2023考研英語閱讀遠去的雷鳥號
The future technology of the past
六十年代的未來技術
Thunderbirds are gone
遠去的雷鳥號
A British defence firm opens its archives to revealflights of fancy that never flew
英國防務公司公開檔案，從未實現的奇思妙想重見天日
READERS of a certain age may remember Gerry and Sylvia Anderson s sci-fi puppetshowsSupercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarletfilmed, as theAndersons put it, in Supermarionation.
上了一定年紀的讀者或許會記得蓋瑞安德森和西爾維婭安德森的科幻木偶劇-《飛天神車》、《雷霆機五號》、《霹靂艇》、《雷鳥特攻隊》以及《超空人》，劇集均由安德森夫婦所稱的超級木偶出演。
Those who remember Captain Scarlet in particular may find one of the pictures here eerilyfamiliar.
特別是那些還記得《超空人》的讀者會發現上面的照片里有一張似曾相識。
English Electric s Fighter Jet Take-Off Platform, a flying airfield, is not quite the Cloudbasefrom which the immortal captain operated.
英國電氣的空中機場-戰斗機起飛平臺與該劇中永遠的隊長操控的云霄基地不太像。
But it was intended, like its fictionalcounterpart, to launch and receive planes while itself airborne.
但就像云霄基地一樣，其目的是要在空中發射和接收飛機。
It would have taken off and landed vertically in, say, a jungle clearing otherwise inaccessibleto the aircraft piggybacking on it.
它要在一塊從林里的空地上垂直起降，否則其所載的飛機無法起落。
English Electric was one of the firms merged into what eventually became BAE Systems, andBAE has recently been through its archives and publicised some of the projects dreamed upin the glory days of the 1960s, when designers imaginations were allowed to run riot withlittle consideration of practicality or budget. MUSTARD, for example, was designed bythe British Aircraft Corporation.
英國電氣是最終被合并為英國航宇系統公司的眾多公司中的一員，BAE最近完成了其檔案整理工作，并公開了一些在上世紀六十年代的輝煌歲月中構想出來的項目，其時，設計人員的想象力可以天馬行空，無需考慮可行性或者預算。例如，MUSTARD是由英國飛機公司設計的。
It could pass for something out of Fireball XL5 or Supercarthough it also resembles VirginGalactic s SpaceShipTwo which will, Virgin hopes, soon be taking paying passengers to theedge of space.
可以認為其構想來自于《雷霆機五號》或《飛天神車》----不過它也有點像維珍銀河公司的太空船二號，維珍公司希望其很快便能載著付費乘客到達太空的邊緣。
It would have been a three-stage space-plane, though only one stage would have made itinto orbit.
太空船二號會是一艘三級航天飛船，盡管只需一級便能將其送入軌道。
The other two were reusable boosters.
其余的兩級為可重復使用的助推器。
An Anderson version of the Jumping Jeep, also by BAC, might easily have emerged from thepod carried by Thunderbird Two on one of its missions for International Rescue.
在雷鳥二號執行國際援助組織的任務時，一輛安德森版的跳躍吉普-也出自BAC-從雷鳥二號攜帶的隔艙中脫離時或許比較簡單。
Continuing the vertical-take-off theme, the Jeep would have had 12 fans whose downdraftwould have helped it over obstacles such as ditches.
繼續剛才垂直起飛的主題，這輛吉普有12個螺旋槳，其產生的向下氣流能使吉普跨過壕溝等各種障礙。
And Hawker Siddeley s Intercity Vertical-Lift Aircraft, intended as a passenger plane thatcould land in urban airports not much bigger than pocket handkerchiefs, looks like the sort ofthing that would have whisked Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, International Rescue s Londonagent, from her penthouse in Mayfair to New York for a day s shopping.
霍克希德利公司的城際垂直起降飛機是想成為一架可以在胸袋手帕那么大的市內機場中著陸的客機，就像那種能讓潘妮洛普克雷頓華德夫人從自己位于梅菲爾的閣樓一路飛馳到紐約去購物一整天的飛機。
Sadly, none of these fantasies made it into metal.
可悲的是，這些奇思妙想中沒有一個成為現實。
They remain as fictional as the Andersons puppet shows.
它們就和安德森夫婦的木偶劇一樣，只是停留在虛構層面。
Too expensive. Or too noisy.
要么費用太高，要么噪聲太大，
Or simply too silly.
要么就只是想法太愚蠢。
But that is the strange thing about the future.
但這是關于未來的東西總是很怪。
Nothing ages faster than yesterday s dreams of tomorrow.
沒有比昨天的明日夢更易老的東西了。
詞語解釋
1.take off 脫掉;起飛
It also makes for a more comfortable take off.
這也讓乘客在起飛時更感舒適。
Take off your coat and socks, which enables youdump redundant concerns.
脫掉外衣和鞋襪，就甩掉了多余的顧慮。
2.dream up 想起，想象出
I had to give my dream up.
我不得不放棄我的夢想。
I wonder what excuse they will dream up tomorrow.
我尋思他們明天會想出什么借口。
3.run riot 胡鬧;肆無忌憚
They let their kids run riot.
他們聽任自己的孩子撒野。
The virus can run riot through your body.
病毒會在你的體內蔓延滋生。
4.emerge from 露出; 浮現
They are a classic form of stimulus that could help the economy emerge from the housinghangover.
這是一個刺激經濟，幫助其從住房危機中復蘇的經典方式。
The developed world is struggling to emerge from recession and high unemployment.
