extraordinary adj.    非凡的 /      ordinary平凡的

put out  扑灭，熄灭       / extinguish       vt.   熄灭，消灭      

Firefighters tried to extinguish the fire. 消防队员奋力救火。

crew n.  队，组，全体队员

The plane crashed, killing two of the crewand four passengers. 飞机坠毁，造成两名机组人员和四名乘客死亡。

troubleshoot              vt.   解决问题   

Her duty it to troubleshoot problems. 她的职责是解决问题。

Service technicians will continue to learnabout and troubleshoot the equipment. 维护技师会继续了解这个设备并解决其问题。

fearless        adj.无畏的/ fearful 可怕的，担心的

explodevi.   爆炸      / explosion n. 爆炸

Many boys explode firecrackers on theFourth of July. 许多男孩子在7月4日那天放爆竹。

leak       n.    泄露     

There is a leak in the ceiling. 天花板上有条裂缝。

A gas leak caused the explosion. 煤气泄漏引起了爆炸。

environmental    adj.环境的/ environment /surroundings

 

tragedy['trædʒɪdɪ]   n.    悲剧 / comedy 喜剧 

It's a tragedy that she died so young. 她英年早逝是一个悲剧。

retire     [rɪ'taɪə(r)]    vi.   退休/     retirement 退休

She was forced to retire early fromteaching because of ill health. 她由于身体不好而被迫早早地从教学岗位上退休。

 

                                      Red Adair, troubleshooter extraordinary

 

Red Adair, who was famous for putting out dangerous oil well firesaround the world, is one of the most famous troubleshooters to have ever lived.

Born in Houston, Texas in 1915, Paul Neal Adair was one of eightchildren of a very poor family. Paul got the name Red Adair because of hisbright red hair. This colour became a trademark for Adair. He wore red clothesand red boots, drove a red car, and his team used red trucks and red equipment.

In 1938, Red Adair got his first oil-related job with the OtisPressure Control Company. After World War II, he was employed by Myron Kinleywho, at the time, was the world leader in putting out oil well fires. He workedwith Myron Kinley for 14 years. In 1959, Adair set up his own company.

During his thirty-six years in business, Red Adair and his crewstroubleshot more than two thousand fires all over the world. Some were on land;others were on oil platforms at sea. Adair developed modern methods and specialequipment to help extinguish oil well fires, and was known for being fearless,calm and safe. None of his workers were ever killed while working. They werethe “best in the business.”

One of Red Adair’s most dangerous jobs was in 1962. He and his menput out a natural gas fire in the Sahara Desert in Algeria. The fire had beenburning for six months, which was so big that American astronaut John Glenncould see it from space and the sand around the fire had melted into glass. Itwas called the “Devil’s Cigarette Lighter.”

Adair’s work was so extraordinary that in 1968, Hollywood made anaction film called Hellfighters. Actor John Wayne played an oil well troubleshooterwhose life was similar to Adair’s. Adair served as an advisor to Wayne. The twomen became close friends. Adair said one of the best honours in the world wasto have John Wayne play him in a movie.

In 1988, Adair troubleshot what was possibly the world’s worst oceanaccident. It was at the Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea. 167 men werekilled when the oil rig exploded after a gas leak. The problem was that notonly did Adair have to stop the fires but there were winds blowing more than120 kilometres an hour, and the sea was at least twenty meters high.

In March of 1991, Red Adair went to Kuwait to put out about 700 Kuwaitifires following the Persian Gulf War. His efforts saved millions of litres ofoil, and helped prevent an environmental tragedy.

Red Adair spent his 76th birthday in Kuwait working side by side withhis men. When asked when he might retire, he said: “Retire? I do not know whatthat word means.” However, he finally retired three years later and died at theage of 89 on 7th August, 2004. Many Americans remember Red Adair as a verybrave man, who risked his own life to save others.

红发阿代尔——解决麻烦的能手

 

因扑灭世界各地危险的油井大火而闻名的红发阿代尔是历史上最著名的解决麻烦能手之一。

保罗·尼尔·阿代尔于1915年出生在得克萨斯州休斯敦，家境贫寒，他是八个孩子之一。保罗之所以被叫做红发阿代尔是因为他亮红色的头发。这个颜色成为了阿代尔的标志色。他穿红色的衣服和红色的靴子，开一辆红色轿车，他的团队使用红色的卡车和红色的设备。

1938年，红发阿代尔在奥的斯压力控制公司得到了第一份与石油相关的工作。二战后，他受聘于当时全球领先的油井灭火专家迈伦·金利。他为迈伦·金利工作了14年。1959年，阿代尔成立了自己的公司。

在36年的经营过程中，红发阿代尔和他的队友扑灭了世界各地两千多场大火，一些在陆地上，其他的在海上石油钻井平台上。

阿代尔发明了先进的油井灭火方法和特殊设备。他因为无畏、镇定和安全而闻名。他的队员从未在灭火期间丧生。他们是“业内最佳”。

红发阿代尔遇到的最危险的一次工作是在1962年，他和他的手下在阿尔及利亚撒哈拉沙漠扑灭天然气大火。大火已经燃烧了六个月，火势之大连身在太空的美国宇航员约翰·格伦也能看到。大火周围的砂砾都熔化成了玻璃。这场大火被称为“恶魔的打火机”。

阿代尔的工作做得太好，以致好莱坞在1968年制作了一部名为《地狱战士》的动作片。影星约翰·韦恩扮演了一名油井消防员，主人公的生活与阿代尔相似。阿代尔担任韦恩的顾问，两个人成为了好朋友。阿代尔曾说世界上最高的荣誉之一就是让约翰·韦恩在一部影片中扮演他。

1988年，阿代尔解决了可能是世界上最严重的一场海洋事故。地点在北海派普阿尔法钻井平台。由于天然气泄漏，钻井平台发生爆炸，导致167人死亡。棘手之处不仅仅是阿代尔必须扑灭大火，并且当时还刮着超过120公里时速的风，以及至少20米高的海浪。

在1991年3月，红发阿代尔赴科威特扑灭了海湾战争引起的700多口油井的大火。他的努力拯救了数百万公升的石油，阻止了一场环境灾难的悲剧。

红发阿代尔在科威特与手下肩并肩的工作中度过了76岁生日。有记者问他何时退休，他回答：“退休？我不知道这个词的意思。”不过，他最终于3年后退休，于2004年8月7日去世，享年89岁。在许多美国人的记忆中，红发阿代尔是一位勇敢的人，他冒着生命危险拯救他人。