Meanwhile the Government balloon factory at Farnborough began airship construction in 1907; Colonel Capper, R.E., and S. F. Cody were jointly13 concerned in the production of a semi-rigid. Fifteen thicknesses of goldbeaters’ skin—about the most expensive covering obtainable—were used for the envelope, which was 25 feet in diameter. A slight shower of rain in which the airship was caught led to its wreckage14, owing to the absorbent quality of the goldbeaters’ skin, whereupon Capper and Cody set to work to reproduce the airship and its defects on a larger scale. The first had been named ‘Nulli Secundus’ and the second was named ‘Nulli Secundus II.’ Punch very appropriately suggested that the first vessel15 ought to have been named ‘Nulli Primus,’ while a possible third should be christened ‘Nulli Tertius.’ ‘Nulli Secundus II.’ was fitted with a 100 horse-power engine and had an envelope of 42 feet in diameter, the goldbeaters’ skin being covered in fabric16 and the car being suspended by four bands which encircled the balloon envelope. In October of 1907, ‘Nulli Secundus II.’ made a trial flight from Farnborough to London and was anchored at the Crystal Palace. The wind sprung up and took the361 vessel away from its mooring17 ropes, wrecking18 it after the one flight.
The Army Airship ‘Beta’ at the Man?uvres.
The ‘Beta’ going up to reconnoitre.
Stagnation19 followed until early in 1909, when a small airship fitted with two 12 horse-power motors and named the ‘Baby’ was turned out from the balloon factory. This was almost egg-shaped, the blunt end being forward, and three inflated20 fins21 being placed at the tail as control members. A long car with rudder and elevator at its rear-end carried the engines and crew; the ‘Baby’ made some fairly successful flights and gave a good deal of useful data for the construction of later vessels22.
Next to this was ‘Army Airship 2A’ launched early in 1910 and larger, longer, and narrower in design than the Baby. The engine was an 80 horse-power Green motor which drove two pairs of propellers; small inflated control members were fitted at the stern end of the envelope, which was 154 feet in length. The suspended car was 84 feet long, carrying both engines and crew, and the Willows idea of swivelling propellers for governing the direction was used in this vessel. In June of that year a new, small-type dirigible, the ‘Beta,’ was produced, driven by a 30 horse-power Green engine with which she flew over 3,000 miles. She was the most successful British dirigible constructed up to that time, and her successor, the ‘Gamma,’ was built on similar lines. The ‘Gamma’ was a larger vessel, however, produced in 1912, with flat, controlling fins and rudder at the rear end of the envelope, and with the conventional long car suspended at some distance beneath the gas bag. By this time, the mooring mast, carrying a cap of which the concave side fitted over the convex nose of the airship, had been originated.362 The cap was swivelled, and, when attached to it, an airship was held nose on to the wind, thus reducing by more than half the dangers attendant on mooring dirigibles in the open.
Private subscription23 under the auspices24 of the Morning Post got together sufficient funds in 1910 for the purchase of a Lebaudy airship, which was built in France, flown across the Channel, and presented to the Army Airship Fleet. This dirigible was 337 feet long, and was driven by two 135 horse-power Panhard motors, each of which actuated two propellers. The journey from Moisson to Aldershot was completed at a speed of 36 miles an hour, but the airship was damaged while being towed into its shed. On May of the following year, the Lebaudy was brought out for a flight, but, in landing, the guide rope fouled25 in trees and sheds and brought the airship broadside on to the wind; she was driven into some trees and wrecked26 to such an extent that rebuilding was considered an impossibility. A Clement27 Bayard, bought by the army airship section, became scrap28 after even less flying than had been accomplished by the Lebaudy.
In April of 1910, the Admiralty determined29 on a naval30 air service, and set about the production of rigid airships which should be able to compete with Zeppelins as naval scouts31. The construction was entrusted32 to Vickers, Ltd., who set about the task at their Barrow works and built something which, when tested after a year’s work, was found incapable33 of lifting its own weight. This defect was remedied by a series of alterations34, and meanwhile the unofficial title of ‘Mayfly’ was given to the vessel.
The S.S. type of airship.
H.M. King George inspecting.
Taken over by the Admiralty before she had passed363 any flying tests, the ‘Mayfly’ was brought out on September 24th, 1911, for a trial trip, being towed out from her shed by a tug35. When half out from the shed, the envelope was caught by a light cross-wind, and, in spite of the pull from the tug, the great fabric broke in half, nearly drowning the crew, who had to dive in order to get clear of the wreckage.
