新概念英语第二册

LESSON 66

Sweet as Honey

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原文

In 1963, a Lancaster bomber crashed on Wallace Island, a remote place in the South Pacific, a long way west of Samoa. The plane wasn't too badly damaged, but over the years, the crash was forgotten and the wreck remained undisturbed. Then in 1989, 26 years after the crash, the plane was accidentally rediscovered in an aerial survey of the island. By this time, a Lancaster bomber in reasonable condition was rare and worth rescuing.

The French authorities had the plane packaged and moved in parts back to France. Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. It has four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, but the group will need to have only three of them rebuilt. Imagine their surprise and delight when they broke open the packing cases and found that the fourth engine was Sweet as Honey.

Still in perfect condition. A colony of bees had turned the engine into a hive, and it was totally preserved in beeswax.

译文

1963年,一架兰开斯特轰炸机在华莱士岛坠毁,华莱士岛是南太平洋的一个偏远地区,距离萨摩亚以西很远。这架飞机并没有受到太严重的损坏,但多年来,坠机事件被人们遗忘了,残骸也没有受到干扰。然后在 1989 年,即坠机事件 26 年后,这架飞机在对该岛进行空中勘测时意外被重新发现。此时,状况良好的兰开斯特轰炸机已经很少见,值得抢救。

法国当局将这架飞机打包并分批运回法国。现在,一群爱好者正准备修复这架飞机。它有四台劳斯莱斯 Merlin 发动机,但该集团只需要重建其中的三台。想象一下,当他们打开包装箱并发现第四台发动机甜如蜜时,他们的惊讶和喜悦。

仍处于完美状态。一群蜜蜂将发动机变成了蜂巢,并将其完全保存在蜂蜡中。