美国国家公共电台 NPR Nancy Grace Roman, 'Mother Of Hubble' Space Telescope, Has Died, At Age 93

 

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Nancy Grace Roman led a remarkable¹ life. She joined NASA in 1959, not long after it was created, and went on to become the agency's first chief of astronomy and relativity. She was also known as the mother of the Hubble Space Telescope. Roman died on Christmas at the age of 93. Here's NPR's Russell Lewis.

RUSSELL LEWIS, BYLINE²: Nancy Grace Roman always loved to look up at the stars and imagine. At the age of four, her favorite object to draw was the moon. In fifth grade, she organized an astronomy club. When she got to high school, she met with a guidance counselor³ to plot out a future as a scientist.

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NANCY GRACE ROMAN: And she looked down her nose at me and sneered⁴, what lady would take mathematics instead of Latin?

LEWIS: In fact, in a field dominated by men, she never let that get in the way. She got a doctorate⁵ in astronomy and worked at the Naval⁶ Research Laboratory and then NASA.

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ROMAN: NASA was a whole 6 months old and was a great place to work at that time. It was - everybody was gung-ho.

LEWIS: Early on, she had to convince ground-based astronomers⁷ space astronomy was worth doing. David Devorkin of the National Air and Space Museum says that wasn't easy.

DAVID DEVORKIN: She had that very, very large, egalitarian view of how to make space astronomy part of astronomy. And I think that is a very important legacy⁸.

LEWIS: Among the many projects she oversaw⁹ was the creation of the Hubble Space Telescope. The idea had been around for a while. But in an NPR interview last year, she recalled bringing in astronomers from across the country to meet with NASA engineers.

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ROMAN: We sat down together and developed the outline of a design that the engineers thought would be feasible and that the astronomers thought would do what they wanted.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Three, two, one and liftoff of the space shuttle Discovery with the Hubble Space Telescope, our window on the universe.

LEWIS: In 1990, Hubble launched into orbit. The images it continues to reveal are stunning¹⁰. And its success led to future space telescopes.

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ROMAN: The things around us - the planets, the stars, the galaxies¹¹ - what are they? How did they come to be? What's going to happen to them?

LEWIS: Nancy Grace Roman was the recipient¹² of countless¹³ awards, including a special honor last year. She was highlighted in a Lego set that had four groundbreaking women at NASA. Her figurine stood next to a Hubble Space Telescope. Russell Lewis, NPR News.

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

4 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

5 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

9 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

10 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

11 galaxies   

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
• We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

12 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

13 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。