There was considerable similarity in form, though not in performance, between the Mayfly and the pre-war Zeppelin. The former was 510 feet in length, cylindrical36 in form, with a diameter of 48 feet, and divided into 19 gas-bag compartments37. The motive38 power consisted of two 200 horse-power Wolseley engines. After its failure, the Naval Air Service bought an Astra-Torres airship from France and a Parseval from Germany, both of which proved very useful in the early days of the War, doing patrol work over the Channel before the Blimps came into being.
Early in 1915 the ‘Blimp’ or ‘S.S.’ type of coastal39 airship was evolved in response to the demand for a vessel which could be turned out quickly and in quantities. There was urgent demand, voiced by Lord Fisher, for a type of vessel capable of maintaining anti-submarine patrol off the British coasts, and the first S.S. airships were made by combining a gasbag with the most available type of aeroplane fuselage and engine, and fitting steering40 gear. The ‘Blimp’ consisted of a B.E. fuselage with engine and geared-down propeller, and seating for pilot and observer, attached to an envelope about 150 feet in length. With a speed of between 35 and 40 miles an hour, the ‘Blimp’ had a cruising capacity of about ten hours; it was fitted with wireless41 set, camera, machine-gun, and bombs, and for submarine spotting364 and patrol work generally it proved invaluable42, though owing to low engine power and comparatively small size, its uses were restricted to reasonably fair weather. For work farther out at sea and in all weathers, airships known as the coast patrol type, and more commonly as ‘coastals,’ were built, and later the ‘N.S.’ or North Sea type, still larger and more weather-worthy, followed. By the time the last year of the War came, Britain led the world in the design of non-rigid and semi-rigid dirigibles. The ‘S.S.’ or ‘Blimp’ had been improved to a speed of 50 miles an hour, carrying a crew of three, and the endurance record for the type was 18? hours, while one of them had reached a height of 10,000 feet. The North Sea type of non-rigid was capable of travelling over 20 hours at full speed, or forty hours at cruising speed, and the number of non-rigids belonging to the British Navy exceeded that of any other country.
It was owing to the incapacity—apparent or real—of the British military or naval designers to produce a satisfactory rigid airship that the ‘N.S.’ airship was evolved. The first of this type was produced in 1916, and on her trials she was voted an unqualified success, in consequence of which the building of several more was pushed on. The envelope, of 360,000 cubic feet capacity, was made on the Astra-Torres principle of three lobes43, giving a trefoil section. The ship carried four fins, to three of which the elevator and rudder flaps were attached; petrol tanks were placed inside the envelope, under which was rigged a long covered-in car, built up of a light steel tubular framework 35 feet in length. The forward portion was covered with duralumin sheeting, an aluminium44 alloy45 which, unlike aluminium itself, is not affected46 by the action of sea air365 and water, and the remainder with fabric laced to the framework. Windows and port-holes were provided to give light to the crew, and the controls and navigating47 instruments were placed forward, with the sleeping accommodation aft. The engines were mounted in a power unit structure, separate from the car and connected by wooden gangways supported by wire cables. A complete electrical installation of two dynamos and batteries for lights, signalling lamps, wireless, telephones, etc., was carried, and the motive power consisted of either two 250 horse-power Rolls-Royce engines or two 240 horse-power Fiat48 engines. The principal dimensions of this type are length 262 feet, horizontal diameter 56 feet 9 inches, vertical49 diameter 69 feet 3 inches. The gross lift is 24,300 lbs. and the disposable lift without crew, petrol, oil, and ballast 8,500 lbs. The normal crew carried for patrol work was ten officers and men. This type holds the record of 101 hours continuous flight on patrol duty.
