VOA慢速英语2013 将人类送去火星

 

Sending Humans to Mars 将人类送去火星

Welcome to American Mosaic¹ from VOA Learning English!

I'm June Simms.

On our show today, we play some of the biggest hit songs of the summer.

And we visit a natural history museum in Los Angeles County, California, where living things are part of the show.

But first, we tell about new efforts to send humans to the planet Mars!

Sending Humans to Mars!

The International Mars Society recently held a four-day conference in the American state of Colorado. During the meeting, the American-based Mars Society announced a competition for university students around the world. The group is urging the students to help with plans for sending humans to Mars. Avi Arditti has more.

About six months ago the non-profit Inspiration Mars Foundation proposed sending humans to Mars within five years. Under the plan, a spacecraft would carry a woman and a man to within 160 kilometers of the red planet. Then, it would return them to Earth.

The crew is expected to be American. But the process of getting to Mars is an international effort.

The president of the Mars Society, Robert Zubrin, made the competition announcement. He has asked that teams of students design a two-person Mars flight operation that could launch in 2018.

The designs will be judged on cost, quality, simplicity² and timing³. The Mars Society, Inspiration Mars and the American space agency will choose the judges.

Mr. Zubrin says both the competition and a Mars flight have the power to excite creative thinking.

"The challenge of humans to Mars could inspire a new generation to want to develop their minds to become scientists, engineers, technological⁴ entrepreneurs, researchers."

The competition is open to university engineering students worldwide. The teams must be mostly students although some professors, university alumni and others can take part. Competition finalists will present their plans at the space agency's Ames Research Center in California.

The Inspiration Mars Foundation is the idea of businessman and space tourist Dennis Tito. Robert Zubrin admits he does not belong to the group. But he says he thinks its idea of a trip to Mars is a realistic possibility. I'm Avi Arditti.

New Natural History Museum Comes to Life

Many large American cities have a natural history museum, where visitors can see things like old dinosaur⁵ bones. Most of these museums have changed very little over time. At some, parents can take their children to see some of the same scientific exhibits they saw when they were growing up.

But some museums are making changes, in ways that might surprise you. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in California is one of them.

Some first time visitors to the museum are surprised to find live animals, including rats, snakes and turtles. One of those visitors was Tim Waters.

"I wasn't expecting to see this in a museum."

Jonathan Gillett is assistant collections manager at the museum. He says the new exhibit, called "Becoming LA," tells the history of Los Angeles in an unusual way.

"Not only are we interpreting natural history. We also as a part of our mission statement are interpreting cultural history as well. So it shows the way that the environment has influenced people and how people have influenced the environment."

The collection includes a wooden cross from the 1700s, when Spain established Roman Catholic communities in California. There is also a car that was made locally in the early 1900s.

The history of Los Angeles would not be complete without some objects from Hollywood. So the exhibit includes a camera that was used to film silent movies and clothing worn by the famous silent movie actor Charlie Chaplin.

"Hollywood was incredibly close to a lot of other natural habitats that could stand in for other places around the world."

Kristin Friedrich is the Director of Communications at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. She says "Becoming LA" tells not only about the city's past but about the creatures that live there today.

"In the cracks of sidewalks or in the chimneys of buildings in Los Angeles, there's incredible life. And a lot of these species that we explore here find ways to live in the city like we find ways to live in the city."

The museum has live plants and animals in a garden just outside the main building and an indoor nature laboratory. Kristin Friedrich says this is different from what visitors expect to find at a natural history museum.

"Traditionally, the natural history museum is a 19th century model. Back then, you would put dead things in a cabinet and you would have a text panel and people would walk around and look in very dark halls."

She says natural history museums are reinventing themselves, exploring ideas like conservation and humans' effect on the environment.

Tim Waters says he likes the museum.

"This whole exhibit was an on-going history, and so it's giving us not just an ancient history but our place and how we form history."

His 8-year-old son Wyatt likes some of the older exhibits.

"I think the dinosaur exhibit is a little bit more interesting than this exhibit."

Do not fear, Wyatt. The ancient creatures are not going away -- they are just sharing the museum with newer animals.

Best Hit Songs of Summer 2013

Monday is Labor⁶ Day in the United States. Summer will continue for a few more weeks after the holiday. But for most Americans, this weekend marks the end of the season. On Tuesday, children return to school. Many community swimming pools close. And vacations are done.

So we come to our final show on the songs that defined the summer of 2013. Jim Tedder⁷ tells us about some of these summer anthems⁹.

Early in the season we named some of the songs we thought might prove popular. We were correct in our prediction that the Daft Punk song, "Get Lucky" would be among the summer anthems. Billboard¹⁰ Magazine rated it at number two.

Next on Billboard's list is "Radioactive," from the Las Vegas, Nevada based group Imagine Dragons. The four member band released its first full length album last September. Now the band is performing a series of concerts around the world.

Miley Cyrus is the first woman on Billboard's list of top summer singles. Her song "We Can't Stop" is number four. It also won the best summer song at the Teen Choice Awards earlier this month.

Selena Gomez also had a huge summer hit. "Come & Get It" is edgier¹¹ than most of her other work. Gomez sings about a love relationship that has ended, but the rejected partner is willing to wait for its return.

Billboard Magazine says the number one song of summer 2013 is "Blurred¹² Lines" by Robin¹³ Thicke. There have been some questions about whether "Blurred Lines" is based on a song made famous by Marvin Gaye. Robin Thicke was accused of violating copyright laws, which he denies. His music video was also criticized as sexist for its use of unclothed women. The singer says that was his wife's idea.

We leave you with the summer anthem⁸, "Blurred Lines."

I'm June Simms. Our program was written by Christopher Cruise and Caty Weaver¹⁴.

Do you have a question about American life, people or places? Send an e-mail to [email protected]. We might answer your question in a future show. You can also visit our website at 51voa.com to find transcripts¹⁵ and audio of our programs.

Join us again next week for music and more on American Mosaic from VOA Learning English.

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

3 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

4 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

5 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

8 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

9 anthems   

n.赞美诗( anthem的名词复数 )；圣歌；赞歌；颂歌

参考例句：

• They usually play the national anthems of the teams at the beginning of a big match. 在大型赛事开始前，他们通常演奏参赛国国歌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rise please, rise for the anthems of & . 请全体起立，奏和两国国歌。 来自互联网

10 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

11 edgier   

adj.不安的，易激怒的( edgy的比较级 )

参考例句：

• The Hill is an upstart competitor that's a little edgier. 国会山是一个有点边缘化的新晋竞争者。 来自互联网
• Despite the edgier aspects of his personality, Anakin possesses a guileless charm. 除去他性格中的边缘性，阿纳金拥有一种坦率的魅力。 来自互联网

12 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

15 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句