Unit 11

Unit 11 Page 102 READING Exercise 4 A MISSION TO MARS Back in 2001, Dennis Tito made a name for himself by becoming the first ever space tourist. Twelve years later, he launched his Mars Project with the idea of sending a couple on a flight around Mars. It never happened. The technology wasn't ready. 2018 may have been our best chance to get to Mars from Earth for some time, as the two planets were at their closest, meaning the 35-million-mile journey might have taken as little as 200 days. Huge advances in science over recent years have meant that interest in reaching our closest planetary neighbour is at an all-time high, and we might not have to wait too long before it becomes a reality. The next time the two planets will come closer again is in 2033. The race for Mars is on. However, any space project wishing to touch down on the red planet will first have to overcome three major problems. Firstly, there is the expense. Current estimates for a return journey range from $100 billion to as much as $550 billion. Clearly this is a lot of money for any one government to find, which means a mission to Mars is certain to be an international collaboration. One way of bringing the cost down, is to work on developing reusable rockets. SpaceX, one of the companies at the forefront of space exploration, believe their Falcon 9, which has already successfully been launched and landed, might be the answer to this. Another problem that needs overcoming is the psychological effects of such an ambitious journey on the astronauts. Medical experts are worried that the long time spent in a confined space can't be beneficial to the mental health of the crew. They advise that space crafts should be fitted with a wide range of activities to keep the astronauts busy. There is also the question of how well the astronauts will cope with the desert-like Martian landscape. The Hi-Seas project aims to help prepare for this and sees would-be astronauts spending up to eight months in isolation on the side of a Hawaian volcano. The final problem is perhaps the most serious. A journey to Mars is bound to expose crew members to extremely high levels of radiation, which is highly likely to lead to a number of illnesses. Ideas being worked on to fight this include the development of protective covering and the possibility of faster rockets to cut down journey time. Although human exploration of Mars seems certain at some future date, there are those who say there are several reasons why this might not be such a good idea. Perhaps the greatest fear is that of cross-contamination: no matter how sterile the spaceships landing on Mars might be, the astronauts walking out on to the surface will bring with them millions of Earth microbes and the effect of these on any potential Martian ecosystem may well be disastrous. Perhaps we'd be better off concentrating on looking after the world we currently have, so that there will never be any need to find an alternative home.

第十一单元 第102页阅读 练习4 火星任务 早在2001年，Dennis Tito就因成为有史以来第一位太空游客而声名鹊起。 12年后，他启动了火星计划 怀着送一对夫妇绕火星飞行的想法。 这从未发生过。技术还没有准备好。 2018年可能是一段时间以来我们从地球前往火星的最佳机会， 由于这两颗行星距离最近， 这意味着3500万英里的旅程可能只需要200天。 近年来科学取得了巨大进步 这意味着，人们对联系我们最近的行星邻居的兴趣达到了历史最高水平， 我们可能不必等太久，它就会成为现实。 下一次这两颗行星再次靠近是在2033年。 火星竞赛开始了。 然而，任何希望降落在这颗红色星球上的太空项目 首先必须克服三个主要问题。 首先是费用。 目前对回程的估计从1000亿美元到5500亿美元不等。 显然，这对任何一个政府来说都是一笔巨款， 这意味着火星任务肯定是一项国际合作。 降低成本的一种方法是开发可重复使用的火箭。 SpaceX是太空探索最前沿的公司之一， 相信他们的猎鹰9号已经成功发射和着陆， 也许这就是答案。 另一个需要克服的问题是，如此雄心勃勃的旅程对宇航员的心理影响。 医学专家担心长时间呆在密闭空间里 对船员的心理健康没有好处。 他们建议航天器应配备各种活动，以使宇航员保持忙碌。 还有一个问题是，宇航员将如何应对火星沙漠般的景观。 公海项目旨在为此做好准备 并看到未来的宇航员在夏威夷火山边隔离长达八个月。 最后一个问题可能是最严重的。 火星之旅必然会使机组人员暴露在极高水平的辐射中， 这极有可能导致多种疾病。 正在研究解决这一问题的想法 包括开发防护罩和更快的火箭以缩短飞行时间的可能性。 尽管人类在未来某个时候探索火星似乎是肯定的， 有人说，这可能不是一个好主意有几个原因。 也许最大的恐惧是交叉污染： 无论登陆火星的宇宙飞船多么无菌， 宇航员踏上月球表面，将携带数百万地球微生物 这些对任何潜在的火星生态系统的影响都可能是灾难性的。 也许我们最好集中精力照顾我们现在的世界， 这样就永远不需要找到另一个家了。

