VOA慢速英语--《星际迷航》的夏特纳以90岁的高龄成为太空中最年长的人

Star Trek¹’s William Shatner Becomes Oldest Man to Fly in Space

Ninety-year-old actor William Shatner, flew into space Wednesday. The performer is known for playing Captain Kirk in the Star Trek television series and films. He is the oldest person to ever reach space.

Shatner was a passenger on a spaceship built by Blue Origin, the company owned by Amazon founder² Jeff Bezos.

The Star Trek actor and three other passengers flew about 106 kilometers over the desert of western Texas to the edge of space. The ship operates without a pilot. It spent about three minutes at zero gravity then safely returned to Earth by parachute. The flight lasted just over 10 minutes.

"How about that, guys? That was unlike anything they described," the actor said as the ship came back to Earth.

Shatner broke the record for the oldest person in space by eight years. Pilot Wally Funk set the earlier record in July, also on a Blue Origin rocket.

Science fiction fans enjoyed the chance to see the man best known as Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise³.

"This is a pinch-me moment for all of us to see Captain James Tiberius Kirk go to space," said Blue Origin launch⁴ commentator⁵ Jacki Cortese before liftoff. She said she, like many others, became interested in the space business because of shows like Star Trek.

Bezos is also a Star Trek fan. He once played an outer space creature in one of the later Star Trek movies. Shatner flew on the ship for free as his invited guest.

The launch brings attention to Bezos' space travel company.

Bezos himself drove the four passengers to the launch area. He closed the ship's door after they climbed into the 18-meter rocket. And he was there to welcome the crew after the ship returned.

"Hello, astronauts. Welcome to Earth!" Bezos said as he opened the door and was hugged by Shatner.

The space tourism industry is quickly growing. Many passengers without government spaceflight training have been able to fly into space recently.

Virgin⁶ Galactic's Richard Branson went into space in his own rocket in July, followed by Bezos nine days later on Blue Origin's first flight with a crew. Elon Musk⁷'s company SpaceX made its first private flight last month, but without Musk as a passenger. Last week, Russia launched⁸ an actor and a film director to the International Space Station to film a movie.

Also on the flight was Audrey Powers, Blue Origin vice⁹ president. There were two other passengers who paid: Chris Boshuizen, a former NASA engineer, and software businessman Glen de Vries. Blue Origin would not release¹⁰ the cost of their flights.

After the flight, Shatner told Bezos that he gave him "the most profound¹¹ experience I can imagine."

Through tears, the actor said, "I'm so filled with emotion about what just happened. It's extraordinary. I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain¹² what I feel now. I don't want to lose it."

Words in This Story

tourism –n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure

profound — adj. very strongly felt, very deep

extraordinary — adj. very unusual; very different from what is normal or ordinary

maintain — v. to cause to continue; to keep going

1 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 enterprise   

n.企业单位，商业公司，事业，计划

参考例句：

• They are determined to carry forward the enterprise.他们决心把事业进行下去。
• The enterprise has excellent prospects.这家企业的远景极其美好。

4 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

5 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

6 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

7 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

8 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 release   

vt.发布，发表，发行；释放，放开

参考例句：

• After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
• This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。

11 profound   

adj.深奥的，造诣深的；深度的，极度的

参考例句：

• I give you my profound thanks for saving my life.我对您的救命之恩深表谢意。
• He has a profound knowledge of mathematics.他数学知识渊博。

12 maintain   

vt.支撑；赡养，抚养；维持，保有

参考例句：

• He has to maintain a large family on a small salary.他不得不依靠很少的工资养活一家人。
• We must do our best to maintain sales at their usual rate.我们要尽力使销售额保持在平日的水平上。