英語新聞一點通：隱形戰機引發新一波全球軍備競賽 @ 【精英翻譯】的部落格

Stealth Fighter Signals New Arms Race

China’s new prototype stealth fighter plane, the J-20, has had its first test flight. Stealth planes have an unusual body shape and are made of modern lightweight materials instead of metal. This means they are harder to see and produce less noise than normal aircraft. It also means they are invisible to radar and are very hard to follow.

Currently, the US is the only nation with an operational stealth plane. But both Russia and China are working on new stealth fighters. The Chinese government have said their plane will not be ready until 2017 at the earliest. However, many in the US see this as another sign of China’s growing military power.

China’s military budget quadrupled between 1999 and 2009 as the country’s economy grew. In 2010 it was $78 billion. But the US still has the largest military budget in the world, at just over $700 billion.

隱形戰機引發新一波全球軍備競賽

中國隱形戰機「殲廿」(J-20)的原型機日前首次試飛，隱形戰機具有特殊的機身，並以新一代的輕質材料取代金屬製成，這代表它們很難被發現，也較普通的飛機不易產生噪音。此外，這也意味著在雷達上看不見它們，並且難以追蹤。

目前美國是唯一擁有隱形戰機的國家；然而，俄羅斯和中國都正在研發更為先進的隱形戰機。中國政府表示他們所研發的戰機需至2017年才會完成，許多美國人認為這顯示了中國正在逐漸擴張軍力。

隨著中國的經濟成長，其軍事預算自1999年至2009年間增加了四倍，2010年的預算更高達780億美元。然而，美國仍是全球擁有最多軍事預算的國家，共計超過 7千億美元。

字彙

prototype 原型；試製品
aircraft 飛機
invisible 隱形的
radar 雷達
operational 可實際操作的
military 軍事的
budget 預算
quadrupled 成為四倍

解讀

An arms race is a situation where two countries compete to make larger numbers of weapons, bigger armies, or better military technology. It often refers to the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II.

「軍備競賽」是指兩國競相增設武器配備、訓練強大的軍隊、或開發更為先進的軍事技術；通常意指美國和蘇聯在二次世界大戰後的軍備競賽。

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