In the matter of rigid design it was not until 1913 that the British Admiralty got over the fact that the ‘Mayfly’ would not, and decided50 on a further attempt at the construction of a rigid dirigible. The contract for this was signed in March of 1914; work was suspended in the following February and begun again in July, 1915, but it was not until January of 1917 that the ship was finished, while her trials were not completed until March of 1917, when she was taken over by the Admiralty. The details of the construction and trial of this vessel, known as ‘No. 9,’ go to show that she did not quite fill the contract requirements in respect of disposable lift until a number of alterations had been made. The contract specified51 that a speed of at least366 45 miles per hour was to be attained52 at full engine power, while a minimum disposable lift of 5 tons was to be available for movable weights, and the airship was to be capable of rising to a height of 2,000 feet. Driven by four Wolseley Maybach engines of 180 horse-power each, the lift of the vessel was not sufficient, so it was decided to remove the two engines in the after car and replace them by a single engine of 250 horse-power. With this the vessel reached the contract speed of 45 miles per hour with a cruising radius53 of 18 hours, equivalent to 800 miles when the engines were running at full speed. The vessel served admirably as a training airship, for, by the time she was completed, the No. 23 class of rigid airship had come to being, and thus No. 9 was already out of date.
Three of the 23 class were completed by the end of 1917; it was stipulated54 that they should be built with a speed of at least 55 miles per hour, a minimum disposable lift of 8 tons, and a capability55 of rising at an average rate of not less than 1,000 feet per minute to a height of 3,000 feet. The motive power consisted of four 250 horse-power Rolls-Royce engines, one in each of the forward and after cars and two in a centre car. Four-bladed propellers were used throughout the ship.
Coastal airship, showing gun on top of envelope.
A 23X type followed on the 23 class, but by the time two ships had been completed, this was practically obsolete56. The No. 31 class followed the 23X; it was built on Schutte-Lanz lines, 615 feet in length, 66 feet diameter, and a million and a half cubic feet capacity. The hull57 was similar to the later types of Zeppelin in shape, with a tapering58 stern and a bluff59, rounded bow. Five cars each carrying a 250 horse-power Rolls-Royce367 engine, driving a single fixed60 propeller, were fitted, and on her trials R.31 performed well, especially in the matter of speed. But the experiment of constructing in wood in the Schutte-Lanz way adopted with this vessel resulted in failure eventually, and the type was abandoned.
Meanwhile, Germany had been pushing forward Zeppelin design and straining every nerve in the improvement of rigid dirigible construction, until L.33 was evolved; she was generally known as a super-Zeppelin, and on September 24th, 1916, six weeks after her launching, she was damaged by gun-fire in a raid over London, being eventually compelled to come to earth at Little Wigborough in Essex. The crew gave themselves up after having set fire to the ship, and though the fabric was totally destroyed, the structure of the hull remained intact, so that just as Germany was able to evolve the Gotha bomber61 from the Handley-Page delivered at Lille, British naval constructors were able to evolve the R.33 type of airship from the Zeppelin framework delivered at Little Wigborough. Two vessels, R.33 and R.34, were laid down for completion; three others were also put down for construction, but, while R.33 and R.34 were built almost entirely62 from the data gathered from the wrecked L.33, the three later vessels embody63 more modern design, including a number of improvements, and more especially greater disposable lift. It has been commented that while the British authorities were building R.33 and R.34, Germany constructed 30 Zeppelins on 4 slips, for which reason it may be reckoned a matter for congratulation that the rigid airship did not decide the fate of the War. The following particulars of construction368 of the R.33 and R.34 types are as given by Major Whale in his survey of British Airships:—
‘In all its main features the hull structure of R.33 and R.34 follows the design of the wrecked German Zeppelin airship L.33. The hull follows more nearly a true stream-line shape than in the previous ships constructed of duralumin, in which a greater proportion of the greater length was parallel-sided. The Germans adopted this new shape from the Schutte-Lanz design and have not departed from this practice. This consists of a short, parallel body with a long, rounded bow and a long tapering stem culminating in a point. The overall length of the ship is 643 feet with a diameter of 79 feet and an extreme height of 92 feet.
The type of girders in this class has been much altered from those in previous ships. The hull is fitted with an internal triangular64 keel throughout practically the entire length. This forms the main corridor of the ship, and is fitted with a footway down the centre for its entire length. It contains water ballast and petrol tanks, bomb storage and crew accommodation, and the various control wires, petrol pipes, and electric leads are carried along the lower part.
Throughout this internal corridor runs a bridge girder, from which the petrol and water ballast tanks are supported. These tanks are so arranged that they can be dropped clear of the ship. Amidships is the cabin space with sufficient room for a crew of twenty-five. Hammocks can be swung from the bridge girder before mentioned.
In accordance with the latest Zeppelin practice, monoplane rudders and elevators are fitted to the horizontal and vertical fins.
369 The ship is supported in the air by nineteen gas bags, which give a total capacity of approximately two million cubic feet of gas. The gross lift works out at approximately 59? tons, of which the total fixed weight is 33 tons, giving a disposable lift of 26? tons.
