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Space Race 星空争霸战

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繁體中文譯本

Reaching supersonic speeds, leaving a vapor trail in its path, a rocket cuts across the blue sky on its way towards space. Travel by such rockets took decades to achieve. The BBC’s Space Race shows us how we got there.

达到超音速，留下一道曳尾在其路径上，火箭划破蓝空，朝太空飞去。搭乘火箭旅行的梦想花了数十年才实现。BBC的《星空争霸战》告诉我们这是如何办到的。

The origins of the spacecraft date back to one of the most troubled periods in human history: World War II. German scientist Wernher von Braun developed the world’s most powerful rockets for the Nazis. Both the Russians and the Americans coveted his knowledge. Luckily for America, von Braun later surrendered to American troops because he feared his Nazi guards would rather see him dead than captured.

宇宙飞船的起源可追溯至人类历史上最混乱的时代：第二次世界大战。德国科学家维亨．冯．布劳恩为纳粹发展了世界上最有威力的火箭。俄国人和美国人都垂涎他的知识。美国很幸运，冯．布劳恩后来向美军投降，因为他担心他的纳粹卫兵宁可见他死，也不愿他被俘虏。

After WWII, former allies America and Russia became bitter Cold War enemies. The American military wanted von Braun to develop rockets that could deliver nuclear bombs. However, since childhood, his dream had been to develop a rocket that could fly man into space. Without his knowledge, a Russian rival also shared his dream.

第二次世界大战后，曾是盟国的美国和俄国成了冷战的死对头。美国军方要冯．布劳恩发展能够载运核弹的火箭。但是，冯．布劳恩自孩提时代以来的梦想，却是发明能够将人类送进太空的火箭。他所不知道的是，一位俄国敌手也拥有相同的梦想。

Sergei Korolev, whose identity was a closely-guarded state secret, was von Braun’s Soviet counterpart. He too was forced to build rockets as weapon for a seemingly inevitable war between Russia and America. But before WWII, he had been the man behind Russia’s first liquid-fueled rocket, a technology he hoped would one day be used for space travel. He dreamed of being able to use his knowledge to send men to the moon and beyond.

谢尔盖．科罗里夫是冯．布劳恩的苏俄对手，其身分是受到严密保卫的国家机密。为了美苏之间一场似乎无可避免的战争，他也被迫制造火箭作为武器之用。但第二次世界大战之前，他曾是俄国第一枚液态燃料火箭的幕后功臣，他希望有一天这项科技能被运用在太空旅行上。他梦想运用其知识将人类送上月球，以及更远的地方。

Vocabulary

单词发音

covet [ˋkʌvɪt] v. 垂涎；贪图

surrender [səˋrɛndɚ] v. 投降

ally [ˈælaɪ] n. 同盟国；同盟者,  [əˋlaɪ] v. 结盟；联合

rival [ˋraɪv!] n. 竞争者，对手

counterpart [ˋkaʊntɚ͵pɑrt] n. 对应的人（或物）

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单词发音

date back to (something) 起源, 追溯...  to have origins that extends back to the time of something

without one's knowledge  ...所不知道的是  as one didn’t understand it

guarded [ˋgɑrdɪd] adj. 被看守着的；被监视着的

Soviet [ˋsovɪ͵ɛt] adj. 苏联的; 苏联人民的

课文朗读

课文讲解

With Cold War tensions reaching new heights in 1955, von Braun appeared on the Walt Disney Show, telling Americans about his dream of man traveling into space in rockets. His words struck a chord with a large audience, and the American government founded a space program in response. Meanwhile, Korolev had convinced the Soviet leader Khrushchev to support him. In October of 1956, Russia took an early lead by launching a satellite, known as Sputnik, into space. It was a tension-filled 90 minutes before Korolev knew it had entered orbit around the Earth. When he heard the signal, Korolev was overjoyed. Sputnik had become the first man-made object to orbit the Earth.

