英语听力：自然百科 Mission to Mars 火星任务：巨大的心理考验

 This is Mars on Earth, a station that was built to help us learn how to live on the red planet. A group of explorers and NASA scientists are spending the next two weeks inside this habitat, trying to figure out how people will live on Mars. The NASA crews that went to the moon were test pilots, well suited for the tough two-week trip. But going to Mars will take years, not weeks, and choosing a crew is going to be difficult. Mission commander Frank Schubert is also an architect and engineer for the Mars Desert Research Station. The Mars Society, a group that advocates sending human missions to Mars, built the place.

 

You almost put it as a single person. I suppose to say well I would take this guy and that guy and that guy. You take six people who function as one and you may adapt the crew.

 

The right psychological traits, sort of like the right stuff. But the right stuff that was known for pilots is now the wrong stuff for a long duration space crew members.

 

Ephinia Morphew is a space psychologist from Johnson Space Center in Houston. She works with the International Space Station, and will be looking for parallels between the desert habitat and the space station. It’s important to realize just how much of the crew’s time is spent indoors with whole days passing for each with no trip outside. They operate under full Mars simulation conditions. That means they can only leave the habitat wearing simulation space suits. Preparing to leave the habitat in suits can take hours.

 

Here in the desert, the crew will be looking for extreme life in the surface rocks, and so the crew’s name and a mission badge is born—The Extremophiles. Now it’s on the collecting samples from their environment. First they need to establish which tools work well with the gloves on and how many can be reasonably carried. After a couple of hours in the cumbersome¹ suit and heavy gloves, it begins to feel as cluster of fowl² because of being locked inside.

 

You know, I would guess the astronauts. At first couple of times, they’re gonna be all excited about it, and then, they are gonna start to say, hey, you know, how about if you go (to) get the samples today.

 

When you are on a spacecraft you can venture frustrations⁵ anywhere. All of the frustration⁴ is within this capsule, right along with us. There are very few ways to vent³. 

 

No, we don’t have to be restrict(ed) on that for, our, the purposes of our deal…

 

Personal space is hard to find in such a small ship, but when crew psychologist Ephinia needs to interview members, it has to be private, and so the main air log sometimes doubles as her office.

 

If you don’t pay attention to the psychological aspect, you’re not going to get a crew there.

1 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

2 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

3 vent   

n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄

参考例句：

• He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
• When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

4 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

5 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。