3 A lot of hot air

Chapter 3 A lot of hot air Triplanes were only the start. Over the next forty years, all kinds of planes were built. Several were so ridiculous they didn't last long. But planes weren't the only way to fly.

三架飞机仅仅是个开始。 在接下来的四十年里，各种各样的飞机被制造出来。 有几个笑话太可笑了，没能持续多久。 但飞机并不是唯一的飞行方式。

Like the first plane, the first hot-air balloon was invented by brothers. The Montgolfiers, who were French, noticed that hot air rises. They had the idea of trapping it in a big bag, which would then float up. They filled their first balloon by holding it over a fire. Their second balloon even had passengers: a duck, a rooster and one very scared sheep.

和第一架飞机一样，第一个热气球也是由兄弟俩发明的。 法国人孟戈尔菲夫妇注意到热空气上升了。 他们想出了一个主意，把它困在一个大袋子里，然后这个袋子就会浮起来。 他们把第一个气球放在火上装满了气球。 他们的第二个气球甚至还有乘客：一只鸭子，一只公鸡和一只非常害怕的羊。

Soon, the Montgolfiers had built a balloon large enough to carry people. They put a fire in the base to keep the air in the balloon hot.

不久，蒙戈尔菲夫妇造了一个大得足以载人的气球。 他们在气球底部放了一堆火，使气球里的空气保持热。

Then, in 1804, a balloon-maker took the sea to the skies, building a balloon shaped like a giant fish. The captain kept it level by sliding a weight along a rope. I've heard of flying fish but that's ridiculous.

然后，在1804年，一个气球制造者把海洋带到天空，造了一个形状像一条大鱼的气球。 船长在绳子上滑动重物使它保持水平。 我听说过飞鱼，但那太荒谬了。

The first balloon to cross the Channel had wings. But they didn't really work and it was a much colder trip than Louis Blériot's. I'm f-f- f-freezing. The pilots worried they'd crash. "We have to make the balloon lighter!" shouted one in a panic, and he took off all his clothes and threw them into the sea.

第一个穿越英吉利海峡的气球有翅膀。 但它们并没有真正起作用，而且这趟旅行比路易斯·布尔海姆的要冷得多。 我快冻死了。飞行员担心飞机会坠毁。 “我们得把气球弄得更轻！”一个人惊慌地喊道，他脱下所有的衣服，扔进了海里。

In 1852, the Frenchman Henri Giffard tried something new. He built a balloon with a propeller, which was worked by a steam engine. It was so large, people called it an airship.

1852年，法国人亨利·吉法德尝试了一些新的东西。 他造了一个带有螺旋桨的气球，由蒸汽机驱动。 它太大了，人们叫它飞艇。