时间:2019-01-12 作者:英语课 分类:2014年VOA慢速英语(七)月


英语课

 


Will US, Russia Continue Space Cooperation? 美国和俄罗斯还会进行太空合作吗?


From VOA Learning English, this is Science in the News.


I’m Anna Matteo.


And I’m Christopher Cruise.


Today, we report on concerns that tensions over Crimea and Ukraine may hurt cooperation between Russia and the United States in space exploration. Then, we tell about the effect of the Earth’s gravitational pull on the Moon. Finally, we tell about the Hubble Space Telescope and how it has changed the way we look at the universe.   


Is US-Russia Space Cooperation in Danger?


The government in Russia says it may take action against the United States to answer sanctions against Russian officials. The sanctions are meant to punish officials involved in the Russian takeover of Crimea. Russian deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced in May that the government may re-examine space cooperation between the two countries. If Russia decides to end its partnership 1 with the United States, the decision could affect future space explorations on the International Space Station.


The United States wants Russia to agree to continue cooperation on the space station until 2024. Russia now says it may end the partnership by 2020. But the largest and most-important joint 2 effort in space does not seem to be threatened.


American astronaut Rick Mastracchio recently returned to earth after spending more than six months in space. He says relations between American and Russian astronauts on the space station are just as good as ever.


“The working relationship that we have at the person-to-person level -- on, both on board the space station, and even here on the ground -- we get along very well with our Russian colleagues, so there’s been no problem whatsoever 3 working with them.”


Scott Pace is the Director of the Space Policy Institute at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He says the work and personal relations between the astronauts may not be affected 4. But he adds that the political environment and the reasons for continuing space cooperation have come under a lot of pressure.


“The question is, is is this a temporary state of affairs or is this a more of a permanent watershed 5 state of affairs which would call into question the entire range of, you know, post-Soviet cooperation that we’ve had with Russia?”


Scott Pace notes that NASA -- the American space agency -- expects to launch the Orion capsule by 2017. The spacecraft will carry astronauts to the space station and even further, without Russian involvement.


Officials know that shrinking public support and reduced budgets for sending human crews to deep space means that international cooperation is necessary.


NASA Administrator 6 Charles Bolden, Jr. spoke 7 at the Berlin Air and Space Show earlier this year about the future of space exploration.  He said NASA understands the importance of cooperation.


“And I have to emphasize, there’s nothing on this chart that we’re doing alone.”


For example, the power systems for the Orion capsule are made by European engineers. Much of the spacecraft is being built in Germany.


But Russian space officials did not take part in the discussions about Orion. Scott Pace says Russia wants to explore the Moon, but may not have the money to do it.


“Russia is gonna have to make a decision as to what it wants to  really be doing in space past 2020.”


In May, a Russian Soyuz rocket carried three astronauts to the International Space Station. The three are American astronaut Reid Wiseman, Russian cosmonaut Max Surayev and German Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency. They arrived at the space station six hours after launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.


The three will remain in earth orbit for six months. 


NASA depends on the Russian spacecraft to fly crews to and from the space station.


Scientists See Effect of Earth’s Gravitational Pull on the Moon


The gravity of the Moon is responsible for the rise and fall of our planet’s ocean tides. But researchers have found that the Earth has a similar effect on the Moon.


NASA scientists say they have been able to see what they call a “bulge 8” in the Moon caused by Earth’s gravitational pull.


Erwan Mazarico is a scientist with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He also works at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.


In a statement, he said “the deformation 9 of the Moon due to Earth’s pull is very challenging to measure, but learning more about it gives us clues about the interior of the moon.”


NASA scientists say the gravitational effects on both the Earth and moon are very powerful. In their words, the effects are strong enough to stretch them enough “so they wind up shaped a little like two eggs with their ends pointing toward one another.”


We can observe the Moon’s effect on Earth by watching ocean tides rise and fall. But the effect on the Moon is more difficult to see. That is because, except for a small core -- or center -- the Moon is solid. And only one side of the Moon can be seen from Earth.


Yet scientists say the Earth’s gravity is strong enough to create a 51-centimeter high bulge on both the near and far sides of the moon. NASA officials say the lunar bulge “shifts a few inches over time” as the Earth moves, “like a dance partner, following wherever the lead goes.”


NASA scientists used information from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been studying the moon since 2009. They also used information from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory. That let them see the whole Moon, not just the one side that always can be seen from Earth.


Researchers used an instrument on the orbiter to measure 350,000 places on the Moon’s surface. They then compared these measurements to changes in altitude over time to see how the bulge had moved.


The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.


