas that comes quickly out of a small hole, or the hole itself 喷射;喷嘴

※ to clean the gas jets on the cooker

※ She soaped herself beneath the refreshing jets of water.

 

  

It 'flies', therefore, but it cannot fly higher -- its action depends on the surface, water or ground, over which it rides. 

It 'flies', therefore(插入语), but it cannot fly higher―its action depends on the surface, water or ground(插入语), over which it rides(定语从句).

报道 更新于:2024-08-24 13:07:34

The first tests on the Solent in 1959 caused a sensation. 

知识点(1)课文地点介绍

Solent: A narrow channel between the Isle of Wight and the southern mainland of England. The Solent provides access to the port of Southampton. 苏伦特海峡

 

 

The hovercraft travelled first over the water, then mounted the beach, climbed up the dunes, and sat down on a road.

知识点(1)【词汇】

mount v. 含义1. go up, ascend 登上

※ He mounted the platform and addressed the crowd.

※ A car suddenly mounted the pavement to avoid a vehicle coming in the opposite direction.

 

mount v. 含义2. to fix sth. into position on sth., so that you can use it, look at it or study it 将某物固定住(以备使用、展示或研究)

※ Triple gun-decks mounted sixty-four bronze cannon.

 

mount v. 含义3. to increase gradually 逐渐增加

※ The death toll continues to mount.

※ This modern faith in medicines is proved by the fact that the annual drug bill of the Health Services is mounting to astronomical figures and shows no signs at present of ceasing to rise.

 

mount v. 含义4. get onto or put sb. onto a horse, etc. for riding(使)骑上马等

※ He quickly mounted his horse and rode away. 

※ He mounted the boy on the horse.

※ The policemen were mounted on black horses.

※ Two assistants, mounted on tame elephants, control the captive from either side, …

 

 

Later it crossed the Channel, riding smoothly over the waves, which presented no problem. 

Later it crossed the Channel, riding smoothly over the waves(方式状语), which presented no problem(which... 非限定性定语从句).

 

知识点(1)

be / pose / present a problem for … 为…构成威胁

※ Racial tensions in the south of the city pose a real problem for the police. 

※ The high rate of inflation presents a serious problem for the government. 

 

【扩展】【形近词组】

be / pose / present / constitute a hazard to … 构成隐患

be / pose / present / constitute a threat / menace to …  构成威胁

后话 更新于:2024-08-24 13:07:49

Since that time, various types of hovercraft have appeared and taken up regular service.

Since that time(时间状语), various types of hovercraft have appeared and taken up regular service.

 

知识点(1)

take up v. 英文解释:start or begin sth, esp. a job 开始(某种工作等)

※ She has taken up a job as a teacher.

 

知识点(2)【词汇】

service n. [U] 英文解释:used to talk about whether a piece of equipment, a vehicle etc. is available to be used, or how long it can be used (设备,交通工具等)被使用,得到使用

※ These trains have been in service for many years.

※ The escalator is still out of service.

※ Steel tools can give good service for years.

 

 

The hovercraft is particularly useful in large areas with poor communications such as Africa or Australia; it can become a 'flying fruit-bowl', carrying bananas from the plantations to the ports; giant hovercraft liners could span the Atlantic; and the railway of the future may well be the 'hovertrain', riding on its air cushion over a single rail, which it never touches, at speeds, up to 300 m. p. h. -- the possibilities appear unlimited.

(并列1)The hovercraft is particularly useful in large areas with poor communications(后置定语,修饰large areas) such as Africa or Australia(such as… 后置定语,修饰large areas with…); (并列2)it can become a 'flying fruit-bowl', carrying bananas from the plantations to the ports(后置定语); (并列3)giant hovercraft liners could span the Atlantic; (并列4)and the railway of the future may well be the 'hovertrain', riding on its air cushion over a single rail(后置定语), which it never touches(which...定语从句), at speeds up to 300 m.p.h. (方式状语) ― the possibilities appear unlimited.

 

知识点(1)【词汇】

communications n. [pl.] 英文解释:roads, railways etc that are used for travelling and sending goods 交通

※ Paris has good communications with many European cities.

※ Its commercial success as a city is partly due to its excellent rail and road communications.

 

知识点(2)【词汇】  

fruit bowl n. 英文解释:A fruit bowl is a large bowl in which fruit is kept and displayed. 果盘

 

知识点(3)【词汇】  

liner n. 英文解释:a large ship for passengers 客轮,班轮

※ The tragic sinking of this great liner will always be remembered, for she went down on her first voyage with heavy loss of life.

 

知识点(4)【词汇】  

span v. 英文解释:to stretch right across sth, from one side to the other 跨越,贯穿

※ a series of bridges spanning the river

 

知识点(5)

may / might / could well … 英文解释:used to say that sth. is like  to happen or is  likely to be true (某事)可能(发生或是真的)

※ Another patient might equally well complain that her neighbours were combining to slander her and persecute her, and yet one might be cautious about believing this statement.

※ Over the years one may well become an authority on one's hobby and will very probably be asked to give informal talks to little gatherings and then, if successful, to larger audiences.

※ Apart from moral considerations this is a stupid method of training, for it produces a resentful animal who at a later stage may well turn man-killer. 

 

知识点(6)【词汇】  

possibilities n. [pl.] 英文解释:capability of being used or improved, potential 潜在价值,潜力

※ The house is very dilapidated but it has possibilities. 

※ He was the first to see the possibilities of the plan.

 

知识点(7)【词汇】  

unlimited adj. 英文解释:as much or as many as is possible, not limited in any 无限的,无穷的

※ Demand for health care appears virtually unlimited.

※ This new technology opens up almost unlimited possibilities.