Page 104 PRONUNCIATION Exercise 1 & 2 I just watched a TV show that said the Vikings might have discovered America. Well ... they might have, I suppose. It said that they may have built some villages in Canada! It could be true – if they had the boats and technology to get there. In fact, they may be the greatest explorers in history! Oh, Gina! That's not very likely, is it? Page 104 PRONUNCIATION Exercise 3 I just watched a TV show that said the Vikings might have discovered America. Well ... they might have, I suppose. It said that they may have built some villages in Canada! It could be true – if they had the boats and technology to get there. In fact, they may be the greatest explorers in history! Oh, Gina! That's not very likely, is it? Page 105 LISTENING Exercise 9 & 10 Hello and welcome to 'Science Today'. Well, believe it or not, it's been nearly twenty years since American businessman Dennis Tito paid an incredible $20 million dollars for a journey into space and a six-day stay on board the International Space Station. That's right. On April 28th 2001 Mr Tito took a trip on a Russian Soyuz spaceship that was quite literally out of this world and became the first ever space tourist. Back then it seemed like that was going to be the start of a mad rush of space tourism but things didn't quite move as quickly as everyone had imagined. Between 2001 and 2009 there were only a total of eight tourism flights and then in 2009 these flights were stopped altogether. But don't worry all you starry-eyed space travellers, there are a few companies that have plans to put anyone who has the money up into space. One of those companies leading the way is Virgin Galactic, part of the massive Virgin Group created by the British entrepreneur Richard Branson. The Virgin Galactic's spaceship, known as the SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity, will carry six tourists along with its two pilots into outer space and rather than the $20 million that Tito paid, the cost of this journey is a mere $250,000. But we should add that you won't be getting six days full board on the ISS for that money and neither will you be going quite so far or spending quite so long in space. In fact, the whole trip on VSS Unity, from Earth to space and back again, will last just over two hours. Let me explain how it works. The VSS Unity is attached to another ship, the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft. This blasts off from Earth and carries the VSS Unity to a height of around 14,000 metres above the Earth. At this height the two spaceships separate and the Unity will fire up its engines and travel at supersonic speeds to a height of 80,500 meters where the rules of space take over and you become weightless. So, after a bit of floating about the spaceship and admiring the wonderful views of our planet, passengers will be returned to Earth where the VSS Unity will land on a runway, a bit like a regular aeroplane. And that's it. It's not exactly rocket science. Except that it is. You know what I mean. So, if you're interested and have the money, here's the bad news. The first flight, whenever it takes place, is already sold out. Indeed. In fact, there are around 700 people who have already bought tickets into space with one or other company who are waiting to get onto a flight. Some of them have been waiting for nearly 20 years. So, if you're in a hurry for an exotic holiday then you might be better off going for something a little more down to earth for now. A trip to Antarctica perhaps?