The arrangement of cars is as follows: At the forward end the control car is slung65, which contains all navigating instruments and the various controls. Adjoining this is the wireless cabin, which is also fitted for wireless telephony. Immediately aft of this is the forward power car containing one engine, which gives the appearance that the whole is one large car.
Amidships are two wing cars, each containing a single engine. These are small and just accommodate the engines with sufficient room for mechanics to attend to them. Further aft is another larger car which contains an auxiliary control position and two engines.
It will thus be seen that five engines are installed in the ship; these are all of the same type and horse-power, namely, 250 horse-power Sunbeam. R.33 was constructed by Messrs Armstrong, Whitworth, Ltd.; while her sister ship R.34 was built by Messrs Beardmore on the Clyde.’
Of the two vessels, R.34 appeared rather more airworthy than her sister ship; the lift of the ship justified67 the carrying of a greater quantity of fuel than had been provided for, and, as she was considered suitable for making a Transatlantic crossing, extra petrol tanks were fitted in the hull and a new type of outer cover was fitted with a view to her making the Atlantic crossing. She made a 21 hour cruise over the North of England and the South of Scotland at the370 end of May, 1919, and subsequently went for a longer cruise over Denmark, the Baltic, and the north coast of Germany, remaining in the air for 56 hours in spite of very bad weather conditions. Finally, July 2nd was selected as the starting date for the cross Atlantic flight; the vessel was commanded by Major G. H. Scott, A.F.C., with Captain G. S. Greenland as first officer, Second-Lieut. H. F. Luck as second officer, and Lieut. J. D. Shotter as engineer officer. There were also on board Brig.-Gen. E. P. Maitland, representing the Air Ministry68, Major J. E. M. Pritchard, representing the Admiralty, and Lieut.-Col. W. H. Hemsley of the Army Aviation Department. In addition to eight tons of petrol, R.34 carried a total number of 30 persons from East Fortune to Long Island, N.Y. There being no shed in America capable of accommodating the airship, she had to be moored69 in the open for refilling with fuel and gas, and to make the return journey almost immediately.
The R 34 landing at Pulham St Mary on arrival from America.
Brig.-Gen. Maitland’s account of the flight, in itself a record as interesting as valuable, divides the outward journey into two main stages, the first from East Fortune to Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, a distance of 2,050 sea miles, and the second and more difficult stage to Mineola Field, Long Island, 1,080 sea miles. An easy journey was experienced until Newfoundland was reached, but then storms and electrical disturbances70 rendered it necessary to alter the course, in consequence of which petrol began to run short. Head winds rendered the shortage still more acute, and on Saturday, July 5th, a wireless signal was sent out asking for destroyers to stand by to tow. However, after an anxious night, R.34 landed safely at Mineola Field at371 9.55 a.m. on July 6th, having accomplished the journey in 108 hours 12 minutes.
She remained at Mineola until midnight of July 9th, when, although it had been intended that a start should be made by daylight for the benefit of New York spectators, an approaching storm caused preparations to be advanced for immediate66 departure. She set out at 5.57 a.m. by British summer time, and flew over New York in the full glare of hundreds of searchlights before heading out over the Atlantic. A following wind assisted the return voyage, and on July 13th, at 7.57 a.m., R.34 anchored at Pulham, Norfolk, having made the return journey in 75 hours 3 minutes, and proved the suitability of the dirigible for Transatlantic commercial work. R.80, launched on July 19th, 1920, afforded further proof, if this were needed.
It is to be noted71 that nearly all the disasters to airships have been caused by launching and landing—the type is safe enough in the air, under its own power, but its bulk renders it unwieldy for ground handling. The German system of handling Zeppelins in and out of their sheds is, so far, the best devised: this consists of heavy trucks running on rails through the sheds and out at either end; on descending72, the trucks are run out, and the airship is securely attached to them outside the shed; the trucks are then run back into the shed, taking the airship with them, and preventing any possibility of the wind driving the envelope against the side of the shed before it is safely housed; the reverse process is adopted in launching, which is thus rendered as simple as it is safe.
