2007年VOA标准英语-Microsoft Software Designer Set to Go Into Spac

By Bill Gasperini
Moscow
07 April 2007

American software designer Charles Simonyi is due to head into space Saturday along with two Russian cosmonauts for a ten-day stay at the International Space Station. Simonyi was born in Hungary and is the fifth person to pay for his chance to go into space. Bill Gasperini has more from Moscow.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov(center), U.S. billionaire Charles Simonyi (l), and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin (r) gesture after a news conference at the training center in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, 06 Apr 2007

Charles Simonyi says he never thought he might one day head into space back when he wrote a program for a Soviet¹ computer in the early 1960s.

That was long before he left Hungary for the United States, where he eventually made his fortune working as a designer at U.S. software giant Microsoft.

The 58-year-old paid over $20 million for his flight into space, making him the fifth so-called "space tourist".

But Simonyi insists the mission will be far more than a pleasure ride.

He says he wants to boost² interest in space exploration, and during his stay at the international space station, he will conduct some medical experiments.

He will also write a blog about the experience aimed mostly at getting more children on earth interested in space exploration.

"I think it's to advance civilian³ space flight, and to assist in space station research, to involve kids, to communicate the experience of space flight, and of course it's a personal experience too that I will enjoy tremendously," said Simonyi.

Simonyi began working at Microsoft in 1981 when the company was still young.

He helped to design both Microsoft Word and Excel⁴ programs before leaving to form his own company in 2002.

Simonyi has long been a pilot of airplanes and helicopters, and has undergone training for the flight at Russia's Star City space complex outside Moscow.

He and his two Russian companions head into space in a Soyuz spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 boost   

n.鼓励，激励，提高；v.鼓励，使增强信心

参考例句：

• This will be a great boost to the economy.这对于经济发展将是一个巨大的促进。
• These changes will help to boost share prices.这些变化将有助于提高股票价格。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 excel   

v.胜过，优于，杰出，善于，擅长于

参考例句：

• If your talent combines with diligence,you can excel in your pursuit.如果你把天赋与勤奋结合起来，你所追求的事业便会出类拔萃。
• He is working hard to excel his predecessors.他正努力超越他的前任。