For more than half a century, the market for large passenger planes was shared by two companies, one in the United States and one in Europe. A third name is now appearing on the list, and it belongs to China. The country’s first home-built narrow-body jet carries passengers on domestic routes and has begun to appear at airports in other countries.
Building a plane is far harder than designing one. A modern airliner contains millions of parts supplied by hundreds of firms. The wings, the engine, the landing gear and the flight computers must work as a single machine in weather from minus forty degrees to desert heat. Any part that fails can end the programme, because safety rules look at the record of the aircraft as a whole, not only at its design.
Two problems are especially difficult. The first is the engine. A large jet engine is one of the most complex machines ever made, and only a few companies in the world can build one that meets the rules and lasts long enough. The second is the certificate. To fly into another country, a plane must be approved by its safety authority, and that process can take years and depends on trust between governments.
Progress has been steady rather than fast. The number of aircraft in service has grown year by year, new routes have been opened, and more of the work, from parts to final assembly, is now done inside the country. Each of those steps is small, and together they change the position of the industry.
There is no shortcut in this field. A plane is not proved by a first flight or a first order but by tens of thousands of safe hours. That is why the real test of the programme will be measured not in headlines but in decades.
Words to know:
- airliner (n. 客机，班机)
- narrow-body (adj. 窄体（客机）的)
- supplier (n. 供应商)
- assembly (n. 装配，组装)
- certificate (n. 证书，合格证)
- authority (n. 管理机构，当局)
- route (n. 航线，路线)
- decade (n. 十年)
长难句拆解 · 否定词加比较级 + 被动语态 + not … but … 并列结构
原文：A plane is not proved by a first flight or a first order but by tens of thousands of safe hours.
拆解：主干是 A plane is not proved by a first flight or a first order but by tens of thousands of safe hours（一架飞机不是靠首飞或首笔订单来证明的，而是靠数以万计的安全飞行小时）。这是 not … but … 的并列结构，用被动语态 is proved，两个 by 短语分别引出被否定的依据和被肯定的依据。注意 thousands of 这类含糊数量词要用复数形式且后接 of；tens of thousands of 表示「数以万计」，是英语中表示大数量的固定说法。这个句式的力量在于先排除一个看似重要的标准，再给出真正的标准。
直译：一架飞机不是靠首飞或首笔订单来证明的，而是靠数以万计的安全飞行小时。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
雅思阅读最爱把原文的词换成另一个说法来出题，认出这些替换，定位就能快一半。
- was shared by two companies → was divided between two firms（share ＝ divide）
- far harder than designing one → much more difficult than drawing one up（hard ＝ difficult）
- supplied by hundreds of firms → provided by hundreds of businesses（supply ＝ provide）
- must work as a single machine → have to operate as one unit（work as ＝ operate as）
- only a few companies in the world can build one → just a small number of firms worldwide are able to make it（a few ＝ a small number of）
- can take years → may last for a long time（take years ＝ 耗时数年）
- Progress has been steady rather than fast → development has been continuous instead of quick（rather than ＝ instead of）
阅读自测 · 3 题
- T / F / NG：一架飞机要飞进另一个国家，必须获得该国安全监管机构的批准，这一流程可能耗时数年。（判断正误并说明依据）
- 简答：作者认为一架飞机真正的证明标准是什么？
- 选词填空：Modern airliner contains millions of parts ____ by hundreds of firms.（供选：supplied / supported / supposed）
参考答案与解析
- TRUE。原文说 To fly into another country, a plane must be approved by its safety authority, and that process can take years，与题目一致。题目把 approved by its safety authority 换成「获得该国安全监管机构的批准」，把 can take years 换成「可能耗时数年」，均属同义转换。
- 数以万计的安全飞行小时。原文说 A plane is not proved by a first flight or a first order but by tens of thousands of safe hours。注意题目问的是「作者认为真正的标准」，答案必须落在安全飞行小时上，而不是首飞或订单。
- supplied。supply 意为「供应、提供」，此处用过去分词短语 supplied by hundreds of firms 作后置定语修饰 parts，表示零件由数百家企业供应。support 意为「支持、支撑」，suppose 意为「假设、认为」，均不合题意。
中文译文
半个多世纪以来，大型客机市场由两家公司分享，一家在美国，一家在欧洲。如今名单上出现了第三个名字，它属于中国。中国首款自主研制的窄体客机已在国内航线上载客，并开始出现在其他国家的机场。
造一架飞机，比设计一架飞机难得多。一架现代客机包含由数百家企业提供的数以百万计的零件。机翼、发动机、起落架和飞行计算机必须在零下四十度到沙漠酷热的天气里像一整台机器那样协同工作。任何一个零件失效都可能终结这个项目，因为安全规则看的是整机的运行记录，而不只是设计。
有两个问题尤其棘手。第一是发动机。大型喷气发动机是人类造过的最复杂的机器之一，世界上只有少数几家公司能造出既符合规则、又能用足够久的型号。第二是适航证。要飞进另一个国家，飞机必须获得对方安全监管机构的批准，而这个流程可能耗时数年，且取决于政府之间的互信。
进展是稳定而非迅速的。投入运营的飞机逐年增加，新航线陆续开通，从零部件到总装，越来越多的工作已在国内完成。这些步骤每一步都不大，合在一起就改变了这个行业的位置。
这个领域没有捷径。一架飞机不是靠首飞或首笔订单来证明的，而是靠数以万计的安全飞行小时。正因如此，这个项目真正的考验不会以头条来衡量，而要以几十年来衡量。