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NASA's return to the moon hits a setback  February 23, 2026

 

Rise up everyone, welcome to Milan, Italy. It has been a wild final weekend at these Winter Games and there was no shortage of jaw-dropping moments. Norway became the first country ever to win at least 18 gold medals at a single Games, thanks in large part to the Golden Goat, Johannes Hosflot Klebo.

 

He now has 11 career golds and is the first athlete ever to win six gold medals at a single Winter Games. He won every event he was in, and in hockey. An incredible ending for Team USA.

 

Both the men's and women's squads facing off against Canada in the finals with the women coming through from a thrilling come-from-behind overtime finish. And the U.S. men's team striking gold as well. It's their first gold medal in 46 years.

 

squad [skwɑd] n. 小队，小组

 

The famed Miracle on Ice upset win against the Soviet Union in 1980. But one of the biggest moments of this year's Games, a gold medal for 20-year-old American Alyssa Liu.

 

upset [ʌpˈsɛt] v. 爆冷或称爆冷门; 意外地击败

 

Her electric free skate propelled her to the top of the podium, making her the first American woman figure skater in two decades to win an individual medal of any kind.

 

electric [ɪˈlɛktrɪk] adj. 令人震惊的; 令人激动的

 

I had the chance to sit down with Miss Alyssa, following the positively stunning performance, to see how it's all sinking in.

 

sink in（事实或想法）逐渐被完全理解，被充分意识到

 

It didn't really change how I felt about anything. The moment I finished my program, I was on such a high.

 

Literally nothing could bring me higher or lower.

 

When you stepped away from figure skating, what did maybe the silence and the absence of the crowd teach you that the roaring arenas never could?

 

figure skating 花式滑冰

 

I mean, it showed me a different side, that's for sure. And I got to experience something new, and that's always valuable.

 

Watching you out there, I don't know what was stronger, your jumps or your joy. It was just emanating from you. Who is Alyssa Liu now compared to the 13-year-old kid who burst onto the scene?

 

emanate [ˈɛmǝˌnеt] v. 散发

 

I would say I know myself a lot better, but, you know, I'd hope I do at 20.

 

But, yeah, I don't know. I'm a lot happier now.

 

As athletes, through all the highs and the lows, the ups and the downs, parents, family are there every step of the way.

 

How much has your family meant to you in this journey?

 

Family is everything to me, same with my friends. They keep me grounded, and, yeah, honestly, they're the reason why I feel like I am able to do so much.

 

grounded [ˈɡraʊndɪd] adj. 明智的，理智的

 

When young girls look at you now, what do you hope they see?

 

I hope they see that they have limitless potential. Limitless.

 

Yeah. Yeah. What do you hope you being you say to anyone out there kind of struggle to find their place?

 

Oh, my God, I hope they know that it's good to break down, I guess, barriers and do risky things and, you know, go against some people sometimes. Yeah, it's liberating.

 

liberating [ˈlɪbǝˌrеtɪŋ] adj. 令人感到解脱的

 

Can you teach me a pose, a position? I got to show these to my daughters. What do we got for me? We'll do our ending pose.

 

Your ending pose. So you point your toe. Point my toe.

 

Hand on your hip. Hand on my hip. And then point up.

 

Point up. And that's it. I got that gold medal glow.

 

Congratulations. Thank you. Amazing.

 

Alyssa Liu's performance has captivated the world, but nowhere has it resonated more than her hometown rink in Oakland, California.

 

captivate [ˈkæptǝˌvеt] v. 使着迷

rink [rɪŋk] n. 溜冰场

 

Crazy that she lives in Oakland, like so close to our home. I want to be that good.

 

Just the sound of her spinning and jumping is like everyone's silent and we're against the boards just in awe. Big smile, you see. She had that in sixth grade.

 

the boards（冰上曲棍球场周围的）护板

 

She ice skates like right here. I feel like one day I could pop in and just see her.

 

Next up, NASA's first manned moon mission in more than half a century appears to have hit a snag.

 

hit a snag 遇到小挫折

snag [snæg] n. 障碍

 

The agency says they have identified an issue with the Artemis II rocket that could prevent it from taking off during next month's planned launch window.

 

The issue, which concerns helium flow to the propulsion system, will require them to roll the towering rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building from its launch pad. And that's no small feat.

 

propulsion [prǝˈpʌlʃǝn] n. 推进

 

Teams of engineers and scientists are actively reviewing the data in hopes of preserving an April launch window.

