2015考研英语阅读英文原刊《经济学人》：地面速度记录

　　The rocket gives the car plenty of power, but it is either on or off. To provide some form ofthrottle to allow acceleration and deceleration, the vehicle’s designers added the EJ200 jetengine. This will be used by Andy Green, a Royal Air Force pilot who will drive the car, to get thevehicle moving. At about 200mph he will start the pump to deliver the HTP into the rocket.

　　火箭发动机给汽车提供大量的动力，但是操作它只是开或关。为提供某种节流阀以加速或减速，该车的设计者们增加了“EJ200”喷气式发动机。这个发动机将被皇家空军飞行员安迪•格林用以驾驶这辆车。在大约时速200英里时他将启动为火箭发动机传送HTP的泵。

　　At first there will be a stream of steam coming fromthe rocket. But then ignition gets going and at fullblast the jet and the rocket will each provide abouthalf of the 210,000 newtons (47,000 pounds) ofthrust needed to break the record. At about750mph the car will go through the sound barrier.Wing Commander Green has been there before—andnot only in a fighter plane. In 1997 at Black RockDesert, Nevada, he drove Thrust SSC to become thefirst person to break the sound barrier in a car andset the existing land-speed record of 763mph. Thistime the Nevada desert will not be big enough, so the attempt will take place over an even largerexpanse of flat ground at Hakskeen Pan in the Northern Cape in South Africa, perhaps nextyear.

　　开始时将有一股来自火箭发动机的气流，然后点火装置启动，喷气发动机和火箭发动机将各自全力提供破纪录所需的大约21万牛顿(4.7万磅)的推力的一半。在时速大约759英里时，汽车将穿过音障。皇家空军中校格林以前曾经历过，不仅仅是驾驶战斗机。1997年在内华达州黑岩沙漠，他驾驶“推进”号超音速车成为突破汽车音障的第一人，并创下目前时速763英里的地面速度记录。这一次内华达州的沙漠将不够大了，因此尝试将在南非北海岬省亥克斯金-潘的一块更宽阔的平地进行，可能在明年。

　　Bloodhound SSC could reach up to 1,050mph. Wing Commander Green then has to slam onthe brakes. After turning off the jet and rocket he will deploy an air brake at 800mph,parachutes at 600mph and finally put his foot on a car-type friction brake at 250mph—anyfaster and the brakes could explode.

　　“侦探犬”号超音速车能够达到时速1050英里，这时格林中校必须紧急刹车。在关掉喷气发动机和火箭发动机后，在时速800英里时他将使用减速板，在时速600英里时使用降落伞，最后在时速250英里时使用轮胎摩擦制动器——如果再快一点这个制动器可能爆炸。

　　Then the car is serviced and refuelled to do it all over again. This is because the FédérationInternationale de l’Automobile, which keeps the land-speed records, takes as its measure theaverage of two runs over one mile in opposite directions completed within one hour.

　　然后这辆车被检修并重新加油以再次测试。这是因为国际汽车联盟把在一小时内完成相对方向的超过一英里的两次行车的平均速度作为测量标准。国际汽车联盟保持着地面速度记录。

　　The attempt is being organised by Richard Noble, a veteran British record-breaker, and issponsored by a number of companies. Mr Jubb’s firm, The Falcon Project, was one of the firstto step forward—and into the limelight. He usually designs and manufactures secretive militaryrockets in Britain and the United States. Construction of Bloodhound SSC has begun at an aptlocation: a borrowed warehouse on the dockside in Bristol next to Isambard Kingdom Brunel’sSS Great Britain, which in 1845 crossed the Atlantic in a record 14 days.

　　这次尝试正在由经验丰富的英国破纪录者理查德•诺贝尔组织，很多公司提供了赞助。兆伯的公司“猎鹰工程公司”是第一次露面进入人们视线的公司之一。他通常为英国和美国设计并制造秘密军用火箭。“侦探犬”号超音速车的建造已经在一个合适的地点开始：一个在布里斯托尔市的码头前沿的借来的仓库，在伊桑巴德•金德姆•布鲁内尔的“大不列颠”号船之后，“大不列颠”号曾在1845年创造了14天内穿越大西洋的记录。

　　Unusually for such an enterprise, all the technical details, including computer-aided designfiles, are available online (bloodhoundssc.com). Mr Noble is involving schools in the project toencourage interest in engineering as a career. So far, more than 4,000 schools are taking part.This was part of a deal with Britain’s defence ministry in order to borrow the EJ200. It is to behoped, though, that none of the children will try to build one of these cars at home.

　　对于这样一项计划来说，很不寻常的是，包括计算机辅助设计文件的所有技术细节，都可以在网上得到(bloodhoundssc.com)。诺贝尔正在使很多学校参与这项计划以鼓励将工程学作为一门职业的兴趣。迄今为止，有4000多所学校参与。这是向英国国防部借“EJ200”发动机的协议的一部分。尽管如此，相信不会有一个孩子将尝试在家里建造一个这样的汽车。

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