Flight attendants have been helping people in the friendly skies for more than 100 years. While most flight attendants are female, the world's first flight attendant was a man named Heinrich Kubis. He worked for the German Zeppelin airline, Schwaben, in 1912. Since then, flight attendants have tended to the many needs of millions of airline passengers.
The first responsibility of flight attendants is to ensure1 the safety and comfort of the passengers aboard the plane. In addition to that, flight attendants provide drinks, meals, and snacks during the flight. Though this may not sound like a difficult job, many flight attendants spend up to six months in training just to work for an airline. Once their training is completed, flight attendants must show that they can properly assist in emergency situations. A loss of cabin2 pressure, rude passengers, or even a terrorist3 hijacking4 are just a few examples of what flight attendants may have to deal with. The next time a flight attendant is serving a drink, consider that this person is not just waiting on passengers but also keeping the aircraft5 safe.
空服員在高空上親切地服務客人已有一百多年的歷史。雖然女性空服員占了大多數，但世界上第一位空服員卻是一位名叫 Heinrich Kubis 的男性。1912 年，他在德國的士瓦本飛船航空公司工作。從那時起，空服員已照顧到了數百萬名乘客的眾多需求。
空服員的首要職責就是確保機上乘客的安全和舒適。除此之外，空服員在飛行期間也會提供飲料和餐點。雖然這聽起來不是多困難的工作，許多空服員還是要接受長達六個月的訓練，為了就是能在機上工作。一旦他們完成訓練之後，空服員必須表現出他們可以在緊急情況下提供適當的協助。像是機艙失壓的情況、無禮的乘客，或甚至是遇到恐怖份子劫機等等，這些都只是空服員可能要處理的情況之一。下次空服員端上飲料時，想一想這個人可不只是等著服務乘客而已，同時也要維護機上的安全。
airline n. 航空公司
After the accident, the airline developed stricter safety standards.
意外發生後，這家航空公司採取了更嚴格的安全標準。
tend to... 照顧／照料……
tend to V 往往會／易於（做）……
James was in the bedroom tending to his injured son last night.
詹姆士昨晚在臥房內照顧他受傷的兒子。
I tend to talk less when I'm in a bad mood.
我心情不好時，話就會變少。
responsibility n. 責任
Don't pass the buck to Lily because it's your responsibility.
別把責任推給莉莉，因為這是你該負責的事。
* pass the buck 推卸責任
comfort n. 舒適
This car is far superior to that one in terms of comfort.
就舒適性而言，這輛車要比那一輛棒多了。
* superior a. 較好的，優秀的
aboard prep. & adv. 在飛機／火車／公車／船上
The food aboard the plane was really good.
飛機上的餐點真的很好吃。
complete vt. 結束，完成
Jack told the boss he completed the work all by himself.
傑克告訴老闆他獨自完成了這項工作。
assist vi. & vt. 協助
My teacher assisted me in writing the essay.
我的老師協助我寫這篇文章。
emergency n. 緊急情況
You should dial this phone number in case of an emergency.
萬一有緊急狀況，你就打這個電話號碼。
ensure vt. 確保
cabin n. （飛機上的）客艙；駕駛艙
terrorist n. 恐怖份子
hijacking n. 劫機
aircraft n. 飛機
『除了……之外』怎麼說
本文 "In addition to that, flight attendants provide drinks......" 中的 in addition to 表『除了……之外』，相同的說法還有 "besides..." 和 "apart from..."。例：
In addition to swimming, Kevin jogs as well.
= Besides swimming, Kevin jogs as well.
= Apart from swimming, Kevin jogs as well.
（除了游泳之外，凱文還去慢跑。）
