1-13 国际太空站——人类的宇宙之家

Home in Space -- The International Space Station

 

In 1984 the U.S. National Aeronautics¹ and Space Administration (NASA) announced a new program to establish a permanent space station, called Freedom. In 1994 the project was combined with the Russian Mir 2 project to produce the International Space Station (ISS).

 

The International Space Station is the largest and most complex international scientific project in history. And when it is complete just after the turn of the century, the station will represent a move of unprecedented² scale off the home planet. Led by the United States, the International Space Station draws upon¹ the scientific and technological³ resources of 16 nations: Canada, Japan, Russia, 11 nations of the European Space Agency, Brazil, and the United States.

 

More than four times as large as the Russian Mir space station, the completed International Space Station will have a mass² of about 1,040,000 pounds. It will measure 356 feet across and 290 feet long, with almost an acre of solar panels³ to provide electrical power to six laboratories.

 

The station will be in an orbit with an altitude of 250 statute⁴ miles⁴ with an inclination⁵ of 51.6 degrees. This orbit allows the station to be reached by the launch vehicles⁵ of all the international partners to provide a robust⁶ capability⁷ for the delivery of crews and supplies. The orbit also provides excellent Earth observations with coverage⁸ of 85 percent of the globe and 95 percent of the population.

 

注释：

1.draw upon 利用；凭，靠

2.mass [mAs] n. [物]质量

3.solar panel 太阳电池板

4.statute mile 法定英里（=5280英尺，约合1.609公里）

5.launch vehicle （卫星等的）运载工具，运载火箭

 

 

国际太空站——人类的宇宙之家

 

　　1984年，美国国家航空和航天局宣布了一项新项目，即建立一个名为“自由”号的永久太空站。1994年，该项目与俄罗斯的“和平2”号项目合并，组建成国际太空站。

　　国际太空站是历史上规模最大、技术最复杂的一项国际科学项目。当它在21世纪初建成后，将象征人类从地球走向太空的一次空前的飞跃。国际太空站由美国领导，利用16个国家的科技资源，它们分别是加拿大、日本、俄罗斯、欧洲太空局的11个国家、巴西以及美国。

　　国际太空站比俄罗斯的“和平”号太空站大3倍多，建成后质量将达到104万磅，宽356英尺，长290英尺，有几乎一英亩大的太阳能电池板为6个实验室提供电能。

该太空站将定位在距地球250法定英里的规定轨道上，倾角为51.6度。这个轨道使太空站可以与所有国际合作伙伴的宇宙飞船进行对接，以增强运送宇航员和提供物资的能力。除此之外，这个轨道还使太空站能对地球上85％的地方、95％的人口进行清晰的观测。

 

1 aeronautics   

n.航空术，航空学

参考例句：

• National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
• He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

4 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

5 inclination   

n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好

参考例句：

• She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
• I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。

6 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

7 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。