PBS高端访谈:一小步启发一个国家 最谦逊的英雄尼尔·阿姆斯特朗

 　　GWEN IFILL:And we close tonight with a look back as astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. He died on Saturday at the age of 82. NewsHour science correspondent Miles O'Brien has this remembrance.

　　MILES O'BRIEN (voice-over):It is undoubtedly¹ the most famous footprint in history.

　　NEIL ARMSTRONG, astronaut:That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

　　MILES O'BRIEN (voice-over):Neil Armstrong was the first of 12 men to walk on the moon. He and crewmate Buzz Aldrin spent more than two hours on their historic walk and planted an American flag on the lunar surface. The date was July 20th, 1969, and an estimated one in six around the globe watched the landing unfold.

　　The crew returned to Earth and a hero's welcome, but Armstrong accepted the adulation reluctantly. Biographer James Hansen says that was partially² because Armstrong felt many others deserved more credit than the astronauts were getting at the time.

　　JAMES HANSEN, author:He was always a fairly shy, introspective person. He didn't like the limelight much. And now finding himself in such a—in such bright lights, he withdrew even more. And then Neil just felt like, you know, all the attention on him was just out of place. And he wasn't really—it wasn't false modesty³ ever. It was just how he really felt about it.

　　MILES O'BRIEN (voice-over):Neil Armstrong was born in the small town of Wapakoneta, Ohio, in 1930. He became a Navy pilot after college, flying dozens of combat missions during the Korean War. Then he spent more than a decade as a test pilot, flying high-speed aircraft, including the X-15, which he flew at 4,000 miles an hour.

　　UNIDENTIFIED MALE:A new space team for the moon shoot.

　　MILES O'BRIEN (voice-over):In 1962, NASA made him an astronaut. During his first flight, Gemini 8, he successfully flew the first docking in space. But a system failure put the craft in a dizzying, dangerous roll. Armstrong managed to safely abort⁴ the mission, coolly saving the day, putting him at the top of the list for a moon shot command.

　　It was clear he had what Tom Wolfe later called "The Right Stuff."

　　JAMES HANSEN:NASA senior management knew that the first—the first man on the moon was going to be a global icon⁵, was going to be world-famous and was going to be in all the history books forever. I mean, it - and it was the victory of the Americans in the space race. We never should forget that it was a competition.

　　And so the idea of Armstrong going out and having the kind of character that he did, senior management just felt that he would represent humankind and the United States in a very, very diplomatic and elegant way, distinguished⁶ way.

　　MILES O'BRIEN (voice-over):After his return to the moon to lasting⁷ fame, Armstrong seldom talked about the mission in public, as he did in 1989 with his Apollo 11 crewmates, Aldrin and Michael Collins.

　　NEIL ARMSTRONG:Apollo 11 was filled with vivid experiences. One that comes to mind, in my case, is the flying through the moon's shadow and seeing the sun eclipsed by the moon as we approached it. It was a very spectacular sight.

　　MILES O'BRIEN (voice-over):In 2009, the 40th anniversary, Armstrong recalled the role space exploration had on the Cold War, and the competition between the U.S. and the Soviet⁸ Union.

　　NEIL ARMSTRONG:I'll not assert it was a diversion which prevented a war. Nonetheless, it was a diversion. It was intense. It did a lot to both sides to take the high road, with the objectives of science and learning and exploration.

　　Eventually, it provided a mechanism⁹ for engendering¹⁰ cooperation between former adversaries¹¹. In that sense, among others, it was an exceptional national investment for both sides.

　　MILES O'BRIEN (voice-over):Remembrances have poured in since Armstrong's passing on Saturday. NASA administer Charles Bolden spoke¹² today.

　　CHARLES BOLDEN, NASA administrator:In the words of the Armstrong family, the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink¹³.

　　MILES O'BRIEN (voice-over):Over the weekend, tourists at the Air and Space Museum in Washington remembered where they were when Armstrong walked on the moon.

　　RICH HALDI, museum visitor:Barbara, my wife, asked me, "Do you remember what our son, Mark, when he was 2 years old in 1969, when we were watching it on TV, that Neil Armstrong was on the moon? And our son, who was 2 years old at the time, he went outside, looked at the moon and said, "We don't—I don't see anybody up there."

　　(LAUGHTER)

　　RICH HALDI:But—

　　BARBARA HALDI, museum visitor:We were sad to hear about it. He was certainly a pioneer and we all respected him in that day and age. I certainly wouldn't have gone up there and I don't know how they convinced him to do it.

　　JONNI OCEJO, museum visitor:Well, I was a 9-year-old kid, right? That was a big remembrance for us. We all sat around the TV and we all watched the whole process and it was a big deal. And it still is a big deal.

　　MILES O'BRIEN (voice-over):In Los Angeles, a wreath was set out at Armstrong's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and people laid flowers at the foot of his statue at Purdue University, his alma mater. A private service is planned in Cincinnati on Friday.

1 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

2 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

3 modesty   

n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素

参考例句：

• Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。

4 abort   

v.使流产，堕胎；中止；中止(工作、计划等)

参考例句：

• The captain instructed them to abort the mission.上尉指示他们中止执行任务。
• With this button the user can abort the audio sequence.用户可以用该按钮终止音频序列。

5 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

6 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

7 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

10 engendering   

v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Certain soluble extracts of B pertussis may prove to be effective without engendering serious side effects. 某些可溶性百日咳杆菌提取物，可证明用之有效，也不产生严重副作用。 来自辞典例句
• The engendering, classification, path and control of environmental pollution transference were discussed. 对环境污染转嫁的产生、分类、途径及其控制与防范进行了分析。 来自互联网

11 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

12 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• 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。

13 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。