Water Salute1 Tradition水门礼

景一

Have you ever been in an airport and seen the firefighter truck spraying water on a plane before？ The first time I witnessed2 such， I thought the plane caught fire！ Poor me， little did I know that the plane was being given a Water Salute！

The water salute is a touching airport tradition to honor heroes， foreign leaders， new airline service and so on. Salutes typically involve two fire engines spraying arcs3 of water over an arriving or departing flight. It is a sign of respect， honor and gratitude. Each water salute， which lasts about two minutes， can use as much as 3，000 gallons of water.

An airport should have a necessary number of fire engines available so that they can respond to emergencies that may take place in any other part of the airport.

At an airport， typically an even4 number of fire engines will line up on the sides of the taxiway or apron5， and the plumes of water will form a series of arches. It looks similar to a wedding arch in a bridal party or the saber6 arch at a military ceremony.

Water salutes have been used to mark the retirement of a senior pilot or air traffic controller， the first or last flight of an airline to an airport， the first or last flight of a type of aircraft， or other notable events. When the Concorde7 flew its last flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport， blue， white and red coloured plumes were used.

It is interesting to note that water salute is not unique to airplanes alone.

Water salutes are also used for ships and other watercraft， with water being delivered by fireboats. This is often done for the first or last visit or retirement of a senior captain， the first or last cruise8 of a ship， the visit of a warship， or other ceremonial9 occasions.

No one knows exactly when and where did water salute in airports start. It is well known， though， that back to the days of the ocean liners， it was common for fireboats to spray them with their water cannons when they were leaving or entering a port.

你以前在機场见过消防车往飞机上喷水吗？我第一次看到这样的情景时，还以为飞机着火了！可怜的我，一点也不知道飞机正在接受“水门礼”！

水门礼是个感人的机场传统，用来向英雄、外国领导人和新航线等致敬，通常是两个消防平台向一个刚到达或即将离开的航班上喷洒拱形的水。这是尊重、荣誉和感激的象征。每一次水门礼大约持续两分钟，能用掉多达3000加仑（约11000升）的水。

机场应配备足够数量的消防车，以便应对机场其他任何地方可能发生的紧急情况。

在机场，通常会有偶数辆消防车排列在滑行道或停机坪的两侧，水柱会形成一系列拱门，看起来像是婚礼派对里的婚礼拱门，或是在军事仪式上的军刀拱门。

水门礼被用来纪念高级飞行员或空中交通管制员的退休、飞往某个机场航线的第一趟或最后一趟航班、某一类型的飞机第一次或最后一次飞行，或其他重要的事件。当协和式飞机最后一次从肯尼迪国际机场起飞时，使用了蓝色、白色和红色的水柱。

有趣的是，水门礼不仅是飞机独有的。

水门礼也用于船舶和其他船只，水由消防船运送。这通常是为高级船长的第一次或最后一次访问或退休，船舶的第一次或最后一次航行，军舰的访问或其他仪式场合而进行的。

没有人确切地知道机场的水门礼是从何时何地开始的。不过，众所周知，在远洋班轮时代，消防船通常会在船只出港或进港时用水枪向它们喷水。

【Notes】

1. salute [     ] n. 致敬，欢迎;敬礼 2. witness [     ] vt. 目击

3. arc [     ] n. 弧;弧形物   4. even [     ] adj. 偶数的

5. apron [     ] n. 停机坪 6. saber [     ] n. 军刀;佩剑;骑兵

7. Concorde [     ] n. 协和式超音速喷射客机 8. cruise [     ] n. 乘船游览;巡航 9. ceremonial [     ] adj. 仪式的;正式的，礼仪的