VOA慢速英语2014 宇航员在水下实验室训练

 

AS IT IS 2014-08-06 Astronauts Train in Underwater Laboratory 宇航员在水下实验室训练

Four astronauts recently completed training to help prepare for a planned visit to an asteroid¹, or space rock.  The four trained in a special laboratory five kilometers from Key Largo² in southern Florida.  They worked and lived 19 meters below the sea surface in the world’s only underwater research laboratory.

The astronauts spent nine days in the “Aquarius” laboratory.  Florida International University operates the 37-square meter lab.  

The training came as part of a project of NASA -- the National Aeronautics³ and Space Administration.   The project is called NEEMO, for NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations. 

The name may lead some people to think of Captain Nemo, the star of Jules Verne’s book, “Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea.”  And a little fish called Nemo was the hero of the 2003 family film “Finding Nemo.”

The four NEEMO astronauts lived in conditions like those that they would face on a visit to a near-Earth asteroid.  The astronauts tested the ability of human beings to exist and work in difficult conditions.  And they left their underwater home only to go into surrounding ocean waters.

American astronaut Jeanette Epps said she and another astronaut did a kind of spacewalk under the water. 

“That took a little bit of time to get up and running because we had a few issues with the communication in our helmets so that we can be able to talk to the crew inside the habitat and the topside.”         

Their temporary underwater home was not deep enough to require them to decompress each time they left Aquarius.  That meant their dives could last longer.  Decompression involves reducing air pressure on a person who has been under high pressure while diving deep underwater.  Decompression sickness can be deadly.

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet of France said the crew tested human health and behavior inside the lab.  They wore badges⁴, devices that recorded their positions or social interaction.  The French astronaut described the goal as gaining better understanding of reactions among people in such close surroundings, like those in space.

The four astronauts received help from people who have worked in the undersea lab before.  Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide said these technical experts care for all operating systems on the lab, including the space suits that the astronauts wore.  He said the technicians know everything about the laboratory. 

“They are the people behind the scenes.  We just do the mission but without their help we can’t do anything."

1 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

2 largo   

n.广板乐章；adj.缓慢的，宽广的；adv.缓慢地，宽广地

参考例句：

• The tempo marking in most cases is andante,adagio,or largo.大多数第一乐章的速度标记是行板、柔板或广板。
• The second movement is a largo.第二乐章是广板乐章。

3 aeronautics   

n.航空术，航空学

参考例句：

• National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
• He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。

4 badges   

n.徽章( badge的名词复数 )；象征；证章；[美国俚语]警察

参考例句：

• Mayors wear chains round their necks as badges of office. 市长们戴着象征职位的项链。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The badges come in twenty different colors and shapes. 这种徽章有20种不同的颜色和形状。 来自辞典例句