 

The Artemis II mission is slated to be the deepest human spaceflight ever. Four astronauts will travel around the moon and back in preparation for the 2028 Artemis III mission when NASA plans to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.

 

Pop quiz, hot shot.Which species of sea turtle is the largest in the world?

 

Loggerhead, green, hawksbill, or leatherback?

 

loggerhead [ˈlɑɡɚˌhɛd] n. 赤蠵龟

hawksbill [ˈhɑksˌbɪl] n. 玳瑁

leatherback [ˈlɛðɚˌbæk] n. 革龜; 棱龟

 

If you said leatherback, you are turtley awesome. Leatherback turtles can grow to nearly 1,000 pounds.

 

They're named for their soft, rubbery skin and are the only turtle that lacks a shell and scales. Shell-o!

 

If you've ever visited a beach or lived near one, you may have seen the communal efforts to protect sea turtles. Coastal communities often keep street lamps off and porch lights low during nesting season so that baby turtles can find their way to the ocean.

 

porch [portʃ] n. 阳台，走廊

 

Well, a new study out of the U.K. suggests that turtles' food sources may be a more dire problem. Our Allison Chinchar explains.

 

All over the world, conservationists protect sea turtle eggs from predators so the babies can survive and make their way to the ocean.

 

But a new long-term study of loggerhead sea turtles found that climate change is presenting new challenges to their survival.

 

For 17 years, researchers have been tracking individual female loggerhead sea turtles in Cape Verde, home to one of the world's largest loggerhead nesting populations. They found that the warming oceans are causing the turtles to nest earlier and produce fewer eggs.

 

Feetra Nugra of London's Queen Mary University is part of that team.

 

So climate change has influenced the nesting timing of the populations and also the inter-nesting interval within a season. The increasing temperatures may speed up egg development inside the body, thus shortening the successive clutches.

 

inter-nesting 产卵间期; 两次筑巢间

clutch [klʌtʃ] n. 一窝蛋

 

A clutch is a nest of sea turtle eggs, and a female turtle lays multiple clutches throughout a typical season, with 10 or more days in between. The earlier arrival of the Cape Verde turtles and shorter time in between clutches tells researchers they have adapted to the warming ocean. But Nugra says after a deeper look, a troubling issue emerged.

 

But when we follow individual turtles, a complex picture emerges, and that tells us that something is happening in the oceans, and it is beyond the temperature.

 

It is the ocean productivity that matters to all of this.

 

productivity [ˌprodʌkˈtɪvǝtɪ] n. 丰饶，多产

 

The researchers started looking at sea turtle feeding grounds for answers and found a declining trend of chlorophyll in plants and algae over many years.

 

feeding grounds 觅食地

 

They found that re-nesting intervals lengthened from about two years to four years over the course of their study.

 

When the turtles did return, they laid fewer clutches and fewer eggs per nest. Cape Verde hosts tens of thousands of nesting female turtles each year, and Nugra says the future of the species depends on safeguarding their feeding habitats rather than just beach protection.

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10, a Nevada woman helping honor veterans who dropped out of school to serve their country. Charm McElry has spent 16 years with Operation Recognition, which helps vets from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam get their diplomas from their original high schools if they hadn't been sent to war.

 

I think it gives closure and dignity to the veterans, and I didn't realize how much it meant to them, but the more I do and the more I give them, it really makes me feel good.

 

closure [ˈkloʒɚ] n. 解脱，寛慰

 

She's helped secure more than 60 diplomas across 26 states, sometimes even posthumously or after the veterans have passed away.

 

posthumously [ˈpɑstʃǝmǝslɪ] adv. 於死後，於身後

 

This ceremony in South Dakota where this gentleman graduated, and this man lives in Bellingham, Washington.

 

These veterans' education may have been interrupted, but thanks to Charm's efforts, they will never be forgotten.

 

All right, superstars, I've got two shout-outs for you before I hop back on this flight to the U.S. of A. First one's going to Mrs. LaPointe at Wisconeer Middle School in Brookfield, Connecticut. Thank you so much for subscribing and commenting on our YouTube channel.

 

And this shout-out goes to Ms. Tillman at John McCandless Charter School in Stockton, California.

 

I hear you are putting on your own Olympics this week. That is pure gold. Thanks to all of you for making us a part of your day.

 

I'm so grateful to share this incredible experience with you. I've got some good friends filling in the next few days as I get back into action in Atlanta, but I'll see you stateside. I'm Coy Wire, and we are CNN 10.

 

stateside [ˈstеtˌsaɪd] adj. 在美国的；在美国本土上的