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CCTV9英语新闻：Icebreaker Xuelong heads to open water

时间：2014-01-09 09:00:32

（单词翻译:单击）

The trapped Chinese icebreaker Xuelong broke through the Antarctic's heavy ice floes on Tuesday and was headed for open water. The vessel1, which had been conducting China's 30th Antarctic expedition before going to the aid of the stramded Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy, will now continue with its scheduled activities.

Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong sails in the open waters in Antarctica, Jan. 7, 2014. Trapped China icebreaker Xuelong made successful escape through heavy sea ice at 18:30 Beijing time on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong sails in the open waters in Antarctica, Jan. 7,

2014.  (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

Finally breaking free.

"After 13 days of struggles, Xuelong freed itself at 5:50pm Beijing time on Tuesday and was making its way through lighter2 ice. All crew members onboard are faring well and equipment are in order." Liu Shunlin, leader of Xuelong Expedition Team, said.

It was not an easy task, as the ship was stuck in ice up to four meters thick. It’s only designed to break ice 1.1 meters thick. From early Tuesday morning, the crew had been closely monitoring the movements of surrounding floes and icebergs3, standing4 at the ready. It had been preparing by revving5 up its engine and carving6 out a passage by sailing back and forth7 over a kilometer.

The chance arose when a warm air current from the north-west loosened the floes packed around the vessel, clearing an 80-meter stretch of water. It took three hours for the 167-meter long vessel to move just 200 meters. And after more than 13 hours, the crew and ship were free.

Xuelong won international recognition for its rescue of the trapped Russian research ship.

And now, it’s getting back to its own Antarctic expedition.

"Our next stop is the Ross Sea. We have identified a site to build a permanent research station there, so we will conduct geological survey and mapping in the area and lay some ground work for future design and planning of the station." Qu Tanzhou, director of Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Admin., said.

Experts say the Antarctic ice will remain fluid until February, when the summer season ends, giving Xuelong time to continue on to the next stages of its journey.


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1 vessel 4L1zi     
n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管
参考例句：
  • The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
  • You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。
2 lighter 5pPzPR     
n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级
参考例句：
  • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
  • The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
3 icebergs 71cdbb120fe8de8e449c16eaeca8d8a8     
n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • The drift of the icebergs in the sea endangers the ships. 海上冰山的漂流危及船只的安全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The icebergs towered above them. 冰山高耸于他们上方。 来自辞典例句
4 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
5 revving bfb383654012624060e6af7a2c5dfba0     
v.（使）加速( rev的现在分词 )；（数量、活动等）激增；（使发动机）快速旋转；（使）活跃起来
参考例句：
  • The team are revving up for next week's game. 这个队伍对下周的比赛跃跃欲试。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Since the introduction of new techniques, the production has been revving up. 自从新技术的引进，产量一直都在增加。 来自互联网
6 carving 5wezxw     
n.雕刻品，雕花
参考例句：
  • All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
  • He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。
7 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。