英语听力：VOA双语新闻—奋进号航天飞机展开最后一次飞行任务

　　The space shuttle Endeavour has lifted off on its 25th and final mission.

美国航天飞机“奋进”号，已经在最后一次任务中升空。

"8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 ... and liftoff for the final launch of Endeavour, expanding our knowledge and expanding our lives in space."

“8，7，6，5，4，3，2，1.....‘奋进’号航天飞机升空了。它扩展了我们的太空知识，也拓展了我们的太空生活。”

And, with that, six astronauts and the youngest shuttle in NASA's fleet, Endeavour, blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, bound for the International Space Station.

美国航空航天管理局所属机队里最年轻的航天飞机‘奋进’号，搭载着六名宇航员，从佛罗里达州肯尼迪太空中心发射升空，飞向国际空间站。

Astronaut Mark Kelly is commanding Endeavour's final mission.

在‘奋进’号这最后一次任务中，担任指挥的是美国宇航员马克·凯利。

He shared a few words with mission control about 10 minutes before launch.

"As Americans, we endeavor to build a better life than the generation before, and we endeavor to be a united nation," said Kelly. "In these efforts, we are often tested. This mission represents the power of teamwork, commitment and exploration. It is in the DNA 1 of our great country to reach for the stars and explore. We must not stop."

Kelly's wife, U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, attended Monday's launch. Giffords was severely 2 wounded during a shooting rampage in Arizona in January and has been recovering at a medical center in Houston, Texas.

凯利的妻子，美国联邦众议员吉福兹，星期一也在场参观发射过程。吉福兹今年一月在亚利桑那州发生的枪击事件中受了重伤，如今正在德克萨斯州休斯顿的医院接受康复治疗中。

She was among the estimated half-million spectators at the liftoff.

她和大约五十万人群在现场观看次发射。

Endeavour was set to launch in late April, but an electrical problem in a heater circuit forced a delay. Engineers replaced the switchbox and installed new wiring.

奋进号原订四月下旬发射，但是由于加热器中电路发生问题，被迫延期。工程人员更换了电路开关盒，并且安装了新线路。

A few hours ahead of Monday's launch, technicians repaired damage to tile around the shuttle's crew hatch, but NASA said it would cause no issue for the flight.

在星期一发射之前的几个小时中，技术人员修复了机组人员舱口的外层损坏部分。但是航空航天局说，这些问题不足以影响飞行。

After the successful liftoff, Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach spoke 3 to reporters.

"Endeavour is in orbit safely and is going to perform a great mission, and we'll see her back here on June 1," he said. "So, a great day here at the Kennedy Space Center and for the shuttle program."

The primary objective of Endeavour's 16-day mission is to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station. The spectrometer, or AMS, is a sophisticated detector 4 that will help researchers study the formation of the universe.

奋进号在这次为时16天的任务中，主要是为国际空间站运送“阿尔法磁谱仪”，这套磁谱仪是精密的侦测仪器，它有助于研究宇宙的形成问题。

It will look for elusive 5 evidence of anti-matter by searching for anti-carbon and anti-helium molecules 6 among all discernible particles.

它也将籍着从难以分辩的微粒中寻找反碳和反氦的分子，探索难以捉摸的反物质的证据。

This will be the last mission for Endeavour, and the second-to-last mission for the U.S. shuttle fleet. NASA is retiring the shuttles in order to focus on developing the next generation of spacecraft that could go beyond low-Earth-orbit.

这次飞行，将是奋进号的最后一次使命。也是美国航天飞机的到数第二次使命。航空航天局正安排使所有航天飞机退役后，专注于发展第二代可飞越低地球轨道的飞机。

The next and final launch of the space shuttle Atlantis is set for July.

美国航空航天局最后一次航天飞机亚特兰蒂斯号的发射，预定在今年七月。