Flying High

Flying high.

飞得高高的。

Hot Air Balloons For thousands of years people dreamt of flying. Hot air balloons were the first flying machines. In 1783, two French brothers built a large balloon from cloth and paper. It rose into the sky when a small fire heated the air inside it. The first balloon flight carried a sheep, a duck and a cockerel. Later, that same year, two Frenchmen took a balloon ride over the city of Paris.

热气球 几千年来，人类一直梦想着能飞上天空。 热气球是最早出现的飞行器。 1783年，两位法国兄弟用布料和纸造了一个大大的气球。 小火加热气球里的空气后，它就升到了天上。 第一次气球飞行载了一只绵羊、一只鸭子和一只公鸡。 同年晚些时候，两名法国人乘坐热气球飞越了巴黎城。

Hot air balloons are still flown today. In 1999, this hot air balloon flew around the world without stopping. The warm air, which is heated inside the balloon, rises above the cold air outside it.

直到今天人们还在使用热气球。 1999年，这只热气球完成了不间断环球飞行。 气球内部被加热的暖空气比外部的冷空气轻，所以会上升。

First powered flight. Balloons fly because they are lighter than air. In the 19th century people also learned to build gliders. Light planes that could float on warm air currents. But no one had yet built a plane that was heavier than a glider and could still fly. Then in 1903 two American inventors called the Wright Brothers fitted a petrol engine to a glider. The engine drove two propellers that pushed the plane forward. The plane lifted off from a windy beach and stayed in the air for 12 seconds.

第一次动力飞行。气球能飞是因为它们比空气轻。 19世纪的时候，人们还学会了制造滑翔机。 滑翔机是能借助暖气流漂浮的轻型飞机。 但当时还没人造出比滑翔机更重、还能飞起来的飞机。 1903年，名叫莱特兄弟的两位美国发明家给滑翔机装上了汽油发动机。 发动机带动两个螺旋桨，推动飞机前进。 这架飞机从有风的海滩起飞，在空中停留了12秒。

The First Flight by the Wright Brothers Play

莱特兄弟的第一次飞行 戏剧表演

Across Seas and Oceans The Wright brothers were soon making longer flights over land, but no one had dared to fly across a sea or ocean. Then, in 1909, a brave Frenchman flew across the English Channel in his own aircraft, a distance of 32 kilometres. He took off from France and landed in England. His plane flew very low over the water, but luckily the sea was calm that day. Frenchman Louis Berleau was the first to fly across the English Channel.

跨越海洋 很快，莱特兄弟就能在陆地上空完成更长时间的飞行了， 但还没人敢尝试飞越海洋。 1909年，一名勇敢的法国人驾驶自己的飞机飞越了英吉利海峡， 全程32公里。 他从法国起飞，最后降落在英国。 他的飞机在水面上方飞得很低，但幸运的是那天海面风平浪静。 法国人路易·伯勒是第一个飞越英吉利海峡的人。