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Possible Progress In Ukraine Peace Talks; A Large-Scale Lockdown In Shanghai; A Potential Mission To Colonize Mars.

 
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Are steps being taken that could lead to peace in Ukraine? That is our first topic on today`s show and we`re glad to have

you watching. I`m Carl Azuz.

On Tuesday, after peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian government officials, Russia said it would move some of its troops and equipment away

from the Ukrainian capital and another area of northern Ukraine and, quote, drastically reduce hostilities in these two areas. American officials said

this signaled a major change in Russian strategy after it launched what it called a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24th.

Russian officials indicated the decision was influenced by promises from Ukraine that it would remain a neutral country in the future and not try to

get or develop nuclear weapons. There were other developments in the two nations peace talks, one concerned reports of a possible future meeting

between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy, though that is not on the schedule right now.

Fighting between the two sides reportedly continued last night in Ukraine, including areas near the capital, and American officials say Russia`s

planned pullback in two northern parts of the country doesn`t mean it`s ending its invasion. It may just be moving these forces to fight in other
 

pullback [ˋpʊl͵bæk] n. 撤退

locations. U.S. officials say they`re more focused on what Russia does than what it says.

The Russian announcement initially triggered a drop in oil prices on Tuesday. Investors became less concerned that an ongoing war would reduce

oil supplies. Another factor in lower oil prices is recent events in Shanghai, China. It`s possible that new COVID-related lockdowns there could

reduce China`s demand for oil energy.

Here`s Kristie Lu Stout.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s day two of a sweeping lockdown in Shanghai, China`s financial capital and mega city that`s home to 25 million

people. Now, this is a two-stage lockdown that was launched so millions of residents could undergo mandatory mass testing.

On Monday, half of the city went to lockdown for four days. On Friday, the second half will undergo the same process. And in this drone video, you

will see the area of Shanghai called Pudong. That`s the area that`s currently under lockdown and you`ll also see the bridge that crosses the

Huangpu River which separates these two lockdown zones.

During the testing period some residents who are waiting testing will not be allowed to leave their homes we also know that public transport is

suspended in lockdown areas and work at factories and firms will also be suspended.

Now, previously, authorities said that there was no need there wouldn`t be a lockdown in Shanghai, but the lockdown is underway which is testing the

patients of the residents there. It`s also a test of China`s zero COVID policy. It is a policy that has stemmed outbreaks, that has saved lives,
 

stem [stɛm] v. 拦住；阻挡，遏止

but has come at a cost in particular an economic cost.

I want you to read this. This is from Larry Hu of Marcquarie Bank. He writes this: China should be able to contain the virus in the next few

weeks as lockdown is effective but COVID does pose substantial growth risk in the rest of this year as lockdown is very costly, unquote.

I should point out that Shanghai is China`s commercial center many multinational companies have factories there. In fact, it`s home to more

than 830 regional headquarters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

What planet is closest to earth when it passes by?

Mercury, Venus, Mars or Jupiter?
 

Mercury [ˋmɝkjərɪ] n.【天】水星

It might not be the closest on average, but Venus`s orbit brings it closer to earth than any other planet.

Over the next decade we may be able to send people to Mars but should we? There are numerous downsides to the exploration and possible colonization

of the Red Planet. Earth and Mars are only closely aligned once every two years. Even then, it takes about nine months to get there. Space travel is
 

align [əˋlaɪn] v. 排成直线

expensive and dangerous, especially with people aboard. Some researchers say it wouldn`t be worth the money or risk, but the possibility is closer

than ever.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): SpaceX founder Elon Musk is worried about the future of humanity on Earth. His backup plan, the

Starship.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Captain, you let them see our ship.

CRANE: No, not that starship.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jump.

CRANE: Not that one either. This starship.

He wants to use that to first send humans back to the moon and then to settle a self-sustaining city on Mars.
 

self-sustaining [ˋsɛlfsəˋstenɪŋ] adj. 自立的；自谋生活的

SpaceX says it`s the most powerful rocket ever created, surpassing Saturn V, which landed humans on the lunar surface. Standing at 394 feet tall and

30 feet in diameter, SpaceX says starship will be able to carry over a hundred metric tons into earth orbit.

ELON MUSK, SPACEX FOUNDER: Pretty epic.

LUCY BERTHOUD, PROFESSOR OF SPACE ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL: The starship is formed of two parts.

CRANE: Professor Lucy Berthoud teaches space engineering at the University of Bristol.

BERTHOUD: There`s a bottom bit which is a super heavy booster which is like a rocket, and then the top bit which is carries the cargo or the

payload or the people. And those two together are also called the Starship.

