新视野大学英语视听说教程第三册 Unit 8 Task2:Results of Damage Testing
Birds often cause accidents when they strike aircraft. To date no reliable method of avoiding birds has been discovered. But scientists at the NASA space center have developed a gun built to launch dead chickens at the windshields of airliners, military jets and the space shuttle, all traveling at their top speed. The idea is to reproduce the frequent incidents of collisions with birds to test the strength of the windshields.
Trains sometimes encounter similar problems with birds. It was not surprising that when British engineers heard about the gun, they were eager to test it on the windshields of their new high-speed trains.
Arrangements were made to borrow the gun. It was flown across the Atlantic and set up with great care near London. But when the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as the chicken flew into the shield, smashed it, went through the engineer's chair, and landed on the back of the car.
Horrified, the British sent NASA the results of the disastrous experiment, along with the designs of the new windshield. They begged the U.S. scientists to send them their suggestions for avoiding smashed windshields. NASA reviewed the test thoroughly and had one recommendation: "Thaw the chicken.”
