The History of Parachutes

降落伞的历史

Scientists who study archeology say that there may be some evidence of prehistoric parachutes. But the first written history of the device comes from China about 2,100 years ago. Scientists cite an ancient book that describes parachutes. However, there is no archeological evidence that proves that an actual parachute was ever made. Later, people from northern Africa and Italy also had ideas about a similar invention. In fact, a Leonardo Da Vinci's drawing corresponds closely with the modern parachute design!

研究考古学的科学家表示可能找到了一些史前降落伞的证据。但该设备最早的书面历史来自2100年前的中国。科学家们引用了一本描述降落伞的古书。然而，没有考古学证据证明当时有真正的降落伞。后来，来自北非和意大利的人们也有了类似的发明。事实上，列奥纳多·达·芬奇的一幅画与现代降落伞的设计非常吻合!

In 1783, French scientist Sebastian Lenormand invented the first modern parachute. Sebastian brainstormed with other scientists to come up with a way to help people jump safely out of burning buildings. He thought the solution was to give people an object to restrict their speed while they traveled toward the ground. Many people thought that he was up to some kind of fraud, but Sebastian had a lot of integrity. His budget was limited, so he first tested his theory by using two umbrellas. He jumped out of a tree and found that the umbrellas worked.

1783年，法国科学家塞巴斯蒂安·勒诺曼德发明了第一个现代降落伞。塞巴斯蒂安和其他科学家们集思广益，想出了一种帮助人们安全跳出发生火灾的建筑物的方法。他认为解决办法是给人们一个物体来减缓他们落地时的速度。许多人认为他在搞什么骗局，但塞巴斯蒂安很诚实。他的预算有限，所以他首先用两把伞来验证他的理论。他从树上跳下来，发现伞还能用。

Next, he refined his invention. Rather than using umbrellas, he knit a large parachute. Finally, he jumped off a tall building on a French estate and landed safely in the courtyard.

接下来，他改进了他的发明。他没有使用伞，而是编织了一个大降落伞。最后，他从一座法国庄园的高楼上跳下，安全降落在院子里。

Sebastian's work gave another man an idea. Jean-Pierre Blanchard had a different outlook than Sebastian. He was a hot air balloon addict. He was one of the first people to ride in a hot air balloon powered by hydrogen gas. He was a proponent of using the parachutes to exit from hot air balloons. Starting in 1785, he used his dog to show that animals could land safely from hot air balloons by using parachutes. Then, in 1793, he was faced with a chaotic experience. The hot air balloon he was riding in burst and started to fall. He was forced to use a parachute himself. And much to his relief, it saved his life!

塞巴斯蒂安的工作给了另一个人一个想法。让-皮埃尔·布兰查德的观点与塞巴斯蒂安不同。他是个热气球迷。他是第一批乘坐氢气动力热气球的人之一。他是用降落伞从热气球上跳伞的支持者。从1785年开始，他用他的狗向人们展示，动物可以使用降落伞安全地从热气球上降落。1793年，他经历了一场浩劫。他乘坐的热气球爆裂了并开始往下掉。他被迫自己使用降落伞。令他大为欣慰的是，他因此活了下来!

核心单词表

addict n. 成迷的人

archeological adj. 考古学的

archeology n. 考古学

brainstorm v. 集体讨论

budget n. 预算

chaotic adi. 混乱的

cite v. 引用

correspond v. 符合

courtyard n. 庭院

estate n. 房地产

fraud n. 欺骗

hydrogen n. [化学] 氢

integrity n. 正直

knit v. 编织

outlook n. 观点

parachute n. 降落伞

prehistoric adj. 史前的

proponent n. 支持者

refine v. 精炼

restrict v. 限制

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