英语听力—环球英语 1387 Felix Baumgartner: Jumping from Space

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Robin² Basselin.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I’m Mike Procter. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　It is the fourteenth of October 2012. A man stands high above the earth. He is in a vehicle³ attached⁴ to a large balloon. The balloon has carried him up to the edge⁵ of space. The sky above him is black. He can see the curve⁶ of the Earth - the Earth looks round, not flat. And Felix Baumgartner is about to jump.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　In this jump, Baumgartner was trying to set a new world record. Today’s Spotlight is on Felix Baumgartner, and his record setting⁷ jumps.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Baumgartner grew up in Austria⁸. He wanted to jump from high places even when he was a child. He told the British newspaper, the Daily Mail:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　‘I wanted to climb everything. I loved to get to the top of a building, a house, or a tree. I loved watching the world from above. I like to be up there as much as I can’.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　As soon as he was old enough, he learned⁹ to sky dive. At the age of 16, he jumped from an airplane with a parachute¹⁰. The cloth parachute opened, and slowed his fall, so that he could reach the ground safely. Later, he joined the army, and learned more parachute skills. Then he made friends with an American who taught him how to ‘BASE jump’. BASE jumping is an extreme¹¹ sport. BASE jumpers jump off tall structures¹². Then, they open a parachute at the last minute. It is a very dangerous sport!

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Soon Baumgartner was a world champion BASE jumper. In all, Baumgartner has done more than 2500 jumps! He has set records for the highest BASE jumps, from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the Taipei Tower. He also set a record for the lowest BASE jump. This was a jump from the hand of the statue of Christ¹³ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil - it took just two seconds. Baumgartner is a Christian¹⁴ and he left flowers there as a sign of respect.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　In 2005, he decided¹⁵ to do something more difficult. He decided to jump from space - a jump that would be more than 38 kilometers above the earth. Baumgartner hopes that this jump would set two or three world records. No one had ever jumped from this high above the earth. No one had ever fallen faster than the speed of sound. These achievements would give important information to scientists.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The jump took seven years to plan. Several times, Baumgartner thought about stopping. A friend had a serious accident, and this frightened Baumgartner. He wondered if this jump was too dangerous. He took a ten month break, to consider it. But, in the end, he decided to continue.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　One of the people encouraging Baumgartner was Joe Kittinger. In 1960, Kittinger performed a similar jump. He jumped from a balloon more than 31 kilometres above the Earth. The goal of this jump was to give information to help astronauts to travel safely in space. But Kittinger also set many records. At the age of 81, Kittinger decided to help Baumgartner break these records.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Baumgartner trained for months. He made test jumps. His crew¹⁶ tested and developed the equipment. Baumgartner learned to wear a special space suit - the kind of clothes an astronaut wears in space. High above the earth, there is very little air. Conditions are dangerous. The space suit was very heavy. It gave Baumgartner oxygen and water. It carried five cameras to record the jump. And it had radio equipment so that Baumgartner could talk to his crew on the ground.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　On the fourteenth of October, the weather was perfect. Baumgartner entered his vehicle, and the balloon rose slowly into the air. Through his radio, Baumgartner talked to Kittinger. Kittinger continued to encourage him.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Finally, it was time for Baumgartner’s jump. Following Kittinger’s commands, Baumgartner opened the door. He stood at the open window of the vehicle. He raised his right arm. Then he jumped. He jumped from thirty-nine [39] kilometres, higher than anyone has jumped before.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　But then something went wrong. Baumgartner began to turn round very fast. At this speed, his brain could stop working. He was in great danger. But after a few minutes, Baumgartner stopped turning around. Later he told the Daily Telegraph¹⁷ newspaper:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　‘It is like swimming, without touching¹⁸ the water. It is hard because every time you turn, you have to think what to do. I was putting my arm out, then it became worse. I had a lot of pressure in my head. But I was still feeling good. I thought, “I can deal with the situation.” And I did.’

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Although he did not know at the time, he had fallen faster than the speed of sound. He had achieved a speed of one thousand, one hundred and seventy-three [1173] kilometres per hour. It was faster than anyone has fallen before. He had broken another world record.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　But then, Baumgartner could not see out of his space suit. To be safe, he opened his parachute. He had not broken Kittinger’s record fall without a parachute. But when they saw the parachute, everyone on the ground cheered. They knew that Baumgartner was safe. When he reached the ground, the crowd cheered again. Baumgartner’s family held him close. Later that day, he told reporters:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“When I was standing¹⁹ there on top of the world, I became so humble²⁰. I did not think about breaking records anymore. I did not think about gaining scientific information. The only thing I wanted was to come back alive.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Felix Baumgartner’s  jumps have broken records. He has been honoured as a sportsman²¹. And his space jump has given scientists new information about survival²² in space. But what will Felix Baumgartner do now? He says he is going to have a quiet life. He plans to return to Austria, get married, and become a helicopter²³ rescue pilot. Do you think his adventures are done?

