VOA慢速英语：17岁少年创下独自飞行环球纪录

A 17-year-old pilot has become the youngest person to fly alone around the world.
一名 17 岁的飞行员成为了世界上最年轻的独自飞行的人。
 
Mack Rutherford, who holds British and Belgian citizenship, completed his trip Wednesday. He landed his small plane in Bulgaria's capital, Sofia. That is also where he started his trip five months ago.
拥有英国和比利时国籍的麦克卢瑟福周三完成了他的旅行。他将他的小型飞机降落在保加利亚首都索非亚。这也是他五个月前开始旅行的地方。
 
Rutherford, who turned 17 during his trip, broke the Guinness World Record for youngest male to fly around the world. That record had been held by Travis Ludlow of Britain. Ludlow was 18 when he made his flight around the world last year.
在旅途中年满 17 岁的卢瑟福打破了吉尼斯世界纪录，成为男子环游世界最年轻的人。该记录由英国的特拉维斯·勒德洛(Travis Ludlow)保持。去年，勒德洛环游世界时年仅 18 岁。
 
Rutherford also became the youngest person to fly around the world in an ultralight plane. His sister, Zara, finished her own around-the-world flight in January at age 19. Until Wednesday, she held the ultralight record. Zara also set the record as the youngest woman to fly alone around the world.
卢瑟福也成为乘坐超轻型飞机环游世界的最年轻的人。他的姐姐扎拉在 19 岁时完成了自己的环球飞行。直到周三，她一直保持着这一记录。扎拉还创下了独自环游世界的最年轻女性的记录。
 
His trip, which began March 23, took Rutherford through 52 countries across five continents. To set a mark recognized by the Guinness World Records, he crossed the equator twice.
他的旅行于 3 月 23 日开始，卢瑟福穿越了五大洲的 52 个国家。为了创造吉尼斯世界纪录认可的标志，他两次穿越赤道。
 
Rutherford was born into a family of flyers. He earned his pilot's license in 2020, becoming the youngest pilot in the world at the age of 15.
卢瑟福出生在一个飞行员家庭。他于 2020 年获得飞行员执照，15 岁成为世界上最年轻的飞行员。
 
His trip around the world started in Sofia on a plane owned by the internet company ICDSoft. The ultralight plane, called Shark, can travel at the speed of 300 kilometers per hour. Normally a two-seater, the plane was changed for his long trip by replacing the second seat with an extra fuel container.
他的环球之旅始于索非亚，乘坐的是互联网公司 ICDSoft 拥有的飞机。这架名为 Shark 的超轻型飞机可以以每小时 300 公里的速度飞行。这架飞机通常是双座的，为了此次长途旅行而更换了第二个座位，改装成了一个额外的燃料容器。
 
Rutherford first planned to make the trip in three months. But it lasted longer because of several barriers, including rainstorms, sandstorms and extreme heat. Most of the delays were caused by waits to get permits and other documents required for keeping with the flight plan.
卢瑟福最初计划在三个月内完成这次旅行。但由于包括暴雨、沙尘暴和极端高温在内的几个障碍，旅行持续了更长的时间。大多数延误是由于等待获得许可证和其他符合飞行计划所需的文件造成的。
 
The flight took him through Africa and the Gulf area to India, China, South Korea, and Japan. He crossed the northern Pacific and landed after 10 straight hours in the air on a volcanic island near the Bering Strait.
这次飞行带他穿越非洲和海湾地区，前往印度、中国、韩国和日本。他穿越了北太平洋，在空中连续飞行 10 小时后降落在白令海峡附近的一个火山岛上。
 
From there, he headed to Alaska and down the West Coast of the United States to Mexico. Then he headed north again along the U.S. East Coast to Canada, and across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.
从那里，他前往阿拉斯加，然后沿着美国西海岸前往墨西哥。然后他再次沿着美国东海岸向北前往加拿大，然后越过大西洋到达欧洲。
 
On Wednesday, a huge crowd of people welcomed Rutherford and celebrated his achievements.
周三，一大群人欢迎卢瑟福并庆祝他的成就。
 
His father, Sam Rutherford, said he was extremely happy and proud of his children's achievements. He told reporters that such an event helps show other children they should follow their dreams.
他的父亲山姆·卢瑟福说，他为孩子们取得的成就感到非常高兴和自豪。他告诉记者，这样的活动有助于向其他孩子展示他们应该追寻自己的梦想。
 
His sister, Zara, said she kept in close touch with her younger brother during his flight.
他的姐姐扎拉说，在弟弟飞行期间，她与弟弟保持着密切联系。
 
"While he was flying, I constantly tried to keep in touch and help him," she said. "Our parents called him every day, and I joined in those conversations. I gave him advice on the route, on the flight, so that I could be useful to him."
“在他飞行时，我一直试图与他保持联系并帮助他，”她说。“我们的父母每天都给他打电话，我也加入了这些谈话。我在路线、航班上给了他建议，这样我就可以对他有所帮助。”
 
I'm Ashley Thompson.
阿什利·汤普森报道。