VOA标准英语2011--Space Shuttle Era Closes with Atlantis'

Space Shuttle Era Closes with Atlantis' Landing

The Space Shuttle Atlantis and its four-person crew landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida just before dawn, bringing to a close a program that began in 1981 and leaving the United States temporarily with no vehicle to transport astronauts into space. It was a day of mixed emotions for people who gathered there to witness the last landing.
As thousands of people along the central-Florida Atlantic Ocean coastline huddled¹ in the pre-dawn darkness to watch, Atlantis came in from the southwest, a small spark of light in the dark sky. NASA commentator² Rob Navias announced the end of the mission and the space shuttle program.
NAVIAS: "Nose gear touchdown. Having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time, its voyage at an end."
Hundreds of people gathered at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center to watch the shuttle return. But many visitors expressed uneasiness with the decision to end the space shuttle program before any other vehicle has been developed to replace it. Tony Diaz, who rode his motorcycle up from Miami to watch the landing, is one of the disgruntled space enthusiasts³.
"I am really not very happy with what they have done to the space program ... because we are leaders and the United States should always be up there in space," said Diaz.
Maria, who came with her family from Dallas, Texas, regrets that her children will never be able to see another shuttle mission. "It is pretty sad that this is the last time kids will be able to experience something like this," she said.
Private companies are working on such vehicles, but it could be several years before one is ready to take astronauts into orbit. Plans for eventual⁴ missions to an asteroid⁵ and to Mars could be decades away. But Daytona Beach, Florida resident Rob Hansen is more optimistic.
"We are moving on to privatizing this kind of operation and NASA is going to move on to exploration deeper out, so I think that will work out in the long run," noted⁶ Hansen.
Among the people with the strongest opinions are hundreds of NASA employees who are losing their jobs as the space shuttle program ends. Jonathan Miller⁷, who works with the Johnson Space Center's Extra-Vehicular Activity Office in Houston and came here to see the last landing, says his concern goes well beyond the issue of job losses.
"The future of human space flight is critical to this nation as the leader in space and we are nervous that some of that leadership is lost," said Miller. "There is 30 years of momentum⁸ behind the shuttle program and it has just come to an end, moments ago."
The space shuttle Atlantis will remain here at the Kennedy Space Center, where it will eventually go on public display. The other three shuttles are being sent to museums and science centers in other parts of the country so that Americans will be able to see and experience part of the U.S. space program's history as they await its next step in space exploration.

1 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

2 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。

3 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

4 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

5 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。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

8 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。