發達國家正極力想擺脫經濟衰退和高失業率的困境。
The future technology of the past
六十年代的未來技術
Thunderbirds are gone
遠去的雷鳥號
A British defence firm opens its archives to revealflights of fancy that never flew
英國防務公司公開檔案，從未實現的奇思妙想重見天日
READERS of a certain age may remember Gerry and Sylvia Anderson s sci-fi puppetshowsSupercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarletfilmed, as theAndersons put it, in Supermarionation.
上了一定年紀的讀者或許會記得蓋瑞安德森和西爾維婭安德森的科幻木偶劇-《飛天神車》、《雷霆機五號》、《霹靂艇》、《雷鳥特攻隊》以及《超空人》，劇集均由安德森夫婦所稱的超級木偶出演。
Those who remember Captain Scarlet in particular may find one of the pictures here eerilyfamiliar.
特別是那些還記得《超空人》的讀者會發現上面的照片里有一張似曾相識。
English Electric s Fighter Jet Take-Off Platform, a flying airfield, is not quite the Cloudbasefrom which the immortal captain operated.
英國電氣的空中機場-戰斗機起飛平臺與該劇中永遠的隊長操控的云霄基地不太像。
But it was intended, like its fictionalcounterpart, to launch and receive planes while itself airborne.
但就像云霄基地一樣，其目的是要在空中發射和接收飛機。
It would have taken off and landed vertically in, say, a jungle clearing otherwise inaccessibleto the aircraft piggybacking on it.
它要在一塊從林里的空地上垂直起降，否則其所載的飛機無法起落。
English Electric was one of the firms merged into what eventually became BAE Systems, andBAE has recently been through its archives and publicised some of the projects dreamed upin the glory days of the 1960s, when designers imaginations were allowed to run riot withlittle consideration of practicality or budget. MUSTARD, for example, was designed bythe British Aircraft Corporation.
英國電氣是最終被合并為英國航宇系統公司的眾多公司中的一員，BAE最近完成了其檔案整理工作，并公開了一些在上世紀六十年代的輝煌歲月中構想出來的項目，其時，設計人員的想象力可以天馬行空，無需考慮可行性或者預算。例如，MUSTARD是由英國飛機公司設計的。
It could pass for something out of Fireball XL5 or Supercarthough it also resembles VirginGalactic s SpaceShipTwo which will, Virgin hopes, soon be taking paying passengers to theedge of space.
可以認為其構想來自于《雷霆機五號》或《飛天神車》----不過它也有點像維珍銀河公司的太空船二號，維珍公司希望其很快便能載著付費乘客到達太空的邊緣。
It would have been a three-stage space-plane, though only one stage would have made itinto orbit.
太空船二號會是一艘三級航天飛船，盡管只需一級便能將其送入軌道。
The other two were reusable boosters.
其余的兩級為可重復使用的助推器。
An Anderson version of the Jumping Jeep, also by BAC, might easily have emerged from thepod carried by Thunderbird Two on one of its missions for International Rescue.
在雷鳥二號執行國際援助組織的任務時，一輛安德森版的跳躍吉普-也出自BAC-從雷鳥二號攜帶的隔艙中脫離時或許比較簡單。
Continuing the vertical-take-off theme, the Jeep would have had 12 fans whose downdraftwould have helped it over obstacles such as ditches.
繼續剛才垂直起飛的主題，這輛吉普有12個螺旋槳，其產生的向下氣流能使吉普跨過壕溝等各種障礙。
And Hawker Siddeley s Intercity Vertical-Lift Aircraft, intended as a passenger plane thatcould land in urban airports not much bigger than pocket handkerchiefs, looks like the sort ofthing that would have whisked Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, International Rescue s Londonagent, from her penthouse in Mayfair to New York for a day s shopping.
霍克希德利公司的城際垂直起降飛機是想成為一架可以在胸袋手帕那么大的市內機場中著陸的客機，就像那種能讓潘妮洛普克雷頓華德夫人從自己位于梅菲爾的閣樓一路飛馳到紐約去購物一整天的飛機。
Sadly, none of these fantasies made it into metal.
可悲的是，這些奇思妙想中沒有一個成為現實。
They remain as fictional as the Andersons puppet shows.
它們就和安德森夫婦的木偶劇一樣，只是停留在虛構層面。
Too expensive. Or too noisy.
要么費用太高，要么噪聲太大，
Or simply too silly.
要么就只是想法太愚蠢。
But that is the strange thing about the future.
但這是關于未來的東西總是很怪。
Nothing ages faster than yesterday s dreams of tomorrow.
沒有比昨天的明日夢更易老的東西了。
詞語解釋
1.take off 脫掉;起飛
It also makes for a more comfortable take off.
這也讓乘客在起飛時更感舒適。
Take off your coat and socks, which enables youdump redundant concerns.
脫掉外衣和鞋襪，就甩掉了多余的顧慮。
2.dream up 想起，想象出
I had to give my dream up.
我不得不放棄我的夢想。
I wonder what excuse they will dream up tomorrow.
我尋思他們明天會想出什么借口。
3.run riot 胡鬧;肆無忌憚
They let their kids run riot.
他們聽任自己的孩子撒野。
The virus can run riot through your body.
病毒會在你的體內蔓延滋生。
4.emerge from 露出; 浮現
They are a classic form of stimulus that could help the economy emerge from the housinghangover.
這是一個刺激經濟，幫助其從住房危機中復蘇的經典方式。
The developed world is struggling to emerge from recession and high unemployment.
發達國家正極力想擺脫經濟衰退和高失業率的困境。
