1 Into the sky

The Story of Flying

飞行的故事

Chapter 1 Into the sky Not so long ago, people were stuck on the ground. They could only watch as birds soared above them. But some men were determined to fly.

不久以前，人们还被困在地面上。 他们只能看着鸟儿在他们头顶翱翔。 但有些人决心要飞。

In 1487, an Italian inventor named Leonardo da Vinci drew plans for a flying machine. He was sure it would fly. Ha, ha, Leo! It's your silliest idea yet! But he couldn't build one that worked, so no one believed him.

1487年，一位名叫列奥纳多·达·芬奇的意大利发明家绘制了一架飞行器的设计图。 他确信它会飞起来。哈哈，里奥！这是你最愚蠢的主意！但他造不出一个有用的，所以没人相信他。

Twenty years later, a man called John Damian decided to copy the birds. "I shall fly from Scotland to France!" he declared. Wearing a pair of wings made from real feathers, he climbed to the top of a tower.

二十年后，一个叫约翰·达米安的人决定复制这些鸟。 “我要从苏格兰飞到法国去！” 他戴着一对用真羽毛做成的翅膀，爬上了一座塔顶。

But John Damian didn't reach France. He didn't even reach the next village. Instead, he dived headfirst into a dung heap. A French inventor, Clement Ader, decided to copy bats. He built an enormous pair of bat wings and stuck them to a steam engine. But that didn't work either.

但是约翰·达米安没有到达法国。 他甚至没有到达下一个村庄。 相反，他一头扎进了粪堆。 法国发明家克莱门特·阿德决定复制蝙蝠。 他造了一对巨大的蝙蝠翅膀，并把它们粘在蒸汽机上。 但这也不管用。

Some people attached wings to their bikes. Did you ever see a bird with wheels? But they could never pedal fast enough to lift off.

有些人给他们的自行车装上了翅膀。 你见过有轮子的鸟吗？ 但他们永远无法以足够快的速度蹬车升空。