Flying finish / Бурный финиш. Книга для чтения на английском языке

As usual on Sundays the club room next to the main hall was bursting with amateur pilots like myself all talking at once about stalls and spins and ratings and slide slips and allowances for deviations[59 - all talking at once about stalls and spins and ratings and slide slips and allowances for deviations – (разг.) все наперебой болтали о потере скорости, штопоре, тяге, скольжении на крыло и поправках на девиацию]. I edged round the crowd to the bar and acquired some whisky and water, which tasted dry and fine on my tongue and reminded me of where I had been.

Turning round I found myself directly beside the reception desk man and a red-haired boy he was talking to. Catching my eye he said to the boy, �Now here’s someone you ought to have a word with. Our Harry here, he’s dead quiet, but don’t let that fool you… He could fly the pants off most of that lot[60 - could fly the pants off most of that lot – (сленг) может дать сто очков вперед любому]’.

He gestured round the room. �You ask Harry, now. He started just like you, knowing nothing at all, only three or four years ago.’

�Four,’ I said.

�There you are, then. Four years. Now he’s got a commercial licence and enough ratings to fill a book and he can strip an engine down[61 - can strip an engine down – (сленг) может собрать и разобрать мотор] like a mechanic’.

�That’s enough,’ I interrupted mildly. The young man looked thoroughly unimpressed anyway, as he didn’t understand what he was being told. �I suppose the point is that once you start, you go on,’ I said. �One thing leads to another.’

�I had my first lesson today,’ he said eagerly, and gave me a rev by rev account of it[62 - gave me a rev by rev account of it – (разг.) подробно, вплоть до каждого оборота двигателя, рассказывал о полете] for the next fifteen minutes.

I ate two thick ham sandwiches while he got it off his chest[63 - got it off his chest – (разг.) облегчал душу], and finished the whisky. You couldn’t really blame him, I thought, listening with half an ear: if you liked it, your first flight took you by the throat and you were hooked good and proper[64 - you were hooked good and proper – (разг.