Who Was Neil Armstrong - 尼尔·阿姆斯特朗 Chapter 9 Moon Walk

Neil and Buzz¹ could only spend two and a half hours on the moon because of the limited supply of oxygen in their tanks.
Because Neil was commander of the mission, NASA awarded him the honor of stepping onto the moon first.
Carefully Neil climbed down the ladder. He had given much thought to what he’d say. After all, his words would be heard all over the world. Neil’s message was, “That’s one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.”
But as Neil set foot on the moon, four hundred and fifty million people listening heard him say, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” Possibly Neil forgot the word a or else the poor sound from the moon was responsible for cutting out that one little word.
Whatever the exact words, their meaning was clear. It was indeed a landmark² event in the history of the world.
Neil rigged³ a TV camera so viewers on Earth could watch the two men in their bulky space suits walking where no human beings had ever been before. (Their suits protected them from both the extreme heat and extreme cold on the moon.)
The astronauts collected moon rocks, took photographs, and planted an American flag. Wires made the flag look as if it were flying; otherwise it would have hung limp⁴. (There’s no wind on the moon.) And they also left a plaque⁵. It said, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” Wherever they walked they left footprints in the moon dust. Those footprints are still there today! (Again because there’s no wind on the moon.)
The landscape was basically brown and gray, and it was very dark out. Still, Neil thought the moon was beautiful. “Isn’t that something? Magnificent sight down here,” Neil said to Buzz. Both of them wished they could have stayed longer.
While Buzz and Neil were taking their tour of the moon, Mike had orbited around it fourteen times. Each time Mike was on the side of the moon that didn’t face Earth, he lost communication with NASA. During that time, if a problem arose, there was no way for him to tell NASA about it. Even so, Mike later described his time alone in space as being very peaceful.
As for Neil and Buzz, everything depended on the Eagle blasting⁶ off perfectly⁷ from the moon’s surface. Fortunately, it did. After Neil and Buzz reconnected with Columbia, they climbed back into the cabin with Mike. Then the Eagle was set adrift to orbit the moon. It had done its job. There was no need for it anymore. And besides, it couldn’t be brought back to Earth. It would have burned up on hitting the atmosphere. (The Eagle eventually crashed into the moon.)
Once Mike fired the rockets that pulled Columbia away from the moon’s gravity, the Apollo 11 crewmen were on their way home!

1 buzz   

v.充满了激动或活动的声音，发出低沉的声音

参考例句：

• My brain was in buzz.我的脑袋嗡嗡响。
• A buzz went through the crowded courtroom.拥挤的法庭里响起了一片乱哄哄的说话声。

2 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

3 rigged   

adj.作弊的，非法操纵的v.给（船、桅杆）装配帆及索具( rig的过去式和过去分词 )；用临时替代材料迅速搭起；（用不正当手段）操纵；垄断

参考例句：

• He said the election had been rigged. 他说选举被人操纵了。
• They complained that the election had been rigged. 他们投诉这次选举被人操纵。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 limp   

adj.软弱的，无精神的，松沓的；vi.蹒跚；n.跛行

参考例句：

• His limp is result of a car accident last year.他的跛足是去年一次车祸所致的结果。
• He gave her a limp,cold handshake.他有气无力且冷淡地与她握了一下手。

5 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

6 blasting   

n.爆破（作业）v.（用炸药）炸毁( blast的现在分词 )；狠打；发出刺耳的高音；向…猛吹，（用水）向…喷射

参考例句：

• The road is closed because of blasting. 这条道路由于有爆破作业而被关闭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Danger! Blasting in progress! 危险，正在放炮！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。