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One. More than a century before the Wright brothers' flights in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina,
在萊特兄弟在北卡羅萊納州基蒂霍克飛行的一個多世紀(jì)前，
brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier launched an unmanned 500-pound balloon over Annonay, France, that stayed aloft for about ten minutes.
在法國安諾內(nèi)，約瑟夫·米歇爾和雅克·艾蒂安·蒙戈爾費埃兄弟向上空發(fā)射了一個500磅重的無人氣球，氣球在空中停留了大約10分鐘。
The year was 1783, and King Louis XVI soon wanted a demonstration.
那是1783年，國王路易十六很快就想要一次示威游行。
So the Montgolfiers sent up a sheep, a duck, and a rooster as the king, the queen (Marie Antoinette),
于是，蒙戈爾費埃兄弟發(fā)射了一只羊、一只鴨子和代表國王和王后（瑪麗·安托瓦內(nèi)特）的一只公雞。
and 130,000 other people witnessed the historic flight over Versailles. The animals landed safely.
還有13萬人見證了這次歷史性的凡爾賽上空熱氣球發(fā)射。最后動物們安全著陸。
Two. France became the epicenter of ballooning, and Americans in Paris, including Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay, jumped on the bandwagon.
法國成為了熱氣球的中心，在巴黎的美國人，包括本杰明·富蘭克林，約翰·亞當(dāng)斯和約翰·杰伊，都緊跟潮流。
"Travelers may hereafter literally pass from country to country on the wings of the wind," wrote Jay,
杰伊寫道，“今后，旅行者可以乘著風(fēng)的翅膀從一個國家飛到另一個國家。”
who took time out from negotiating the Treaty of Paris to watch a flight.
他從《巴黎條約》的談判中抽出時間來觀看飛行。
Three. Ballooning is still a big spectator sport.
熱氣球運動仍是吸引觀眾的體育運動。
The largest event in the United States, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, attracted almost 900,000 people over nine days in 2018.
2018年，美國規(guī)模最大的熱氣球活動阿爾伯克基國際氣球節(jié)在9天內(nèi)吸引了近90萬人。
A meteorological phenomenon known as the Albuquerque Box—predictable wind patterns that let pilots land close to where they launched—have made the area a ballooning hot spot.
一種被稱為阿爾伯克基盒子的氣象現(xiàn)象——可以預(yù)測的風(fēng)的模式，讓飛行員在接近他們發(fā)射地點的地方著陸——已經(jīng)使該地區(qū)成為一個熱氣球的火熱地區(qū)。
Four. Commonly made from heat-resistant nylon or polyester, the colorful, usually 80-foot-tall "balloon" part—called the envelope—
通常由耐熱尼龍或聚酯制成，顏色鮮艷，通常有80英尺高的部分被稱為“球囊”，
is laid out on the ground preflight to be partially filled with cold air.
它在飛行前被放置在地面上，使其部分充滿冷空氣。
Then, to create the lift required for takeoff, the air is heated by propane burners attached below the mouth of the envelope.
然后，為了創(chuàng)造起飛所需的升力，空氣被附在球囊下方的丙烷燃燒器加熱。
Five. The highest anyone has ever flown in a hotair balloon is 68,986 feet, nearly twice the cruising altitude of commercial airliners.
世界上乘坐熱氣球飛行的最高高度是68986英尺，接近商用客機的巡航高度的兩倍。
At those heights, the people in the basket need to wear oxygen masks.
在那樣的高度，熱氣球籃子里的人需要戴上氧氣面罩。
six. Another record: On January 17, 1991, entrepreneur Richard Branson and Swedish engineer Per Lindstrand became the first "aeronauts" (that's the official term) to cross the Pacific Ocean.
另外一個記錄：1991年1月17日，企業(yè)家理查德·布蘭森和瑞典工程師佩爾·林德斯特蘭德成為首位飛越太平洋的“氣球駕駛員”(這是官方術(shù)語)。
They set off from Japan and traveled more than 4,700 miles in about 46 hours.
他們從日本出發(fā)，在大約46個小時的時間里飛行了超過4700英里。
There was no cheering crowd to greet them, however: The men landed on a frozen lake in the Yukon and had to be airlifted out.
然而，那時沒有歡呼的人群迎接他們：他們降落在育空地區(qū)一個結(jié)冰的湖上，必須用飛機送出去。