1955年，冷战的情势紧绷到新高点时，冯．布劳恩出现在迪斯尼节目上，告诉美国人让人类乘火箭到太空旅行的梦想。他的言论引起广大观众的共鸣，于是美国政府设立一项太空计划以作为响应。同时，科罗里夫也说服苏俄领导人赫鲁晓夫支持他。1956年10月，苏俄率先发射卫星史泼尼克号到太空。在科罗里夫得知卫星进入环绕地球轨道前的90分钟，气氛非常紧张。听到信号时，科罗里夫欣喜若狂。史泼尼克号成为第一枚绕行地球的人造物体。

On August 12^th , 1961, Russia made further headway when astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to go into space, traveling 25,000 miles around the Earth in just 108 minutes. Shortly thereafter, tension grew among Americans, who feared that Russia would see its new technology to spy on or even attack America. In response to public pressure, American president John F. Kennedy announced plans to surpass the Soviet’s accomplishments and put an American on the moon.

1961年8月12日，俄国又向前迈进了一大步，航天员尤里．加加林成为第一个进入太空的人，他在108分钟内就绕地球行驶了25,000英里。很快地，美国人变得越来越紧张，深怕俄国会用其新科技来监视或甚至攻击美国。为了响应来自大众的压力，美国总统肯尼迪宣布欲超越苏俄成就的计划，然后将美国人送上月球。

On July 16^th , 1969, Neil Armstrong and his crew boarded Apollo 11 at  Cape Canaveral, Florida, and blasted off. Four days later, they successfully landed on the moon’s surface. As Armstrong set his foot on the moon, his immortal words traveled across space to an enchanted audience a world away: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

1967年7月16日，尼尔．阿姆斯特朗与其组员在佛罗里达州卡纳维尔角登上阿波罗11号，然后升空。四天后，他们成功降落在月球上。当阿姆斯特朗踏上月球时，他不朽的话语穿越太空，传送给远处彷佛被施了魔法的观众：「这是我个人的一小步，却是人类的一大步。」

−by Joe Henley

Vocabulary

单词发音

tension [ˋtɛnʃən] n.（精神上的）紧张

strike a chord (with someone)  引起(某人)内心共鸣; 打动(某人)  to cause someone to remember something; to remind someone of something; to be familiar

orbit [ˋɔrbɪt] n.（天体等的）运行轨道

overjoyed [͵ovɚˋdʒɔɪd] adj. 极为高兴的﹐十分开心的

surpass [sɚˋpæs] v. 胜过；优于

immortal [ɪˋmɔrt!] adj. 不朽的，流芳百世的

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单词发音

convince [kənˋvɪns] v. 说服

headway [ˋhɛd͵we] n. 进展，进步

astronaut [ˋæstrə͵nɔt] n. 航天员，宇航员

blast off〔航天器〕离地升空; 发射 [for a space vehicle] to take off and head toward a destination

enchanted [ɪnˋtʃæntɪd] adj. 着了魔的；施过魔法的

Reading Questions

1.  What happened to Russia and the U.S. after WWII?

A. They gave up on their ambitions to go into space.

B. They worked together to rebuild a war-torn Europe.

C. They came to distrust each other and relations worsened.

D. They promised to support each other throughout the Cold War.

2.  Why were the 90 minutes before Sputnik entered orbit filled with tension?

A. Because Korolev had to deal with many unexpected problems.

B. Because Korolev wasn’t sure Sputnik would be a success.

C. Because Korolev needed to speak in front of a group of reporters.

D. Because Korolev was concerned for Yuri Gagarin’s health.

3.  According to the article, which of the following is true?

A. America launched the first satellite in 1956.

B. Russia failed to reach the moon several times.

C. Yuri Gagarin was the first human to enter space.

D. Korolev used a TV show to appeal to the public.

4.  What is the main purpose of this article?

A. To talk about the complicated procedures in constructing rockets.

B. To present Korolev and von Braun as brilliant space scientists.

C. To honor the countries involved in developing space travel programs.

D. To describe the space competition between Russia and the U.S.

President Kennedy: Man on the Moon In This Decade!

"this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."……..

Neil Armstrong One Small Step

  Answer