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The writer of this programme was Shelagh Godwin. The producer was Nick Mangeolles.  The voices you heard were from the United²⁴ Kingdom and the United States. All quotes²⁵ were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at http://www.radio.english.net To se.e a video of Baumgartner’s space jump, visit our website. This programme is called “Felix Baumgartner: Jumping from Space”.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　You can also leave your comments on our website. Or you can email us at [email protected]. You can also find us on Facebook - just search for spotlightradio. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 vehicle   

n.车辆，交通工具，运载工具；媒介，表现手段

参考例句：

• Air is the vehicle of sound.空气是声音传播的媒介。
• The power plant burns used vehicle tyres as fuel.这家电厂用废弃轮胎作燃料。

4 attached   

附加的

参考例句：

• The lease entitles the holder to use the buildings and any land attached thereto.本租约持有人有权使用此建筑物以及所附属的土地。

5 edge   

n.边(缘)；刃；优势；v.侧着移动，徐徐移动

参考例句：

• Sight along the edge to see if it's straight.顺着边目测，看看直不直。
• She lived on the extreme edge of the forest.她住在森林的最边缘。

6 curve   

n.曲线，弯曲，曲球；v.弯，使...弯曲

参考例句：

• The train slowed its speed as it went around the curve.火车在弯道行驶时放慢了速度。
• The path of an arrow is a curve.箭的轨迹是一条曲线。

7 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。

8 Austria   

n.奥地利(欧洲国家)

参考例句：

• Austria lies to the southeast of Germany.奥地利位于德国东南。
• I always confuse Australia with Austria.我总是把澳大利亚同奥地利弄混。

9 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

10 parachute   

n.降落伞；v.用降落伞投送/降落

参考例句：

• No way,I'm not jumping from high places without a parachute.没可能的，没有降落伞我可不从高处往下跳。
• Please release the parachute when there is an emergency.有紧急情况，请打开降落伞。

11 extreme   

adj.末端的，尽头的；极度的，极端的；n.极度，最大程度

参考例句：

• She lived on the extreme edge of the forest.她住在森林的最边缘。
• His views are rather extreme.他的见解相当偏激。

12 structures   

n.结构( structure的名词复数 )；[生物学]构造；机构；构造物v.组织( structure的第三人称单数 )；安排；制定

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Flexibility of labour was obtained through the breakup of old trade union structures. 打破了旧的工会结构之后，雇用劳工可以灵活处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 Christ   

n.基督，救世主，耶稣

参考例句：

• I regarded him as the Christ.我把他当作救世主。
• Christ preached that we should love each other.基督在布道中说人们应该互爱。

14 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 crew   

n.全体船员，全体乘务员；vi.一起工作

参考例句：

• A captain controls his ship and its crew.船长管理他的船和船上的船员。
• The captain kept his crew at a distance.船长与他的船员总保持一段距离。

17 telegraph   

n.电报，电报机；v.打电报，显示

参考例句：

• A new telegraph line has been set up between the two cities.那两个城市之间架设了一条新的电报线。
• Telegraph communication was broken off.电讯中断了。

18 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

19 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

20 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

21 sportsman   

n.运动员

参考例句：

• His brother is a sportsman of our school.他弟弟是我校的运动员。
• Everybody thinks he is an all-round sportsman.大家认为他是一个全能运动员。

22 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

23 helicopter   

n.直升飞机；vt.用直升飞机载送；vi.乘直升飞机

参考例句：

• The helicopter flying at a height of 5,000 meters.这架直升机正在五千米的高空飞行。
• The pilot landed the helicopter in a rice field.飞行员将直升飞机降落在一片稻田里。

24 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

25 quotes   

v.引用，援引( quote的第三人称单数 )；报价；引述；为（股票、黄金或外汇）报价

参考例句：

• He quotes a few verses from Tennyson in his paper. 他在论文中引用了英国诗人丁尼生的几行诗句。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He quotes (from) the Bible to support his beliefs. 他引用圣经来支持自己的信念。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》