2018年6月英语四级听力原文：试卷一短篇新闻3（沪江网校版）

News report 3

The world’s largest aircraft has taken to the sky for the first time. The Airlander 10 spent nearly 2 hours in the air, having taken off from Cardington Airfield in Bedfordshire. During its flight, it reached 3,000 feet and performed a series of gentle turns all over a safe area. The aircraft isn’t massive as long as a football field and as tall as a 6 double-decker buses and capable of flying for up to 5 days. It was first developed for the US government as a long-wing spy aircraft. But it was abandoned following budget cutbacks. The aircraft costs 25 million pounds and can carry heavier loads than huge jet planes while also producing less noise and emitting less pollution. The makers believe it’s the future of aircraft, and one day we’ll be using them to go places. But there’s still a long way to go. The Airlander will need to have 200 hours flying time before being allowed to fly by the aviation administration. If it passes through, we can hope we’ll all get some extra leg room.

Question 5. What do we learn about the first flight of the Airlander 10?

Question 6. What caused the US government to abandon the Airlander 10 as a spy aircraft?

Question 7. What is the advantage of Airlander 10 over huge jet planes?