[Grammar] A Swiss team [...] says it says it has performed the first jump ...

[kadioguy]

Swiss team claims 1st jump, free fall from solar plane

BERLIN (AP) — A Swiss team working to take a solar-powered plane to the edge of space says it has performed the first jump and free fall from an electric aircraft.

The SolarStratos team said its experimental plane took off from an airfield in western Switzerland with two people on board early Tuesday and climbed to 5,000 feet (1,520 meters) before its founder, Raphaël Domjan, jumped out of the aircraft.

It said Domjan remained in free fall for several hundred meters, reaching speeds of over 150 kph (93 mph) before releasing his parachute and landing safely.

The team quoted Domjan saying the stunt was part of the goal of demonstrating that activities such as skydiving can be carried out without producing planet-warming greenhouse gases. Emissions from kerosene-fueled planes currently account for about 2% of the man-made carbon emissions.

"I hope that this will continue to make the young people of tomorrow dream, thanks to aircraft that are more respectful of our planet and our climate,” he added.

The SolarStratos team follows the pioneering work of Switzerland's Solar Impulse mission, which completed the first circumnavigation of the globe with a solar-powered plane in 2016.

The team's goal is to eventually fly the single-propeller aircraft studded with 22 square meters (237 square feet) of solar panels into the stratosphere.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3994725
----------------
As you can see, the blue parts are in the present tense, while the green parts are in the past tense.

I assume:

1. The first blue part is used as something like an introduction, so it is in the present tense. The other blue parts still hold true now, so they are also in the present tense.

2. The green parts tell the reader the story which happened in the past, so they are in the past tense.

Am I right?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

You're mainly right. But since the first sentence uses says, I don't like the places where it changes to said. There are also a few other minor problems that a better editor would have caught.

I think they should use you for editing. You would have done a better job.

 

[GoesStation]

I think you'll master these tense issues unconsciously by reading lots of journalistic material every day. I suggest you stop asking us about them for three months — mark your calendar — then review the many posts you've made asking us to confirm your understanding. I think you'll find that most of your questions are no longer a problem for you. Meanwhile, we volunteers will get a break from trying to explain choices that are so basic to native speakers that most of us can't begin to elucidate them.

Please take my suggestion seriously.

 

[kadioguy]

I think you'll master these tense issues unconsciously by reading lots of journalistic material every day.

I could be familiar to them, but may still not sure why. In Chinese we don't use tenses like that. This is one of the most difficult parts in English that Chinese speakers need help with. (Maybe tedmc will agree with me.) I can't depend on dictionaries - they can tell me about words but not the use of tense.

I suggest you stop asking us about them for three months — mark your calendar — then review the many posts you've made asking us to confirm your understanding. I think you'll find that most of your questions are no longer a problem for you. Meanwhile, we volunteers will get a break from trying to explain choices that are so basic to native speakers that most of us can't begin to elucidate them.

Please take my suggestion seriously.

But I see your point. I'll try to work them out by myself as possible as I can, through reviewing the posts I've made. Hope you will get a break and make the time to help other members.

 

[GoesStation]

Just read. Read, read, and read some more. Don't study dictionaries, don't consult grammar books — both of these activities will take time away from your reading.

It's okay to look up unfamiliar words, of course, but even there, you should try to figure out what they might mean from context and only look them up if you still can't guess what they mean when you've finished a text.

 

[emsr2d2]

I can't depend on dictionaries - they can tell me about words but not the use of tense.

That's entirely true, and there is a limit to what even native speakers can tell you. GoesStation's advice is very sound (of course) - you will learn much more by just reading, reading and reading. You will start to spot patterns, sometimes even unconsciously, and you'll find that you just start to use those patterns yourself.