5 First Flight

First Flight written by John Lockyer

约翰·洛克耶的《第一次飞行

Years ago, people watched birds fly and wished that they could fly, too. Some people tried to fly using kites, gliders, and balloons. These flying machines had no power. They needed the wind to stay up in the air.

多年前，人们看着鸟飞，希望自己也能飞。 有些人尝试用风筝、滑翔机和气球来飞行。 这些飞行器没有动力。 它们需要风来保持在空中。

Orville and Wilbur Wright lived in the United States. They were both interested in flying. They built large gliders with strong, light materials. They tied strings to the gliders' wings and flew them like kites. Then they pulled the strings to keep the wings straight. The gliders helped them learn how air moves.

奥维尔和威尔伯·赖特住在美国。 他们都对飞行感兴趣。 他们用坚固轻便的材料建造了大型滑翔机。 他们把绳子系在滑翔机的翅膀上，像放风筝一样放飞它们。 然后他们拉绳子使翅膀保持笔直。 滑翔机帮助他们了解空气是如何运动的。

One glider was big enough to carry a person. Wilbur flew in it for ten seconds. He found out how to keep the glider level in the air. glider The two brothers built many flying machines. One machine had an engine, control levers, two wings, and two propellers. They called it the Flyer.

一架滑翔机大到可以载一个人。 威伯在里面飞了十秒钟。 他发现了如何使滑翔机在空中保持水平。 这两兄弟制造了许多飞行器。 其中一台机器有一个引擎、控制杆、两个机翼和两个螺旋桨。 他们称之为“飞行者”。

The Flyer In 1903, the Wright brothers took the Flyer to the sand dunes near Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. The Flyer was put on long rails on top of the sand. Orville and Wilbur tossed a coin to see which one would be the first pilot. Orville won. He had to lie down on the bottom wing between the two propellers.

1903年，莱特兄弟驾驶飞机到北卡罗莱纳州基蒂霍克附近的沙丘上。 飞行者号被放在沙滩上的长轨道上。 奥维尔和威尔伯掷硬币，看谁是第一个飞行员。 奥维尔赢了。他不得不躺在两个螺旋桨之间的底部机翼上。

The Flyer rolled slowly down the rails. Orville used his hands and his hips to work the control levers. He didn't have a crash helmet or a safety belt! The wind was strong, so Wilbur ran beside the Flyer. He held onto the wing to stop it from dropping into the sand.

飞机沿着铁轨缓缓滚动。 奥维尔用他的手和臀部操纵操纵杆。 他没有头盔，也没有安全带!风很大，所以威尔伯跑到飞鸟旁边。 他抓住翅膀不让它掉到沙子里。