VOA慢速英语--日本亿万富翁成为国际空间站的最新太空游客

Japanese Billionaire Becomes Latest Space Tourist to ISS

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa arrived for a 12-day stay at the International Space Station, or ISS, on Wednesday. The trip is the latest and the longest in a year of increasing space tourism.

The businessman and his assistant Yozo Hirano left for the station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft¹ with Russian astronaut Alexander Misurkin. Hirano went along to film the trip.

The price of the trip has not been made public, but some reports say it costs some $50 million. The 46-year-old Maezawa had been training at a space center outside Moscow in recent months.

"I would like to look at the Earth from space. I would like to experience the opportunity to feel weightlessness," Maezawa said Tuesday before the flight. "And I also have a personal expectation: I'm curious how the space will change me, how I will change after this space flight."

A company that organized the flight said Maezawa listed 100 things to do in space after asking the public for ideas. The list includes "simple things about daily life to maybe some other fun activities, to more serious questions as well," Space Adventures President Tom Shelley said.

Maezawa made his money in clothes, creating Japan's largest online fashion site, Zozotown. Forbes magazine estimated² his worth at $2 billion. He has become famous in Japan through his liking³ of private planes and sports cars, cash giveaways to Twitter followers⁴ and famous girlfriends.

Maezawa joins the list of billionaires who have recently paid for trips to space. Amazon founder⁵ Jeff Bezos and Virgin⁶ Group founder Richard Branson both went to space earlier this year.

Maezawa is also planning a trip around the moon on Elon Musk's Starship. That trip is scheduled for a time in the next few years. He will be joined on that trip by eight contest winners.

Words in This Story

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

curious — adj. having a desire to learn or know more about something or someone

flight — n. the act of moving through the air or through outer space

fashion — n. a popular way of dressing⁷ during a particular time or among a particular group of people

contest — n. an event in which people try to win by doing something better than others

1 spacecraft   

n.太空船，宇宙飞船

参考例句：

• There're three astronauts in the spacecraft.在这艘宇宙飞船里有三名宇航员。
• The spacecraft rounded the moon.宇宙飞船环绕月球飞行。

2 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

3 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

4 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

5 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。

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 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。