CRANE: The Starship is powered by over 30 raptor engines. Once in orbit the super heavy booster would separate from Starship and return to Earth, to be
 

raptor [ˋræptɚ] n. 猛禽（类）

caught midair by a large pair of robotic arms.

MUSK: The booster actually, even though it`s gigantic, will come back in about six minutes. The propellant pumps are designed to fill the rocket in
 

propellant [prəˋpɛlənt] n. 发射火箭；推进燃料

about half an hour.

CRANE: Starship would link with a rocket in low earth orbit to supply it with more propellant and then continue on its mission. SpaceX says that

could include sending as many as a hundred human passengers to Mars, sending cargo to the Red Planet or putting satellites into orbit.

MUSK: The ship is probably reusable about every six to eight hours. That`s why we say sort of three times a day for the ship.

CRANE: After a few high-altitude failures, SpaceX was able to land Starship, you know, the top part. In May of 2021, it successfully touched

down from about six miles above earth without bursting into flames.

Despite arguing the industry is lagging behind and having missed a few deadlines himself, Musk has said he thinks SpaceX can get humans to Mars by

2026.

BERTHOUD: I do think 2026 is really ambitious. He has said worst case, 10 years, I think that`s much more doable. But we do need to ensure the safety
 

doable [ˋduəb!] adj. 可行的

of the people who are going to Mars.

MUSK: Now you can only go to Mars every two years, and I think maybe roughly you need about a million tons on Mars to have a self-sustaining

city. The Holy Grail breakthrough that`s needed is a rapid and completely reusable rocket system.
 

Holy Grail【喻】终极目标；最终梦想

BERTHOUD: This is absolutely critical for going to Mars. You`re going to need to take lots of experimental materials. You`re going to need to take

lots of food with you and also some water for all your inhabitants.

CRANE: So single-use rockets won`t cut it.
 

cut [kʌt] v. 削减；缩短

BILL NYE, CEO, THE PLANETARY SOCIETY: Elon Musk came to the planetary science and engineering community, he said, I want to go to Mars, so what

do I need to do?

CRANE: That`s right. We talked to Bill Nye.

NYE: And everybody told him, you`ve got to lower the cost of getting to low earth orbit. They have achieved it. SpaceX is now absolutely the most

reliable, lowest cost vehicle going right now.

CRANE: Nye is staunchly in favor of exploration but he has concerns about settling humans on Mars, at least right away.
 

staunchly [ˋstɔntʃlɪ] adv. 坚定地；忠实地

NYE: It`s really amazing how hostile it is. It looks like places on Earth, but it`s not. I mean there`s nothing to breathe and it`s fantastically cold.
 

hostile [ˋhɑstl] adj. 不友善的

fantastically [fænˋtæstɪklɪ] adv. 难以置信地

Well, you just live in this dome. Okay, then we`re going to go outside. What are you going to do? You`re going to put on a spacesuit to go outside,

which is just another dome.

CRANE: Nye doesn`t want the push to live on mars to ruin our chance to learn about life on Mars.

NYE: It`s very reasonable to me that there`s something alive on M right now, and I`m talking about a microbe, something that lives under thin

layers of rock. And we`d go there and we`d set up a settlement and screw it up. I would like us to investigate that thoroughly before we go setting up

camp and throwing Styrofoam cups all over the ground.

If you found evidence of life, it would change the course of history.

CRANE: The experts agree that prudent settlement of mars could contain lessons for life back on Earth.
 

prudent [ˋprudnt] adj. 审慎的，小心的

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

AZUZ: For 10 out of 10, if art is in the eye of the beholder, behold this. Might just look like a blue and gold circle of spots, but one of the

artists is Spot the famous or infamous robot dog. And the other, a human who prompted Spot to create the unique work is a Polish-American artist.

She titled it "Sunrise March," and when the work was put up for auction, it raised $40,000 that will be used to benefit Ukrainian refugees.

We don`t need to brush up on color theory or canvas a panel to see the pointillism. You just clear the plain air, let down your avant-garde, see
 

brush up 温习(语言)

canvas [ˋkænvəs] v. 用帆布覆盖；用帆布装备

pointillism [ˋpwæntəlɪzm] n.【画】（印象派的）点描绘法

beyond the vanishing point and understand what`s representational. The abstract here is that a con-art-seur would say it hits the spot on the dot.

I`m Carl Azuz. Mountaineer High School in Morgantown, West Virginia, knows how to get a shout out. Thank you for subscribing and leaving a comment on

our YouTube channel. That puts the finishing touches on today`s CNN 10.

END