VOA慢速英语2021--太空旅游公司给美国小镇带来了商机

Space Tourism Companies Bring Excitement to Small American Towns

As the race to launch¹ space tourism flights continues in the United States, two small American towns have entered the action.

On Tuesday, American billionaire Jeff Bezos flew to the edge of space on a rocket built by his company Blue Origin. Three other people took the quick trip with him: Bezo's brother, a Dutch teenager and an 82-year old pilot.

The space tourism trips permit passengers to experience weightlessness and observe Earth for a few minutes after crossing into space.

On July 11, British billionaire Richard Branson made a similar trip. He flew on a rocket plane built by the company he founded, Virgin² Galactic. Two pilots and three company officials joined him.

The flights by Branson and Bezos officially launched³ a new industry that promises any citizen the chance to visit space. Such trips will be costly⁴, however. Virgin Galactic's price for a single flight is $250,000 and Blue Origin has not yet announced its rate.

Both businesses established operating bases, called "spaceports" in rural⁵ areas of the U.S.

Virgin Galactic's 70-square kilometer Spaceport America is in the desert near the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. About 5,800 people live in the town.

Blue Origin's New Shepard flight operations center is outside the Texas town of Van Horn, home to about 1,800 people.

As Blue Origin's flight took off, some locals watched from Van Horn High School, about 40 kilometers from the launch site. Angel Herrera, who lives in nearby El Paso, was there. He told The Associated Press the experience gave him "goose bumps⁶." He added: "The hair on the back of my neck stood up, just witnessing history."

A pizza shop owner in Van Horn, Jesus Ramirez, also watched the launch, which he called "a ride only for the wealthy." However, Ramirez said he hoped Blue Origin would bring other companies to town and increase business for existing local companies.

Valentina Muro works⁷ at a local eatery in Van Horn. She said the "buzz⁸" of the event had "kind of put Van Horn on the map a little more than it was."

For many years, the official welcoming sign for Van Horn has read: "Farming, ranching¹⁰, mining." While some of these activities are still there, local officials are now looking to space tourism as a way to possibly lift the economy.

"Our biggest driving force is in the tourism dollar," Van Horn Mayor¹¹ Becky Brewster told the AP. She said that while employees of Blue Origin had been working in the area since 2005, they started to become more involved in the community in the last several years.

"When they were in the development stages, Blue Origin was so secretive about what was going on, their people couldn't really socialize because they couldn't talk about their work and things like that," Brewster said. "It was like, here are the Blue Origin people and here are the Van Horn people. But that's starting to change for the better."

Virgin Galactic's Spaceport America is about 30 kilometers from Truth or Consequences. Sandra Whitehead, the town's mayor, spoke¹² about the importance of Branson's local launch to the Albuquerque Journal¹³. "Spaceport (America) has been in the works for over 20 years, and this is finally the launch that we have waited for," she said.

The town's economy mainly depends on tourists visiting its hot mineral springs and nearby Elephant Butte lake. Now, locals are hoping Virgin Galactic will draw a continuous¹⁴ flow of visitors to support the local economy.

Town manager Bruce Swingle told Reuters the space company had brought "real pioneering stuff¹⁵, opening up the heavens to the entire world."

When locals Val Wilkes and her wife Cydney bought a small hotel in Truth or Consequences 10 years ago, they named it the Rocket Inn¹⁶. Now, Wilkes says, "I love living around the corner from where science fiction is becoming science fact."

Hotel bookings have improved as pandemic restrictions¹⁷ have eased¹⁸, and Wilkes expects this to continue throughout the town. When asked if people may choose to stay in larger cities in connection with visits to Virgin Galactic, Wilkes predicted: "If people want to come to our town, they'll come."

Words in This Story

tourism – n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure

goose bumps – n. a roughness on the skin produced by a sudden feeling of cold, fear or excitement

buzz – n. a feeling of excitement, energy or pleasure

ranching – n. the activity of keeping animals on a ranch⁹ (a very large farm)

stage – n. a period of development

pioneer – n. a person who helps create or develop new ideas, methods

1 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

2 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

3 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。

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

5 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

6 bumps   

碰撞( bump的名词复数 )； 肿块； 轻微撞车事故； 隆起物

参考例句：

• I had goose bumps when we watched the fireworks. 我们看烟火的时候，我起鸡皮疙瘩。
• E was kind of zig-zagging across the pavement, and I bumps into 'im accidental-like. 他有点歪歪斜斜地在人行道上走，我一不小心撞到了他的怀里。 来自英汉文学

7 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

8 buzz   

v.充满了激动或活动的声音，发出低沉的声音

参考例句：

• My brain was in buzz.我的脑袋嗡嗡响。
• A buzz went through the crowded courtroom.拥挤的法庭里响起了一片乱哄哄的说话声。

9 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

10 ranching   

adj.放牧的

参考例句：

• They cleared large tracts of forest for farming, logging and ranching. 他们清除了大片的森林以经营农耕、采伐与畜牧。
• This is a trade center in a ranching and oil-producing region. 这是一个牧场与产油区的贸易中心。

11 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

14 continuous   

adj.继续的，连续的，持续的，延伸的

参考例句：

• She finally got in after 10 years'continuous effort.坚持不懈地努力了十年后，她终于当选了。
• We must be continuous to study.我们必须不断学习。

15 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

16 inn   

n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店，小饭店

参考例句：

• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。
• We stayed in a small village inn,right off the map.我们住在一家偏僻的乡村小店里。

17 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

18 eased   

adj. 放松的 动词ease的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• After the patient received acupuncture treatment,his spasms eased off somewhat. 病人接受针刺治疗后，痉挛稍微减轻了。
• The news that her child was safe eased her mind. 孩子平安的消息使她放心了。