◇◇新语丝(www.xys.org)(xys.dxiong.com)(xys.3322.org)(xys.xlogit.com)◇◇ 答朱振武教授   方舟子先生:   刚读到 <朱振武就王汝涌先生(或女士)所提问题致信新语丝> 及您的按语. 由于按语已经说得很清楚, 我本不需要再说什么, 但因为朱振武教授批评我“实 在没有看清原文,把飞机加满油能飞多少公里,翻译成飞机加满油有多少公斤, 似乎没有考虑到当时的语境以及英美国家人的习惯”, 我只能再借贵网站说明一 下。   首先, kilos 在这里究竟是 kilograms 还是 kilometers, 是要根据上下文 决定. 现把上下文列出:   The craft before them was enormous. It was vaguely reminiscent of the space shuttle except that the top had been shaved off, leaving it perfectly flat. Parked there on the runway, it resembled a colossal wedge. Langdon’s first impression was that he must be dreaming. The vehicle looked as airworthy as a Buick. The wings were practically nonexistent—just two stubby fins on the rear of the fuselage. A pair of dorsal guiders rose out of the aft section. The rest of the plane was hull—about 200 feet from front to back—no windows, nothing but hull.   “Two hundred fifty thousand kilos fully fueled,” the pilot offered, like a father bragging about his newborn.“Runs on slush hydrogen. The shell’s a titanium matrix with silicon carbide fibers. She packs a 20:1 thrust/weight ratio; most jets run at 7:1. The director must be in one helluva a hurry to see you. He doesn’t usually send the big boy.”   其次, 在这里列出典型的两个飞机的重量和航程的数据(取自The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft):   Boeing 707 最大重量 151318 kg(333,600 lb); 航程 9262 km (5,755 miles)   Boeing 747 最大重量 365142 kg(805,000 lb); 航程 9624 km (5,980 miles)   再次, 也是最说明问题的是25万公里是什么样的距离? 是绕地球六周还多! 没有哪一个飞机设计师会设计这么大的油箱, 这是飞机, 不是宇宙飞船.   显然朱振武教授批评的问题并不成立.   此致   敬礼 王汝涌 (XYS20051226) ◇◇新语丝(www.xys.org)(xys.dxiong.com)(xys.3322.org)(xys.xlogit.com)◇◇