Lesson 72: A car called bluebird “蓝鸟”汽车

　　The great racing driver, Sir Malcolm Campbell, was the first man to drive at over 300 miles per hour. He set up a new world record in September 1935 at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. Bluebird, the car he was driving, had been specially built for him. It was over 30 feet in length and had a 2,500-horsepower engine. Although Campbell reached a speed of over 304 miles per hour, he had great difficulty in controlling the car because a tyre burst during the first run. After his attempt, Campbell was disappointed to learn that his average speed had been 299 miles per hour. However, a few days later, he was told that a mistake had been made. His average speed had been 301 miles per hour. Since that time, racing drivers have reached speeds over 600 miles an hour. Following in his father's footsteps many years later, Sir Malcolm's son, Donald, also set up a world record. Like his father, he was driving a car called Bluebird.

　　句子讲解：

　　1、The great racing driver, Sir Malcolm Campbell, was the first man to drive at over 300 miles per hour.

　　杰出的赛车选手马尔科姆•坎贝尔爵士是第一个以每小时超过300英里妁速度驾车的人。

　　语言点 sb. be the first to do sth.某人成为第一个去做某事的人：Zhang Jian was the first Chinese to swim across the English Channel.张健是第一个成功游过英吉利海峡的中国人。

　　2、He set up a new world record in September 1935 at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah.

　　他于1935年9月在犹他州的邦纳维尔盐滩创造了一项新的世界纪录。

　　语言点 set up a new world record创造一项新的世界纪录(见Lesson 36)

　　3、Bluebird, the car he was driving, had been specially built for him.

　　他驾驶的“蓝鸟”牌汽车是专门为他制造的。

　　4、It was over 30 feet in length and had a 2,500-horsepower engine.

　　它的车身长30多英尺，装有一个2500马力的发动机。