VOA慢速英语2018--July 20, 2003: Carl Sagan

 

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VOICE ONE:

This is Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

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And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, Explorations. Today we tell about American scientist Carl Sagan. He spent much of his life helping² make space travel possible far out in the universe. He also helped people understand science.

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VOICE ONE:

The year is nineteen-forty-seven. Twelve-year-old Carl Sagan is standing³ outside a small house in the eastern city of Brooklyn, New York. It is dark. He is looking up at the sky. After a few minutes, he finds the spot for which he has been searching. It is a light red color in the night sky. Carl is looking at the planet⁴ Mars⁵.

Carl has just finished reading a book by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is the story of a man who travels from Earth to the planet Mars. He meets many strange and interesting creatures there. Some of them are very human. The name of the book is “The Princess of Mars.” It is just one of many books that Mister⁶ Burroughs wrote about travels to Mars.

VOICE TWO:

In “The Princess of Mars,” the man who travels to Mars can make the trip by looking at the planet for several minutes. He then is transported there by a strange force.

Carl Sagan stands watching the red planet. He wishes he could travel across the dark, cold distance of space to the planet Mars. After a while, young Carl realizes this will not happen. He turns to enter his home. But in his mind he says, "Some day. . . Some day it will be possible to travel to Mars. "

VOICE ONE:

Carl Sagan never had the chance to go to Mars. He died in December, nineteen-ninety-six. However,much of the work he did during his life helped make it possible for the American Pathfinder vehicle to land on Mars. It landed on July fourth, nineteen-ninety-seven. It soon began sending back to earth lots of information and thousands of pictures about the red planet.

Carl Sagan's friends and family say he would have been extremely happy about the new information from Mars. They say he would have told as many people as possible about what Pathfinder helped us learn.

VOICE TWO:

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Carl Sagan was a scientist. He was also a great teacher. He helped explain extremely difficult scientific ideas to millions of people in a way that made it easy to understand. He made difficult science sound like fun.

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VOICE ONE:

Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, New York in nineteen-thirty-four. Even as a child he wanted to be a scientist. He said it was a child's science book about stars that helped him decide to be a scientist.

Mister Sagan said he read a book that told how our sun is a star that is very close to earth. The book also said that the stars in the night sky were also suns but very far away. Mister Sagan said that suddenly, this simple idea made the universe become much larger than just Brooklyn, New York.

VOICE TWO:

It should be no surprise to learn that Carl Sagan studied the stars and planets⁷ when he grew older. He did this at the University of Chicago. Later he taught astronomy⁸ at Harvard University and Cornell University.

In the nineteen-fifties, Mister Sagan helped design mechanical⁹ devices¹⁰ for use on some of the first space flights. He also published two important scientific theories that were later confirmed by space flights. One theory was that Venus is extremely hot. The other was that Mars did not have a season when plants grew as scientists had believed. He said that the dark areas on Mars that were thought to be plants were really giant dust storms in the Martian atmosphere.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Sagan was deeply involved in American efforts to explore the planets in our solar system. He was a member of the team that worked on the voyage of Mariner¹¹ Nine to Mars. It was launched¹² in nineteen-seventy-one. Mariner Nine was the first space vehicle to orbit¹³ another planet.

Mister Sagan helped choose the landing¹⁴ area for Viking One and Viking Two, the first space vehicles to successfully land on Mars. He also worked on Pioneer Two, the first space vehicle to investigate the planet Jupiter¹⁵. And he worked on Pioneer Eleven, which flew past Jupiter and Saturn¹⁶.

VOICE TWO:

Carl Sagan was a member of the scientific team that sent the Voyager One and Voyager Two space vehicles out of our solar system. He proposed¹⁷ the idea to put a message on the Voyager, on the chance that other beings will find the space vehicles in the distant future.

Mister Sagan worked for many months on what to say in the message. It was an extremely difficult task. When the Voyager space vehicles left our solar system they carried messages that included greetings from people in many languages. They carried the sound of huge whales in our oceans. And they carried the sound of ninety minutes of many different kinds of music from people around the world. Carl Sagan had created a greeting from the planet Earth.

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VOICE ONE:

Carl Sagan was an extremely successful scientist and university professor. He was also a successful writer. He wrote more than six-hundred scientific and popular papers during his life. And he wrote more than twelve books. In nineteen-seventy-eight, he won the Pulitzer Prize for one of them. It is called “The Dragons of Eden: Speculations¹⁸ on the Evolution of Human Intelligence.” He even helped write a work of science fiction in the nineteen-eighties. The book is called “Contact.” It is about the first meeting between beings from another world and the people of Earth. It was made into a popular movie.

VOICE TWO:

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Perhaps Carl Sagan may best be remembered for his many appearances on television. He used television very effectively in his efforts to make science popular. He first became famous in nineteen-eighty when he appeared on a thirteen-part television series about science. The show was called “Cosmos." It explored many scientific subjects--from the atom to the universe. It was seen by four-hundred-million people in sixty countries. Mister Sagan wrote a popular book based on his television show.

