新视野大学英语读写教程听力 第三册 te-unit10-b

[05:31.71]12  Flying the F-16 straight and level was easy enough.
[05:37.04]Flying in combat and managing the complex weapons system
[05:42.73]requires considerably more concentration.
[05:46.22]The pilot must command a collection of lights,
[05:50.79]dials,knobs, digital displays, and other electronic devices.
[05:57.49]"You must have to be an engineer or computer scientist to fly this airplane,"
[05:57.56]I commented over the microphone.
[06:00.12]13  "It helps," said Major Hamilton. But he added,
[06:07.42]"You don't have to know how everything is put together,
[06:11.02]just how the system operates.
[06:13.58]Even a monkey could fly this airplane."
[06:19.56]14  Suddenly we heard commander say "enemy" aircraft had been sighted.
[06:27.08]Action began with a rapid dive from 35,000 feet.
[06:32.95]I prepared for the G's I knew we'd pull.
[06:37.74]When the G-meter reached 6.2,
[06:42.74]I could no longer lift my feet off the floor.
[06:46.02]No wonder — they weighed nearly 100 pounds. My vision went dim,
[06:54.19]as blood rushed from my head to my feet.
[06:57.54]My G-suit, now fully with air,
[07:02.43]compressed my legs to force the blood back into the upper part of my body.
[07:08.52]The jet twisted, turned, rolled, climbed and dived,
[07:14.35]constantly whipping me from one side to the other.
[07:17.73]I was having trouble following it all:
[07:21.62]I was, in fact, just hanging on.
[07:25.58]15  During our mission, no planes were actually shot down.
[07:31.77]But cameras connected to video recorders had captured the action on tape.
[07:39.08]Hits and misses, determined by computers,
[07:43.18]would be watched and evaluated in post-flight meetings.
[07:48.04]16  Although the major joked about how simple it was to fly the F-16,
[07:55.14]the truth is that a pilot must be an expert to control the craft.
[08:00.54]And to withstand the force of high-G movements,
[08:05.29]he must also be in top physical condition.
[08:09.03]As Major Hamilton landed our plane gracefully,
[08:14.22]I was thankful that he, not a monkey, had been my pilot.
[08:19.44]This man had indeed given me the ride of my life.