时差N小时 太空中进餐

In the 1960s, during the earliest space flights, no one knew exactly how weightlessness would affect eating and drinking.

早在20世纪60年代，也就是人类最早开始太空飞行时期，没人真正知道失重会对饮食造成多大的影响。

Would food fly off a plate?

食物会不会飞出盘子？

Would astronauts have digestive problems, with no gravity to helpthings along the digestive system?

由于没有重力帮助消化食物，宇航员会不会出现消化不良的问题？

The first astronauts ate rather unappealing food pastessqueezed directly into the mouth from toothpaste-like tubes. Yuck!

第一批宇航员所吃的食物是一些非常难吃的糊状食物，这些食物通过牙膏状的小管被直接挤进宇航员的嘴中。确实够恶心！

Today, astronauts eat a variety of foods like steak, shrimp¹ cocktail², strawberries andbutterscotch pudding.

如今，宇航员的食物选择多种多样，比如牛排、基围虾、草莓和奶油糖果布丁等。

Each food is made as appetizing and simple to prepare as possible.

每样食物要做的尽可能可口并且还要方便食用。

Steak,for example, is cooked here on earth and sealed into a reheatable pack.

例如，牛排会在地球上做好，然后封入一个可加热的食品袋中。

Strawberries are freeze dried, keeping their shape and texture³ when they're rehydrated.

草莓会被冻干，使得再水化时能够保持原来的形状和口感。

It's easy to get water in space,because the fuel cells that supply electricity for spacecraft produce water as a byproduct.

在太空中喝水很方便，因为燃料电池在为太空飞船供电时产生的副产品就是水。

Containers of food have to be taped, magnetized, or velcroed to trays, and astronauts usuallydine with foot restraints on-unless they feel like floating around!

装食物的容器必须要用胶带封住并被磁化，或者是用魔术贴贴于盘子中。宇航员通常在进餐时会固定住双脚，不然整个人就会漂在空中。

There's usually enough liquidsurface tension to keep food in its container, but bump⁴ a plate or fork, and watch your dinnerdrift away!

液体表面的张力通常足以将食物锁定在容器中。但是如果盘子或叉子不小心受到撞击，你就会看到自己的食物开始四处飘浮。

Liquids are even trickier⁵.

液体食物则更加复杂。

Juice won't pour out of a container, but simply stays inside.

果汁不会从容器中自动流出，只是会停留在容器内不动。

If you shook it out, little globs of juice would fly everywhere!

如果你想将它摇出来，果汁会一滴一滴飞得到处都是！

That's why liquids are squirted directly into themouth or sucked in with a straw from a sealed container.

这就是为什么液体食物要被直接送入口中，或者用一根吸管从一个密封的容器中吸出的原因。

Once food is in the mouth, there's noproblem swallowing or digesting.

一旦食物送到嘴中，吞咽和消化就不成问题了。

1 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

2 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

3 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

4 bump   

v.（against,into）碰，颠簸；n.碰撞，隆起物

参考例句：

• I heard a bump in the next room.我听到隔壁房间传来“砰”的一声。
• He got a bad bump on his forehead.他碰得前额隆起一个大包。

5 trickier   

adj.狡猾的( tricky的比较级 )；（形势、工作等）复杂的；机警的；微妙的

参考例句：

• This is the general rule, but some cases are trickier than others. 以上是一般规则，但某些案例会比别的案例更为棘手。 来自互联网
• The lower the numbers go, the trickier the problems get. 武器的数量越低，问题就越复杂。 来自互联网