考研英语经济学人双语笔记精读TE-2024-1-8期|英语笔记（PDF版+Word版+Mp3）
Anduril hopes its "roadrunner" missile will shake up arms-makers
【1】PALMERLUCKEY is no stranger to hype. In 2014 he sold Oculus, a virtual-reality startup, to Face book for $2bn, kickstarting the current wave of interest in VR. In 2017 he co-founded Anduril, another startup, this time focused on weapons. On November 29th Mr Luckey said Anduril would release "a radical new category of weapon that is totally unlike anything that has come before it". On December 1st he unveiled roadrunner, a missile-cum-drone. It is not revolutionary. But it is interesting.
【2】roadrunner has two party tricks. Its payload can be changed depending on the mission. Sensors can be installed for surveillance, for instance. But the company"s emphasis is on roadrunner-M, which is explosive-tipped and designed to destroy drones. It is also reusable. Most air-de-fence systems, including America"s Patriot and Israel"s Iron Dome, fire several missiles at a target to boost the odds of a kill. Unused ones are lost. Roadrunners can talk to each other in flight. If one takes out the target, the rest can return home and land.
【3】Both features have precedents. "Loitering munitions" such as Israel"s mini-Harop or the Polish Warblefly can land, too. The Coyote, an air-defence weapon built by RTX, an American firm previously known as Raytheon, also has modular payloads. But putting everything together is new.
【4】 Anduril claims roadrunner is "far superior" to competing missiles, with higher take-off speed, a bigger payload and ten times the range. Brian Schimpf, the firm"s boss, says it can also cope with faster, more evasive drones likely to appear over the coming years, which might be comparable to high-end cruise missiles.
【5】Perhaps. Comparing air-defence systems is tricky, for they are designed for different things. Iron Dome deals with small rockets. Patriot handles large missiles and planes. Coyote is built for what the Pentagon calls Group One and Two drones, which weigh less than 25kg and fly below 3,500 feet (1,069 metres). roadrunner is designed for Group Three threats, which can weigh almost 600kg and fly up to 18,000 feet, like the Iranian Shahed-136 drones that Russia has used to attack Ukraine.
【6】A Coyote costs about $100,000 per unit. roadrunner is priced at "low six figures". That makes it "not much cheaper than many existing air-defence missiles that can engage a far wider range of higher-end threats", like cruise missiles, says Justin Bronk of the RUSI think-tank in London. He points to NASAMS, a Norwegian-American system which uses off-the-shelf missiles. The cheapest cost around $400,000 to $500,000 each.
【7】Nonetheless, America"s special forces have already bought a few Roadrunners. Anduril will hope large-scale production can bring costs down. But anti-drone technology is a crowded field. In 2019 an American destroyer downed an Iranian drone using electronic warfare. High-powered microwave weapons and lasers have been fitted on warships and tested at air bases.
【8】roadrunner"s theatrical launch reflects a divide in America"s arms industry. Critics see the country"s established firms as complacent and lazy, and welcome disruption from scrappy newcomers such as Anduril. Indeed, roadrunner"s name is a deliberate dig. In the Looney Tunes cartoon of the same name, the nimble roadrunner outwits Wile E. Coyote"s attempts to catch it with needlessly complicated gadgets. The big players, for their part, roll their eyes at upstarts with little experience of mass production. But there is nothing like a little competition to spur everybody on.
1、短语
1）原文： If one takes out the target, the rest can return home and land.
词典：take out 干掉；杀死或摧毁
例句：In my neighbourhood, the local crack dealers would have taken him out a long time ago.
我们这片的本地毒贩早就想废了他了。
2）原文：Brian Schimpf, the firm"s boss, says it can also cope with faster, more evasive drones likely to appear over the coming years, which might be comparable to high-end cruise missiles.
词典：cope with 应对
例句：Hospitals said they could not cope with the wounded.
各医院说他们不能处理伤员。
3）原文：He points to NASAMS, a Norwegian-American system which uses off-the-shelf missiles.
词典：off-the-shelf 现成的
例句：So, providing this capability with off-the-shelf components is a straightforward task.
所以，用现成的组件提供这种功能是很容易的。
4）原文：The big players, for their part, roll their eyes at upstarts with little experience of mass production.
词典：roll one’s eyes at 对…翻白眼
例句：Cat lovers and the pet averse will just roll their eyes at such dogophilia.
爱猫者和厌恶宠物者对这种亲狗症只能翻翻白眼而已。
2、长难句
1、
1）原文：
The Coyote, an air-defence weapon built by RTX, an American firm previously known as Raytheon, also has modular payloads.
