China(n.中國)'s first stealth (adj.隱形的) fighter (n.戰機) jet (n.噴射飛機) has made its maiden (adj.首次的) flight (n.飛行), according to photos published by state (adj.國營的) media (n.傳媒) yesterday, just as US (n.美國) Defense (n.國防) Secretary Robert Gates (n.蓋茨) paid a key (adj.重要的) visit to Beijing (n.北京).
      The photos, said to have been taken by aviation (n.航空) enthusiasts (n.熱衷者), show the suspected (adj.疑似的) J-20 (n.“殲20”) fighter flying over the southwestern (adj.西南的) city of Chengdu (n.成都).
      According to the reports, the next-generation (n.一代) military jet made a 15-minute test flight before landing.
      When the Pentagon (n.五角大樓、美國國防部) chief asked President (n.國家主席) Hu Jintao (n.胡錦濤) directly about the test flight during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People (n.人民大會堂), Hu "said the tests had nothing to do with my visit," and had been previously scheduled (v.安排), Gates said.
      It was revealed (v.顯示) only last week that China had completed a prototype (n.雛型) of the J-20, which experts say will eventually (adv.最終) rival (v.媲美) the US Air Force(n.空軍)'s F-22, the world's only fully operational (adj.運作的) next-generation stealth fighter jet.
      US military officials and strategists (n.戰略專家) see Beijing as a potential (adj.有潛力的) threat (n.威脅) to Washington(n.華盛頓)'s once unrivaled (adj.無與倫比的) dominance (n.支配) of the Pacific (n.太平洋區).
      (AFP, January 11)

      美國國防部長蓋茨前往北京展開重要訪問之際，中國國營傳媒昨日刊登圖片，報道了中國首架隱形噴射戰機完成首次飛行。
      據說照片由熱衷航空者拍得，展示了疑似是“殲20”的戰機在西南部城市成都的上空飛行。
      報道說，這架下一代的軍用噴射機試飛了十五分鐘後降落。
      美國國防部長在人民大會堂與國家主席胡錦濤會晤，並直接問他試飛之事。蓋茨透露，胡“表示試飛跟本人訪問無關”，而是早已安排的。
      上星期才有消息顯示，中國已製成了“殲20”的雛型。專家指出，它最終可與美國空軍的F-22媲美，而在下一代的隱形噴射戰機中，F-22是世界上唯一已全面運作的型號。
      華盛頓曾支配太平洋區，軍力無與倫比；但美國軍事官員與戰略專家認為，北京可能會威脅到華府的地位。（法新社，1月11日）

      閱讀指引
      1. stealth (n, adj)　/stel?畷/，s-TELL-th　秘密行動、隱形的
      解讀：stealth跟steal（偷竊）的字根相同，本是名詞，解作偷偷摸摸、秘密行動，例如do something by stealth是偷偷地做某事；stealth作形容詞時則常指戰機是隱形的，即難以用雷達（radar）偵察到的；標題則語帶雙關；留意stealth的前部分並非讀如steal。
      2. blue (n)　/blu:/，b-LOO　藍色、天空
      解讀：blue本指藍色，而由於天空是藍色的，blue也可指天空，尤其用於短語out of the blue，即out of a clear sky，解作晴天霹靂、出乎意料；標題略去了the，而隱形戰機是在天空出現的，因而語帶雙關。
      3. maiden (n, adj)　/'me?笈d?瑆n/，MAID-dun　處女、首次的
      解讀：maiden本是名詞，解作處女、處子，即尚未出嫁且仍保貞操的女子；它因而可用作形容詞，引申指首次的、初次的，例如文中的maiden flight指首次飛行，也叫作處女航。