当所有的乘客都已登机，助理会送来文件。签派员和技师具体说明一些其他的细节，然后飞机就起飞了。
On the very longest sectors, there will be two full crews. They could do basically half of the flight each, but the person who takes the aircraft off, whether it be the co-pilot17) or the captain, will be expected to land it. On other sectors, there will be just three crew members, and on the very shorter sectors there will be two. There's no time for breaks on that. With three crew members, each one gets a period away from the controls—about three hours.
在最长距离的航班上将会配备两组完整的飞行员。他们基本可以各负责一半的航程，但驾机起飞的人，无论他是副驾驶还是机长，也要负责让飞机降落。其他航班只有三名飞行员，短程航班则只有两名。这种情况下，他们在飞行期间没有时间休息。在有三名飞行员的情况下，他们每人都可以有一段时间不用操控飞机——大约三个小时。
What do pilots do to pass the time on long flights? "What I always do is, once you get up into the cruise18), for example, half hour on, half hour off. When it's my half hour on, then I'll do the radio; I'll get the weather; I'll do everything that we have to do. That way, it gives you time to relax your brain, relax your ears, and you're fresh then, and it's good." said Ian Pullin, a pilot for over twenty years for British Airways.
在远程航班上飞行员靠什么来打发时间？“我一直是这样做的：一旦进入了巡航，我就会，例如说，工作半小时，休息半小时。轮到我工作的半小时，我会听无线电，了解天气情况，我会做所有我们必须做的事情。这样就能有时间放松大脑，放松耳朵，之后又会精力充沛了。这样很好。”伊恩·普林说，他是一位在英国航空公司工作了二十多年的飞行员。
4. Welcome Home
4. 欢迎回家
When landing at the final destination, traffic is often very dense, and it usually takes an hour to refuel the plane, clean up the compartments, load the passengers and take off.
当飞机降落到最终目的地时，交通往往非常拥挤。给飞机加油、清理客舱、乘客登机并再度起飞，完成这些工作通常需要一个小时。
When the flight is over, the plane is returned to the technicians, and the pilots return home.
飞行结束后，飞机被交回给技师，飞行员们就可以回家了。
That is how pilots work—in the morning, daytime, evenings and even at night. There's no such thing as a typical day. You either start early, or you start late, and you work until you get to the other end, but there's no routine. Besides, there are no holidays or weekends: only days off and vacations. Pilots work whenever and there is nothing to be done—people need to fly ...
飞行员就是这样工作的——在清晨、白天、傍晚、甚至夜间。这里没有所谓的常规的一天。你的工作开始得时早时晚，直到抵达终点你才能结束工作，没有固定日程。而且也没有节假日和周末，只有轮休和休假。飞行员在任何时候都可能要工作，这没办法——人们需要飞行……
1. aeronavigation [ˈeərəʊˌnævɪˈɡeɪʃ(ə)n] n. 空中导航
2. sanctuary [ˈsæŋktʃuəri] n. 避难所；圣所
3. compilation [ˌkɒmpəˈleɪʃ(ə)n] n. 汇编
4. dispatcher [dɪˈspætʃə(r)] n. 签派员；调度员
5. watch over: 监督；照管；保护(免受危害)
6. proceed from: 发出，出自
7. scrutinize [ˈskruːtɪnaɪz] vt. 仔细观察
8. peculiarity [pɪˌkjuːliˈærəti] n. 特性
9. refinement [rɪˈfaɪnmənt] n. 精细的改进
10. technician [tekˈnɪʃ(ə)n] n. 技术员，技师
11. kerosene [ˈkerəsiːn] n. 煤油，火油
12. dark [dɑː(r)k] adj. 神秘的，鲜为人知的
13. compartment [kəmˈpɑː(r)tmənt] n. 乘客舱
14. be in full swing: 正在全力进行，处于活跃阶段
15. cockpit [ˈkɒkˌpɪt] n. 飞行员座舱
16. briefing [ˈbriːfɪŋ] n. 简报
17. co-pilot [ˈkəʊˌpaɪlət] n. 副驾驶
18. cruise [kruːz] n. 巡航，指飞机完成起飞阶段进入预定航线后的飞行状态。