2019年翻译资格考试中级笔译练习题：空中的交通暴怒

　　空中的交通暴怒

　　航空公司与长期遭罪的客户们都在提及急剧攀升的空中冲突事件。有些事件的发生显然是由许多常客所熟悉的问题造成的。美国报道的一个案例就是源于无休止的延迟起飞：乘客被关在飞机里，在停机坪上等了四个小时，期间没有食物、饮料和信息。

　　大规模骚乱比起个人行为不当要少见些。一个已经宣判的案例里乘客在飞机上突发癫狂。他攻击机组人员，并试图在飞行途中打开舱门。

　　空中暴怒的心理是一个新的研究领域，对此的解释与案例几乎同样多。大多数分析家都将此现象归咎于酒精，但现在许多人认为航空公司对此负有责任。

　　为了削减成本，他们把更多的乘客塞进机舱，同时又减少机组人员、缩减培训时间和降低服务质量，所有这些都令乘客更加沮丧。此外，在美国人们越来越关注另一个削减成本的做法：客舱通风问题。这很可能会严重损害乘客的健康。

　　现代飞机都配备了完备的空调装置——但要使其以最佳状态运行就会耗尽宝贵的航空燃油。许多航空公司通常指示飞行人员以最低设置来运行系统。要求改善空气质量的人士声称这就会导致烦躁不安，并令人不知所措。

　　在美国，涉及广泛问题的乘客投诉数量飙升反映在了许多新的互联网网站上。这些网站批评航空公司，要求提供更好的服务。其中一个网站还要求给予一个空乘版的“人权法案”。

　　面对破坏和空中危险行为，战斗在一线的客舱和飞行机组人员要求给予肇事者更严厉的惩罚。也有声音呼吁管理立法，不过同时否认其削减成本的做法也是问题发生的一个诱因。

　　但也有迹象表明，至少在美国，航空公司终于试图回应顾客的不满。一些主要航线已宣布向最常见的投诉做出让步：拆除一些座位，给乘客留出更多的空间。

　　参考译文

　　Road rages in the sky

　　Airlines and their long-suffering customers arc reporting a steep climb in air rage incidents. Some incidents are apparently caused by problems which are familiar to many regular travelers. One case reported from America stemmed from an interminable delay in takeoff, when passengers were cooped up in their aircraft on the tarmac for four hours, without food, drink or information.

　　Mass unrest is less common than individual misbehaviour, as in the case of the convict who recently went crazy on a flight, attacked the crew and tried to open a door in mid-flight.

　　The psychology of air rage is a new area of study, and there are almost as many explanations as examples. Most analysts of the phenomenon blame alcohol, but many people now think that the airlines are at fault.

　　To cut costs, they are cramming ever more passengers into their aircraft, while reducing cabin crew, training and quality of service, all of which increase passenger frustration. In addition, there is increasing concern in the US about another cost-cutting exercise, which could seriously harm passengers' health: cabin ventilation.

　　Modern aircraft are equipped with sophisticated air conditioning devices - but running them at optimum capacity burns up valuable aviation fuel. Many airlines routinely instruct their flight crews to run the systems on minimum settings. Campaigners for improved air quality claim that this can lead to irritability and disorientation.

　　In the US, the soaring number of passenger complaints across a wide range of issues is reflected in a number of new Internet sites which criticise the airlines and demand better service. One of the sites is demanding an air passengers* Bill of Rights.

　　Cabin and flight crews, who are in the front line of the battle against disruptive and dangerous inflighti behaviour, have called for stiffer penalties against the offenders. Management have also called for legislation - while denying that its cost-cutting practices have contributed to the problem.

　　But there are some signs, in the US at least, that the airlines are at last attempting to respond to customer dissatisfaction. Some major lines have announced concessions to the most frequent complaint of all, and are removing seats to make more room for their customers.