维珍银河公司的太空之旅

 　　The rollout of the gleaming craft marks Virgin¹ Galactic's return to the race to become the world's first major private space tourism company.

　　The new passenger spacecraft is expected to take thrill-seekers, researchers and commercial customers on short hops² into space.

　　Sir Richard Branson, founder³ of Virgin Galactic, says the new vehicle means the dream of private space tourism can now be made accessible.

　　"Together, we can make space accessible in a way that has only been dreamt of before now. And by doing that, we can truly bring positive change to life on Earth. This spaceship is the embodiment of that goal."维珍银河公司的太空之旅

　　The ship is named Virgin Spaceship Unity⁴ at the suggestion of theoretical physicist⁵ Stephen Hawking⁶, to whom Richard Branson promised a free ride into space.

　　From outward appearances, the spacecraft is nearly identical to the one lost in 2014, which killed one of its pilots and set back the nascent⁷ industry.

　　The unveiling ceremony has set the stage for the new ship's first round of test flights, which will likely incrementally⁸ test the new ship at higher speeds and altitudes.

　　The first spaceship had not yet traveled beyond the atmosphere.

　　Branson says the priority for his team is to make sure that safety of the new flights comes first.

　　"The most important thing is that, after the unveiling today, that we spend month after month with our test pilots testing, testing the craft until we're absolutely sure that we're ready to safely send people into space."The new ship is the size of a small corporate⁹ jet.

　　It is designed to be flown by a crew of two and carry up to six passengers on a high-speed suborbital flight to the fringes of space.

　　At an altitude above 62 miles, passengers will experience a few minutes of weightlessness and a view out the window of Earth set against the blackness of space.

　　Doug Shane, president of The Spaceship Company, says the craft will bring a fantastic experience to the passengers.

　　"The spaceship to cabin has been designed to give you lots of room. You have big windows, you're very strategically located in proximity¹⁰ to those windows, so you have a great view. And then the vision is that you'll be able to unstrap and float free during the weightless portion of the flight, and be able to really experience weightlessness and the whole space experience. And it should be pretty cool."Nearly 700 people have signed up for rides, which cost 250-thousand US dollars each.

　　Virgin Galactic is among a handful of companies, including SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stratolaunch Systems and Boeing, planning to fly people into space on a commercial basis.

　　For CRI, this is Fei Fei.

 

1 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

2 hops   

跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• The sparrow crossed the lawn in a series of hops. 那麻雀一蹦一跳地穿过草坪。
• It is brewed from malt and hops. 它用麦精和蛇麻草酿成。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

5 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

6 hawking   

利用鹰行猎

参考例句：

• He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
• We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。

7 nascent   

adj.初生的，发生中的

参考例句：

• That slim book showed the Chinese intelligentsia and the nascent working class.那本小册子讲述了中国的知识界和新兴的工人阶级。
• Despite a nascent democracy movement,there's little traction for direct suffrage.尽管有过一次新生的民主运动，但几乎不会带来直接选举。

8 incrementally   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• Incrementally update the shared dimensions used in this cube. 增量更新此多维数据集中使用的共享维度。 来自互联网
• Grand goals are inspiring, but be sure to approach them incrementally. 辉煌的目标令人鼓舞，但一定要逐步实现。 来自互联网

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

10 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。