2006年VOA标准英语-Weather Delays US Space Shuttle Launch

By Cindy Saine
Washington
01 July 2006

In this image made from NASA TV, German Astronaut Thomas Reiter exits the Space Shuttle Discovery at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape¹ Canaveral   
  
The space shuttle Discovery was set to lift off (at 1949 UTC) Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, but thunderstorms moved in, causing the launch to be delayed until another try Sunday. NASA is launching Discovery on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station, despite continuing safety concerns.

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Discovery's seven crew members, dressed in bright orange spacesuits, waved and gave a cheerful thumbs-up-sign as they headed to the launch pad. The astronauts were then strapped² into the space shuttle, which was fueled and ready for take-off. But storm clouds lingered in the launch zone, prompting NASA officials to stop the countdown just minutes before the scheduled launch.

Launch Director Mike Leinbach announced the delay. "We're not going to make it today. So I appreciate your support, both from the crew and the whole launch team and the team worldwide for trying to get this vehicle off the ground today, but it's not a good day to launch the shuttle, so we're going to try again tomorrow," he said.

The delay was a disappointment for the U.S. space agency, which last launched the shuttle in July 2005, and is eager to resume flights to the International Space Station.

Vice³ President Dick Cheney and several members of Congress were at the Kennedy Space Center as guests to watch the launch.

Astronaut Steven Lindsey commands a crew of five American astronauts, and will bring German astronaut, Thomas Reiter, to expand the space station crew to three. The team will also deliver supplies to keep the space station running, and two crewmen will practice inspection⁴ and repair techniques during a spacewalk.

Discovery's mission will be only the second launch since the space shuttle Colombia disintegrated⁵ on reentry to the earth's atmosphere three years ago, killing⁶ all seven astronauts on board. The spacecraft was damaged on lift-off when a piece of foam⁷ insulation⁸ broke off the external fuel tank and hit the shuttle's left wing.

Since then, the U.S. space agency, NASA has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to modify the fuel tank to prevent a similar accident from happening again.

NASA Administrator⁹ Michael Griffin decided¹⁰ to go ahead with the mission, despite the safety concerns of two top agency managers, who said they believe foam debris¹¹ could still be a threat. The two dissenting¹² officials say they accept the decision to launch because expected foam loss would not endanger the crew, only the orbiter.
 
 

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

5 disintegrated   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The plane disintegrated as it fell into the sea. 飞机坠入大海时解体了。
• The box was so old;it just disintegrated when I picked it up. 那箱子太破旧了，我刚一提就散了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

8 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。

9 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

12 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。