# 第四册 Lesson 29 The hovercraft 气垫船

## 一、课文原文

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 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.

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.

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.

— EGON LARSEN, *The Pegasus Book of Inventors*

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| hovercraft | /ˈhɒvəkrɑːft/ | n. | 气垫船 | hover 悬停 + craft 船 |
| pad | /pæd/ | n. | 垫子，衬垫 | 也指便签本（notepad） |
| cushion | /ˈkʊʃn/ | n. | 垫子，气垫 | a cushion of air 气垫 |
| ring | /rɪŋ/ | v. | 环绕 | ringed with 被……环绕 |
| resistance | /rɪˈzɪstəns/ | n. | 阻力，抵抗 | wave resistance 波浪阻力 |
| vessel | /ˈvesl/ | n. | 船，容器 | a fishing vessel 渔船 |
| jet | /dʒet/ | n. | 喷射，喷气 | air jets 气流喷射口 |
| sensation | /senˈseɪʃn/ | n. | 轰动 | cause a sensation 引起轰动 |
| dune | /djuːn/ | n. | 沙丘 | sand dune 沙丘 |
| plantation | /plɑːnˈteɪʃn/ | n. | 种植园 | banana plantation 香蕉种植园 |
| liner | /ˈlaɪnə/ | n. | 班轮，客轮 | giant hovercraft liner 大型气垫班轮 |
| span | /spæn/ | v. | 横跨，跨越 | span the Atlantic 横跨大西洋 |

**专有名词：**
- **Norfolk Broads**：诺福克湖区（英国）
- **the Solent**：索伦特海峡
- **the Channel**：英吉利海峡

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. 独立主格结构

> the strangest of them **being** perhaps the hovercraft

名词/代词 + 分词构成独立主格，作补充说明。

| 结构 | 例句 | 功能 |
|------|------|------|
| n. + V-ing | The weather being fine, we went out. | 原因 |
| n. + V-ing | He lay there, his eyes closed. | 伴随 |
| pron. + V-ing | the strangest of them being the hovercraft | 补充说明 |

### 2. whether 引导的宾语从句

> people have had difficulty in deciding **whether** the craft should be ranged among ships, planes, or land vehicles

whether 引导宾语从句，表示"是否"，与 if 的区别：whether 可与 or 连用，if 不可。

### 3. for 引导的原因状语从句

> **for** it is something in between a boat and an aircraft

for 为并列连词，引导原因从句，语气较弱，通常用于补充说明。

| 连词 | 语气 | 用法 |
|------|------|------|
| because | 最强 | 直接回答 why |
| since | 中等 | 已知原因 |
| for | 最弱 | 补充说明 |

### 4. no more than 的用法

> no more than one or two feet thick

no more than = 仅仅，只有（强调少），区别于 not more than = 不超过（客观描述）。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 句型1：多重定语修饰

> In 1953, **a former electronics engineer in his fifties**, Christopher Cockerell, **who had turned to boat-building on the Norfolk Broads**, suggested an idea...

- 主干：an engineer suggested an idea
- former electronics engineer in his fifties——前置定语
- Christopher Cockerell——同位语
- who 引导非限制性定语从句

### 句型2：同位语解释

> the idea of supporting a craft on a 'pad', **or cushion**, of low-pressure air

- or cushion 为 pad 的同位语，解释说明
- ringed with a curtain of higher pressure air 过去分词作后置定语

### 句型3：排比展望

> it can become a 'flying fruit-bowl'...; giant hovercraft liners could span the Atlantic; and the railway of the future may well be the 'hovertrain'...

- 三个并列句展望气垫技术的应用前景
- 由小到大：水果运输→跨洋航行→未来铁路

## 五、课文翻译

在本世纪，许多新奇的交通工具被研制出来，其中最新奇的也许就是气垫船了。1953年，一位50多岁的前电子工程师克里斯托弗·科克雷尔——他已在诺福克湖区转行造船——向英国政府和工业界提出了他研究多年的一个设想。这个设想是让船在一个低压空气的"垫子"上被支撑起来，周围围着一圈较高压力的气幕。从那以后，人们一直难以决定这种船应该归入船只、飞机还是陆地交通工具——因为它介于船和飞机之间。作为造船者，科克雷尔试图找到解决波浪阻力问题的方法，这种阻力浪费了水面船只大量动力并限制了其速度。他的答案是让船骑在气垫上脱离水面，气垫不超过一两英尺厚。这是通过船底大量环形空气喷射口实现的。因此它"飞"了起来，但不能飞得更高——它的运作依赖于所骑过的水面或地面。

1959年在索伦特海峡的首次试航引起了轰动。气垫船先在水面上行驶，然后登上沙滩，爬上沙丘，最后停在公路上。后来它横渡了英吉利海峡，在波浪上平稳行驶，没有遇到任何问题。

从那时起，各种类型的气垫船相继出现并投入了定期运营。气垫船在交通不便的广大地区（如非洲或澳大利亚）特别有用；它可以成为"飞行的水果碗"，把香蕉从种植园运到港口；巨型气垫班轮可以横跨大西洋；未来的铁路很可能是"气垫火车"，骑在气垫上沿单轨行驶，从不接触轨道，速度可达每小时300英里——可能性似乎是无限的。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 1. 写作手法：由总到分

- 总述：气垫船是最奇特的交通工具
- 分述：发明过程→首次试航→应用前景

### 2. 科技术语的通俗化表达

- "pad, or cushion"——先用简单词，再用专业术语
- "flying fruit-bowl"——生动比喻，避免枯燥

### 3. 文化背景

- Christopher Cockerell（1910-1999）：英国工程师，气垫船发明者
- 1959年首次试航于索伦特海峡
- 气垫船技术后来发展为气垫火车（hovertrain）等应用

### 4. 修辞分析

- "flying fruit-bowl"——比喻，形象生动
- 排比句式展望未来——增强说服力和感染力
- "the possibilities appear unlimited"——结尾开放，余韵悠长

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **词汇练习**：掌握 hovercraft、cushion、resistance、sensation、plantation 等核心词
2. **语法练习**：独立主格结构；whether 与 if 的区别；for 引导原因从句
3. **翻译练习**：注意科技术语的翻译；no more than 的准确理解
4. **写作练习**：模仿课文的科普说明文风格，介绍一项现代技术

## 八、本课小结

本课介绍气垫船的发明原理与发展前景。核心内容：**气垫船通过在船底形成气垫来克服波浪阻力，是一种介于船和飞机之间的新型交通工具**。文章按"发明→试航→应用"的逻辑展开。语法重点为独立主格结构、whether 宾语从句和 for 引导的原因从句。写作特色是将科技术语用通俗语言表达，结尾用排比展望未来。