VOICE ONE:

Millions of people saw Carl Sagan on television in the nineteen-seventies and nineteen-eighties. He especially liked to talk about science and scientific discoveries on the late night television program "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." Mister Sagan said he always tried to accept invitations to “The Tonight Show” because about ten-million people watched it, people who were not usually interested in science.

On television, Mister Sagan was a good story-teller. He was able to explain complex scientific ideas in simple ways. He believed that increasing public excitement about science is a good way to get more public supporters. He said much of the money for science and scientific studies comes from the public, and people should know how their money is being spent.

VOICE TWO:

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Some scientists criticized²⁰ Carl Sagan because of his many appearances on television. They said he was not being serious enough about science. They said he was spending too much time appearing on television trying to make science popular. Other scientists valued his efforts to explain science. They said he communicated his message with joy and meaning.

VOICE ONE:

One of Carl Sagan's last books is called “The Pale Blue Dot: A Vision¹⁹ of the Human in Space. Mister Sagan said he got the idea for the book from a picture taken by the Voyager One space vehicle. As it passed the planet Neptune²¹, Voyager turned its cameras back toward²² the distant Earth.

Mister Sagan said. . . . “And there it was. Very small. The small blue dot in space with all of us. And you can't tell the difference between one nation and another. You can't even tell the difference between continents and oceans.

He said, "I thought it had a great deal to say about the foolishness of the issues that divide us. I thought it said we need to care for each other. And we have to also preserve this small dot in space. It is the only home we have ever known. "

VOICE TWO:

Carl Sagan died December twentieth, nineteen-ninety-six in Seattle, Washington. He was being treated at a medical center there for a bone marrow²³ disease²⁴. Carl Sagan was sixty-two years old.

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VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written by Paul Thompson and Nancy Steinbach. It was produced by Paul Thompson. This is Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another Explorations program on the Voice of America.

1 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

5 Mars   

n.火星，战争

参考例句：

• As of now we don't know much about Mars.目前我们对火星还知之甚少。
• He contended that there must be life on Mars.他坚信火星上面一定有生物。

6 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

7 planets   

行星( planet的名词复数 )； 地球（尤指环境）

参考例句：

• Does life exist on other planets? 其他行星上有生命吗？
• the planets of our solar system 太阳系的行星

8 astronomy   

n.天文学

参考例句：

• Mathematics is connected with astronomy.数学与天文学有联系。
• Astronomy is an abstract subject.天文学是一门深奥的学科。

9 mechanical   

adj.机械(学)的；力学的；机械似的；手工操作的

参考例句：

• He borrowed a mechanical book from me.他从我这儿借了一本力学方面的书。
• He looks very mechanical.他看上去非常呆板。

10 devices   

n.设备；装置( device的名词复数 )；花招；（为实现某种目的的）计划；手段

参考例句：

• electrical labour-saving devices around the home 节省劳力的各种家用电器
• modern labour-saving devices such as washing machines and dishwashers 诸如洗衣机和洗碗机之类的现代化省力设备

11 mariner   

n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者

参考例句：

• A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner.平静的大海决不能造就熟练的水手。
• A mariner must have his eye upon rocks and sands as well as upon the North Star.海员不仅要盯着北极星，还要注意暗礁和险滩。

12 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

13 orbit   

n.轨道；vt.使沿轨道运行；使进入轨道运行；vi.沿轨道运行，环行

参考例句：

• The space rocket was launched and went into orbit.宇宙火箭发射后进入轨道。
• We can draw the earth's orbit round the sun.我们可以画出地球绕太阳运行的轨迹。

14 landing   

n.登陆；着陆；楼梯平台

参考例句：

• Owing to engine trouble,the plane had to make a forced landing.由于发动机出了毛病，飞机不得不进行迫降。
• When are we landing?我们什么时候着陆？

15 Jupiter   

n.木星

参考例句：

• Jupiter is unlike the Earth in almost every way.木星与地球几乎完全不同。
• The astronomers were taking an observation of Jupiter.天文学家们正在观测木星。

16 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• 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。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

17 proposed   

被提议的

参考例句：

• There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
• an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议

18 speculations   

n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断

参考例句：

• Your speculations were all quite close to the truth. 你的揣测都很接近于事实。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• This possibility gives rise to interesting speculations. 这种可能性引起了有趣的推测。 来自《用法词典》

19 vision   

n.视觉，先见之明，光景，视力，眼力，幻想，影像；vt.幻想

参考例句：

• The wall cuts across our line of vision.那面墙挡住了我们的视线。
• Much reading has impaired his vision.大量读书损害了他的视力。

20 criticized   

vt.批评(criticize的过去式)v.评论，批评( criticize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The decision was criticized by environmental groups. 这个决定受到了环保团体的批评。
• The movie has been criticized for apparently legitimizing violence. 这部电影因明显地美化暴力而受到了指责。

21 Neptune   

n.海王星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun.海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Neptune turned out to be a dynamic,stormy world.海王星原来是个有生气、多风暴的世界。

22 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

23 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

24 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。