VOA常速英语2016--成为NASA宇航员需要何种资质？

成为NASA宇航员需要何种资质？

Have you ever wondered how one becomes a NASA astronaut? It begins with filling out anapplication. The US space agency received more than 18,000 applications when it announcedlate last year that it was looking for a new class of astronauts. Selection Manager Anne Roemersaid the process is no easy task. It’s very hard; we will do it very carefully. It starts by usreviewing all the files to make sure they meet the basic qualifications, and we actually utilize¹ ourcurrent team of astronauts to come in and review the files as well. Applicants² must be a U.S.citizen and have a bachelor’s degree in engineering, biological science, physical science,computer science or mathematics. They also need at least three years of related experience orat least 1,000 hours as a jet airplane pilot. Along with being able to pass a physical, NASA likesapplicants to have certain personality traits. I think leadership, teamwork, the ability to bothwork on a team, lead a team, but also be a follower³ on a team. Communication certainly plays arole, so it’s some pretty common skills that I think translate into even other professions. About120 applicants will be invited to the Johnson Space Center in Houston for a first round ofinterviews. About half of them will be invited back for a second round. Once astronautcandidates are selected, they must successfully complete a two-year training period. Well, theywill learn a little bit of everything about spaceflight, whether that’s systems training, they alsodo Russian language training, they will do EVA, Extravehicular Activities (spacewalks) training.So they do a little bit of everything in that two-year window before moving into mission specifictraining. This group of astronauts may fly on three new spacecraft that are currently beingdeveloped, including NASA’s Orion, which is aimed at deep space exploration. If all goes well,NASA plans to send humans to Mars in the 2030s. For people who are interested in pursuing acareer in space, Roemer says. The piece of advice we always like to tell young folks that areinterested is to pick a career that you are passionate⁴ and enthusiastic about, because youtend to do well with things you like, and being an astronaut would be the icing on the cake tohopefully otherwise a very fulfilling career. Since the first group of seven astronauts wereselected from the military in 1959, only 338 others have been chosen as NASA astronauts.Packy Chen and Shen Xu, from VOA news, Houston.

你想知道怎样成为一名NASA的宇航员吗？首先要填写一份申请。自去年年底发布对新一轮宇航员的招募消息后，美国宇航局就收到了1.8万多份申请书。负责选拔的主管安妮称选拔过程可不轻松。选拔很难，我们要注意的细节有很多。首先，我们要阅览所有申请文件，以确保入选者符合基本资质。其实我们还动用了当前宇航局的宇航员参与选拔过程，跟我们一起阅览申请文件。此外，申请者还必须是美国公民，并有工程学、生物科学、自然科学、计算机科学或数学的学士学位。同时，宇航员还需要至少三年的相关经验或至少1000小时的驾驶飞机时长。成为NASA的宇航员不仅需要通过体检，还需要某些性格特质。我认为，NASA宇航员需要领导力、团队合作能力，不仅要能与团队合作并领导团队，也能为团队俯首称臣。当然，交流能力也很重要，而且交流能力对其他职业来说也同样重要。有近120位申请人将受邀到约翰逊航天中心参加第一轮面试。其中有一半人会挺进第二轮选拔。经过选拔脱颖而出的宇航员还必须顺利通过为期两年的培训期。培训期间，他们会对航天领域的各方面知识涉猎一二，除了各种航天系统的安利外，他们还要学习俄语，还要学习太空步。因此，在这两年的培训期内，他们什么都会学习到，然后才会执行特定任务。这批新选拔的宇航员可能会乘坐现在正在研发的新型宇宙飞船，其中包括用于深空探测的猎户座。如果一切都顺利，NASA计划于本世纪30年代将人类送往火星。

对于那些有志于宇航事业的年轻人，安妮有如下建议。大家经常给年轻人的建议就是选一个真正能激发你激情的事业，因为只有喜欢，你才能做好。而宇航事业就是这样一个能满足年轻人激情的事业。包括1959年第一批选拔的宇航员在内，到目前为止，NASA通过选拔的宇航员仅有338名。感谢收听帕基和申旭为您从休斯顿发回的VOA新闻。

1 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

2 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

3 follower   

n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒

参考例句：

• He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。

4 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。