2014英语四级听力练习:慢速英语8.25

　　From Learning English, this is the Technology Report.

　　European airplane maker Airbus plans to have new passenger airplanes by the end of the year. The new models will use some of the most modern technologies, including metal parts made in a 3-D printer.

　　The high price of airline travel is largely the result of fuel cost. So airplane manufacturers want to build lighter planes with more fuel efficient engines. They also want their planes to to have more seats.

　　Modern airplanes like the large Boeing 787 Dreamliner are made from a mixture of plastic and carbon materials. The current Airbus A350 plane uses plastic parts created in a 3-D printer. But the model XWB plane will be the first with parts printed in the hard metal titanium. Peter Sander of Airbus says company technicians learned to print very complex shapes.

　　Normally this is a part of the fuel system, its two pipes in one, and its normally welded out of 10 parts. So in this case, with 3-D printing we have the chance to integrate the bracket of the pipe and two pipes at once and print it in one shot, Sander said.

　　3-D printing also helps when parts are no longer available. Mr. Sander tells of a time Airbus engineers needed an extra part for airplane seats that was no longer made, he says it was easy to print perfect copies.

　　So we did a redesign in a week and printing in a week. So the redesign itself cost two hours, we took the manual drawing, redesigned it and put it on the desk one week later to the spare part guys, Sander said.

　　The technology is developing quickly. Axel Krein is vice president of research and technology at Airbus. He says that the number of printed airplane parts will continue to increase overtime.

　　We are investing a lot of money in aerodynamic improvement, in material, in noise reduction, etc., but 3-D printing is probably the area with the highest gain over time, Krein said.

　　U.S. company General Electric says it is investing $50 million in a new 3-D printing factory. The factory will print fuel parts for airplane engines.

　　And thats the Learning English Technology Report. For more technology stories, go to our website . Give us a like on Facebook, follow us on twitter at Learning English. You can also watch videos on the Learning English YouTube channel. Im Jonathan Evans.

　　词汇讲解：

　　1. manufacturer n.制造商，制造厂

　　例句：The manufacturers name is on the bottom of the plate.

　　制造厂商的名称在盘子背面.

　　2. complex adj.复杂的; 合成的

　　例句：Thats because big organizations are complex.

　　这是因为大公司比较复杂。

　　3. integrate vt.使一体化; 使整合

　　例句：Intellectuals must integrate themselves with the workers and peasants

　　知识分子必须与工农相结合。

　　4. increase vt. 增加

　　例句：Experts believe self-driving cars will increase productivity.

　　专家认为，自驾汽车会提高生产力。

　　5. invest vt. 投资; 花费

　　例句：We dont invest in gold.

　　我们不投资黄金。

　　6. fuel n.燃料

　　例句：The fuel efficiency is remarkable.

　　燃料的效率非常出众。

　　短语讲解：

　　1. European airplane maker Airbus plans to have new passenger airplanes by the end of the year.

　　by the end of 到为止

　　例句：Figure out your travel plans by the end of .

　　底的时候就制定出明的旅行方案。

　　2. 3-D printing also helps when parts are no longer available.

　　no longer 不再，已不

　　例句：Quality is no longer an issue.

　　质量不再是个问题。

　　3. We are investing a lot of money in aerodynamic improvement, in material, in noise reduction, etc., but 3-D printing is probably the area with the highest gain over time, Krein said.

　　a lot of 许多的; 诸多

　　例句：A lot of whats changing now is subtle.

　　许多变化都非常微妙。