2）分析：
红色部分是主句，是主谓宾结构。橙色部分是同位语结构，做Coyote的同位语；绿色部分是过去分词短语作后置定语，修饰weapon。
紫色部分是同位语结构，做RTX的同位语，蓝色部分是过去分词短语作后置定语，修饰firm。
3）译文：Coyote是由RTX（一家前身名为Raytheon的公司）制造的防空武器，也具有模块化有效载荷。
2、
1）原文：
Brian Schimpf, the firm"s boss, says it can also cope with faster, more evasive drones likely to appear over the coming years, which might be comparable to high-end cruise missiles.
2）分析：
红色部分是主句，是主谓宾结构，其中宾语是says的宾语从句，也就是紫色部分。绿色部分是同位语结构，做Brian Schimpf的同位语。
橙色部分是后置定语，修饰drones；蓝色部分是which引导的非限制性定语从句，修饰evasive drones。
3）译文：该公司的老板布莱恩·辛普夫（Brian Schimpf）表示，它还可以应对未来几年可能出现的更快、更擅长规避的无人机，后者或许能和高端巡航导弹相媲美。
3、写作技巧
1）原文：
In 2014 he sold Oculus, a virtual-reality startup, to Face book for $2bn, kickstarting the current wave of interest in VR.
2014年，他将一家虚拟现实（VR）初创公司Oculus以20亿美元的价格卖给了Facebook，掀起了虚拟现实热潮，延续至今。
In 2017 he co-founded Anduril, another startup, this time focused on weapons.
2017年，他同别人一起创办了另一家公司Anduril，但这次却着眼于武器领域。
On December 1st he unveiled Roadrunner, a missile-cum-drone. It is not revolutionary. But it is interesting.
12月1日，帕尔默·勒基宣布Roadrunner问世，这是一种导弹式无人机，尽管并非革命性的产品，但的确很值得关注。
2）技巧分析：
限制性同位语可以缩小被说明事物的范围，无逗号隔开。
Jim"s uncle Tom is a teacher. Jim的叔叔Tom是老师。
非限制性同位语则无法缩小被说明事物范围，通常用逗号隔开。
Jim"s uncle, Tom, is a teacher. Tom的叔叔，Jim，是老师。
We Chinese people are hardworking. 我们中国人很勤奋。
同位语不会影响被说明对象的数量
The policemen each have a gun. 每个警察都有一把枪。
此外，还有其他类型的同位语。
动词作同位语
They always murmur in meetings—that is, speak in a very low voice. 他们总在会议上嘀咕，也就是经常会小声说话。
副词作同位语
Our teacher often asks us to speak so-slowly, loudly and clearly.我们老师经常让我们慢慢地，大声地，清晰地发言。
4、背景分析
Roadrunner可以从它的“巢穴”垂直起飞，徘徊直到无人机或导弹威胁突然出现，并摧毁它，如果没有则返回着陆。
国防承包商Anduril公布了一种名为“Roadrunner”的新型导弹式飞行器，它具有高度的模块化和自主性，并且可以随时重复使用。已经有一个版本，Roadrunner-M，配有高爆弹头，可以用作低成本的巡航防空拦截器，如果在任务过程中没有消耗，可以返回加油和再利用。这只是这个双喷气动力平台的一个潜在应用，它拥有高亚音速和垂直起降能力。
Anduril今天宣布了Roadrunner和Roadrunner- M，但该公司创始人Palmer Luckey和首席战略官Chris Brose在本周早些时候的一次媒体电话会议上向媒体详细介绍了它们。虽然现在才公布，但Roadrunner的设计从餐巾纸上的草图开始，已经开发了近两年。全尺寸原型机已经进行了广泛的飞行测试，包括为一家未指明的美国客户进行的具有操作代表性的演示。
“它介于可重复使用的导弹和……一架全尺寸的自主飞机，” Luckey在介绍Roadrunner时说。“Roadrunner本身是一种完全可重复使用的飞机，你可以在它上面装载很多有效有效载荷，这是它完全可重复使用的地方。”
段落大意：
【1】帕尔默·勒基这次盯上了武器领域。
【2】Roadrunner有两个绝招。有效载荷可以依任务而变、Roadrunner可以着陆并重复利用。
【3】这两项功能都有先例。但像Roadrunner这样把所有功能集于一体的还是头一次。
【4】帕尔默·勒基称Roadrunner比竞争品牌的导弹“高级太多”。
【5】比较不同的防空系统或许不太靠谱，因为他们的设计意图并不相同。
【6】Roadrunner并不比许多现有的防空导弹便宜多少。
【7】美国的特种部队已经购买了几架Roadrunner。
【8】Roadrunner也反映出美国军火产业的分裂。
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