[ti:Officials Plan Expanded Search for Missing Malaysian Plane] [ar:Mario Ritter] [al:In The News] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM. [00:03.15]From VOA Learning English, [00:06.49]this is In The News. [00:09.03]Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has been missing [00:15.27]for more than 13 months. [00:17.68]The airplane, a Boeing 777, [00:21.98]was carrying 239 people on a flight [00:26.39]between Malaysia and China. [00:29.75]The plane disappeared over the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014. [00:37.00]Months of air, sea and underwater searchers [00:42.35]have yet to find any evidence of the aircraft. [00:47.01]Officials involved in the investigation [00:50.70]have been considering what to do next [00:53.84]if nothing is found in the current area of exploration. [00:59.73]This week, three countries announced plans [01:04.48]to double the search area [01:06.81]if no evidence of Flight 370 is found soon. [01:11.84]The announcement followed a joint meeting of Malaysian, [01:17.08]Chinese and Australian officials in Kuala Lumpur. [01:22.93]Malaysia's Transport Minister, Liow Tiong Lai, [01:29.02]spoke to reporters after the talks on Thursday. [01:33.44]He said an expanded search will start to the north [01:38.42]of the current search area in the Indian Ocean, [01:42.32]off the western coast of Australia. [01:46.48]"If the aircraft is not found [01:48.33]within the current 60,000 square kilometer search area, [01:50.82]we have collectively decided to extend the search [01:54.99]by an additional 60,000 square kilometers [01:57.28]within the highest probability area." [02:00.98]Looking for wreckage in that extended area could take a year. [02:06.55]Since last March, crews have explored [02:10.20]more than 60 percent of the current search area. [02:14.54]The Malaysian, Chinese and Australian officials [02:19.55]continue to express hope [02:22.19]that the aircraft will be found in those waters. [02:26.14]That is where experts have said Flight 370 most likely went down. [02:33.93]Warren Truss is Australia's deputy prime minister. [02:39.23]He says crews are using some of the best equipment [02:43.32]in the world to look for the plane. [02:46.36]Mr. Truss describes the underwater search area [02:50.71]as very challenging or difficult. [02:54.02]He notes the search area is a five- to six-day trip [02:58.86]from the closest port. [03:00.86]"The weather conditions are challenging. [03:03.90]The remoteness of the site is challenging. [03:06.05]The depth of the sea in the search area is challenging. [03:09.47]The roughness of the sea bed is challenging." [03:12.27]Two-thirds of Flight 370's passengers are Chinese nationals. [03:19.17]Yang Chuangtang is China's Transportation Minister. [03:24.77]He noted his government's desire [03:28.22]to discover exactly what happened to the passengers and crew. [03:34.07]In his words, "No matter the challenges that will be confronted, [03:43.18]China will stand alongside friends Australia and Malaysia [03:48.52]to continue the search until the aircraft is found, [03:53.42]and the mystery of this unprecedented tragedy [03:57.51]in the aviation industry is solved." [04:01.31]The ministers refused to answer reporters' questions [04:05.86]about how much the additional search would cost. [04:09.70]Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 began in Kuala Lumpur, [04:16.95]and was to have ended in Beijing. [04:19.59]But the plane failed to follow its expected flight path, [04:24.75]and then disappeared from radar. [04:28.24]Some observers think the aircraft may have been placed [04:33.03]on a different flight path by its pilot. [04:36.88]Investigators believe the plane traveled thousands of kilometers [04:42.38]before using up all its fuel and falling into deep, distant waters. [04:49.78]And that's In The News from VOA Learning English. [04:56.13]I'm Mario Ritter. [04:58.04]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM.