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In 1963, a Lancaster bomber crashed on Wallis Island,
1963年 一架兰开斯特轰炸机在瓦立斯岛坠毁
a remote place in the South Pacific,
那是南太洋中一个很偏僻的小岛
a long way west of Samoa.
位于萨摩亚群岛以西 距离群岛还有很长一段距离
The plane wasn't too badly damaged,
飞机损坏的程度并不严重
but over the years, the crash was forgotten and the wreck remained undisturbed.
但是 多年来 这起飞机失事已被遗忘 飞机残骸也没受到破坏
Then in 1989,
于是 到了1989年
twenty-six years after the crash,
飞机失事26年后
the plane was accidentally rediscovered
在对小岛的一次航空勘查中
in an aerial survey of the island.
那架飞机被意外地发现了
By this time,
到了那个时候
a Lancaster bomber in reasonable condition was rare and worth rescuing.
状况良好的兰开斯特轰炸机 实属罕见 值得抢救
The French authorities had the plane packaged
法国政府让人把飞机包装起来
and moved in parts back to France.
一部分一部分地搬回法国
Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored.
一群热心人计划修复这架飞机
It has four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines,
该飞机装装配有4台罗尔斯-罗伊斯的默林发动机
but the group will need to have only three of them rebuilt.
但是他们只需要修复其中的3台
Imagine their surprise and delight
想一想他们所感受到的惊奇和兴奋
when they broke open the packing cases
当他们拆开包装箱时
and found that the fourth engine was sweet as honey --
他们发现第4台发动机就像蜂蜜一样甜
still in perfect condition.
发动机完好无损
A colony of bees had turned the engine into a hive
一群蜜蜂把发动机当作了蜂房
and it was totally preserved in beeswax!
发动机在蜂蜡中被完整地保存了下来