点击收听单词发音
1 willows | |
n.柳树( willow的名词复数 );柳木 | |
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2 rigid | |
adj.严格的,死板的;刚硬的,僵硬的 | |
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3 propeller | |
n.螺旋桨,推进器 | |
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4 auxiliary | |
adj.辅助的,备用的 | |
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5 propellers | |
n.螺旋桨,推进器( propeller的名词复数 ) | |
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6 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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7 steered | |
v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 );操纵;控制;引导 | |
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8 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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9 considerably | |
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上 | |
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10 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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11 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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12 ascertain | |
vt.发现,确定,查明,弄清 | |
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13 jointly | |
ad.联合地,共同地 | |
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14 wreckage | |
n.(失事飞机等的)残骸,破坏,毁坏 | |
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15 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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16 fabric | |
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织 | |
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17 mooring | |
n.停泊处;系泊用具,系船具;下锚v.停泊,系泊(船只)(moor的现在分词) | |
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18 wrecking | |
破坏 | |
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19 stagnation | |
n. 停滞 | |
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20 inflated | |
adj.(价格)飞涨的;(通货)膨胀的;言过其实的;充了气的v.使充气(于轮胎、气球等)( inflate的过去式和过去分词 );(使)膨胀;(使)通货膨胀;物价上涨 | |
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21 fins | |
[医]散热片;鱼鳍;飞边;鸭掌 | |
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22 vessels | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
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23 subscription | |
n.预订,预订费,亲笔签名,调配法,下标(处方) | |
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24 auspices | |
n.资助,赞助 | |
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25 fouled | |
v.使污秽( foul的过去式和过去分词 );弄脏;击球出界;(通常用废物)弄脏 | |
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26 wrecked | |
adj.失事的,遇难的 | |
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27 clement | |
adj.仁慈的;温和的 | |
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28 scrap | |
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废 | |
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29 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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30 naval | |
adj.海军的,军舰的,船的 | |
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31 scouts | |
侦察员[机,舰]( scout的名词复数 ); 童子军; 搜索; 童子军成员 | |
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32 entrusted | |
v.委托,托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33 incapable | |
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
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34 alterations | |
n.改动( alteration的名词复数 );更改;变化;改变 | |
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35 tug | |
v.用力拖(或拉);苦干;n.拖;苦干;拖船 | |
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36 cylindrical | |
adj.圆筒形的 | |
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37 compartments | |
n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 );(列车车厢的)隔间;(家具或设备等的)分隔间;隔层 | |
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38 motive | |
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的 | |
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39 coastal | |
adj.海岸的,沿海的,沿岸的 | |
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40 steering | |
n.操舵装置 | |
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41 wireless | |
adj.无线的;n.无线电 | |
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42 invaluable | |
adj.无价的,非常宝贵的,极为贵重的 | |
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43 lobes | |
n.耳垂( lobe的名词复数 );(器官的)叶;肺叶;脑叶 | |
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44 aluminium | |
n.铝 (=aluminum) | |
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45 alloy | |
n.合金,(金属的)成色 | |
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46 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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47 navigating | |
v.给(船舶、飞机等)引航,导航( navigate的现在分词 );(从海上、空中等)横越;横渡;飞跃 | |
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48 fiat | |
n.命令,法令,批准;vt.批准,颁布 | |
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49 vertical | |
adj.垂直的,顶点的,纵向的;n.垂直物,垂直的位置 | |
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50 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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51 specified | |
adj.特定的 | |
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52 attained | |
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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53 radius | |
n.半径,半径范围;有效航程,范围,界限 | |
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54 stipulated | |
vt.& vi.规定;约定adj.[法]合同规定的 | |
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55 capability | |
n.能力;才能;(pl)可发展的能力或特性等 | |
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56 obsolete | |
adj.已废弃的,过时的 | |
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57 hull | |
n.船身;(果、实等的)外壳;vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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58 tapering | |
adj.尖端细的 | |
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59 bluff | |
v.虚张声势,用假象骗人;n.虚张声势,欺骗 | |
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60 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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61 bomber | |
n.轰炸机,投弹手,投掷炸弹者 | |
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62 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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63 embody | |
vt.具体表达,使具体化;包含,收录 | |
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64 triangular | |
adj.三角(形)的,三者间的 | |
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65 slung | |
抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 ); 吊挂; 遣送; 押往 | |
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66 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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67 justified | |
a.正当的,有理的 | |
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68 ministry | |
n.(政府的)部;牧师 | |
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69 moored | |
adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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70 disturbances | |
n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 );打扰;困扰;障碍 | |
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71 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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72 descending | |
n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句: |
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