Twenty-four Years of Space Images from Hubble Telescope


The Hubble Space Telescope has changed the way we see the universe. For more than 20 years, the telescope has sent large amounts of information and pictures from space. A new exhibit shows much of Hubble’s success comes from the ability of space scientists and astronauts to repair and service it in orbit. The show can be seen at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.


The Space Shuttle Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into space in April 1990. Soon after the telescope was deployed 10, it began to send pictures, but they were not clear. Hubble Space Telescope Program Manager Douglas Broome reported the bad news.   


“The conclusion we’ve come to from that is that there’s a significant spherical 11 aberration 12 appears to be present in the optics, in the optical telescope system optics.” 


This meant part of the telescope’s most important mirror was too flat, by about 1/50th the thickness of a human hair. In 1993, a space shuttle crew brought a replacement 13 camera, called WFPC2. It also had an instrument with corrected lenses -- called COSTAR -- for astronauts to place on the telescope. 


“The COSTAR inserted mirrors into the optical beam that corrected the light for all the other instruments.”


David Devorkin is with the National Air and Space Museum. He says the repair work was very difficult. But it was successful, and showed that shuttle astronauts could complete difficult projects in space.


“The whole idea of living and working in space is doing useful stuff --and this certainly was useful. On the astronomical 14 side -- and you might say on the technical side -- it represents how fast telescopes are improving because Hubble was only repaired once, but it was upgraded four times.”


COSTAR and WFPC2 were replaced in 2009. They can now be seen at the museum. 


Pictures from Hubble have become clearer over time. Information from the telescope has enabled astronomers 15 to look back 14 billion years -- to the beginning of the universe. And they can see that the universe is growing. David Devorkin says the telescope led to many other important discoveries.


“…understanding star-forming regions, how stars form out of gas and dust, and now the ability of the Hubble to see deeply into the infrared 16 -- far deeper than before -- has shown us the processes inside these interstellar clouds that literally 17 are forming the stars and their interaction with the dust and gas around them.” 


Hubble is coming to the end of its life. The James Webb Space Telescope is expected to be launched in 2018. It will have a mirror five times larger than Hubble’s.


“The James Webb is optimized 18 for infrared because all of the most amazing discoveries about galaxy 19 formation, star formation and the kinds of stuff that astronomers want to know is in the infrared.”


Until the James Webb Telescope is operational, Hubble continues to work hard and take pictures that surprise and interest scientists and others.


This Science in the News was written and produced by Christopher Cruise. It was based on stories from the VOA News Division and VOA reporters George Putic and Rosanne Skirble. 


I’m Anna Matteo.


And I’m Christopher Cruise.



n.合作关系,伙伴关系
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合
  • I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤,肩膀脫臼了。
  • We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
adv.(用于否定句中以加强语气)任何;pron.无论什么
  • There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
  • All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样,你就怎样对人。
adj.不自然的,假装的
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
n.转折点,分水岭,分界线
  • Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
  • It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。
n.经营管理者,行政官员
  • The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
  • He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
n.突出,膨胀,激增;vt.突出,膨胀
  • The apple made a bulge in his pocket.苹果把他口袋塞得鼓了起来。
  • What's that awkward bulge in your pocket?你口袋里那块鼓鼓囊囊的东西是什么?
n.形状损坏;变形;畸形
  • The deformation frequencies are not sufficiently distinctive.其变形频率不是十分明显的。
  • The calculated deformation is almost equal to the real situation by measurement.经检测,计算变形量与实际情况基本一致。
(尤指军事行动)使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 ); 施展; 部署; 有效地利用
  • Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
  • The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。
adj.球形的;球面的
  • The Earth is a nearly spherical planet.地球是一个近似球体的行星。
  • Many engineers shy away from spherical projection methods.许多工程师对球面投影法有畏难情绪。
n.离开正路,脱离常规,色差
  • The removal of the chromatic aberration is then of primary importance.这时消除色差具有头等重要性。
  • Owing to a strange mental aberration he forgot his own name.由于一种莫名的精神错乱,他把自己的名字忘了。
n.取代,替换,交换;替代品,代用品
  • We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
  • They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。
adj.天文学的,(数字)极大的
  • He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
  • Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。
n.天文学者,天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )
  • Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪,为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adj./n.红外线(的)
  • Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
  • Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
adj.最佳化的,(使)最优化的v.使最优化,使尽可能有效( optimize的过去式和过去分词 )
  • We are often asked whether consumer Web sites should be optimized for beginners or intermediates. 我们常常被问到这样的问题:消费类网站究竟应该为新手而优化,还是应该为中间用户而优化? 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
  • GOOGLE Advertising optimized sequence, greatly increasing the advertising effect. 优化了GOOGLE广告位排列顺序,大大增加了广告效果。 来自互联网
n.星系;银河系;一群(杰出或著名的人物)
  • The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
  • The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。
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