第104页项目 我刚刚看了一个电视节目，说维京人可能已经发现了美洲。 好。他们可能有，我想。 据说他们可能在加拿大建造了一些村庄！ 这可能是真的——如果他们有船和技术到达那里。 事实上，他们可能是历史上最伟大的探险家！ 哦，吉娜！这不太可能，是吗？ 第104页项目 练习3 我刚刚看了一个电视节目，说维京人可能已经发现了美洲。 好。他们可能有，我想。 据说他们可能在加拿大建造了一些村庄！ 这可能是真的——如果他们有船和技术到达那里。 事实上，他们可能是历史上最伟大的探险家！ 哦，吉娜！这不太可能，是吗？ 第105页列表 大家好，欢迎收看《今日科学》。 好吧，不管你信不信，美国商人丹尼斯·蒂托已经去世近二十年了 支付了惊人的2000万美元 踏上太空之旅，在国际空间站停留六天。 这是正确的。 2001年4月28日，铁托乘坐俄罗斯联盟号宇宙飞船旅行 这简直太不可思议了，成为有史以来第一位太空游客。 当时，这似乎是太空旅游疯狂热潮的开始 但事情并没有像大家想象的那么快。 2001年至2009年，总共只有8个旅游航班 然后在2009年，这些航班完全停止了。 但别担心，你们这些天真的太空旅行者， 有几家公司计划将任何有钱的人投入太空。 其中一家领先的公司是维珍银河， 英国企业家理查德·布兰森创建的维珍集团的一部分。 维珍银河的宇宙飞船，被称为太空船二号VSS Unity， 将搭载六名游客和两名飞行员进入外太空 而不是铁托支付的2000万美元， 这次旅行的费用仅为25万美元。 但我们应该补充一点，你不会用这笔钱在国际空间站上呆六天 你也不会在太空中走那么远或花那么长时间。 事实上，VSS Unity的整个旅程，从地球到太空再回来， 将持续两个多小时。 让我解释一下它是如何工作的。 VSS Unity附属于另一艘船，WhiteKnightTwo舰载机。 它从地球上爆炸，将VSS Unity带到地球上方约14000米的高度。 在这个高度，两艘宇宙飞船分开，团结号将启动发动机 以超音速飞行到80500米的高度 在那里，空间的规则占据了主导地位，你变得没有重量。 所以，在宇宙飞船上漂浮了一会儿，欣赏了我们星球的美景之后， 乘客将返回地球，VSS Unity将在那里降落在跑道上， 有点像普通飞机。 就是这样。这并不完全是火箭科学。 除了它是。 你知道我的意思。 所以，如果你感兴趣并且有钱，这里有个坏消息。 第一次飞行，无论何时举行，都已经卖完了。 的确。事实上，大约有700人已经购买了太空门票 与等待登机的一家或其他公司合作。 他们中的一些人已经等待了近20年。 所以，如果你急着去一个异国情调的假期 那么，你现在最好还是去做一些更脚踏实地的事情。 也许去南极旅行？

Page 106 READING Exercise 2 Top four SPACE FILMS of the 21st century NASA'S InSight's thrilling touchdown on the surface of Mars got me thinking a lot about space. So, with that in mind, I've decided to come up with a list of my four favourite space films of the 21st century so far. It wasn't easy choosing just four (and you might not agree with me), but here they are. 1 ARRIVAL (2016) Arrival isn't exactly action-packed. Not much happens, but it still leaves you thinking about it for days and days afterwards. It stars Amy Adams as Louise Banks, a linguist who is asked by the American military to try and help them communicate with an alien spaceship. It is one of 12 ships that have landed in various locations around Earth. Because of increased tensions between these countries, Louise must work quickly to decipher the codes the aliens are sending and discover exactly why they are here. It is a memorable film and was considered by many critics to be one of 2016's top films. 2 GRAVITY (2009) I saw this one in 3D on the big screen and it blew me away. In a word, it's stunning. The shots of outer space are so breathtaking that you spend the whole time thinking you are actually up there yourself. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but due to a run of incredible bad luck, the astronaut played by Sandra Bullock finds herself all alone in the International Space Station, with little hope of ever getting home. Will she or won't she? Watch and you'll find out. Gravity, which also features George Clooney – all too briefly – was a huge box office success, but also a hit with the critics. It won a total of seven Academy Awards. 3 FIRST MAN (2018) This one differs from my other choices because it's based on a true story. Neil Armstrong is the First Man referred to in the title of this film: the first man on the moon. He is played brilliantly by Ryan Gosling in this biopic of America's most famous astronaut. It's full of fascinating details and things you never knew. It's very moving at times, especially when dealing with the death of Armstrong's young daughter. At times it does get a little sentimental, perhaps as a result of having Steven Spielberg as an executive producer. A must for all space travel fans and highly recommended for everyone else. 4 THE MARTIAN (2015) I've saved the best till last. Matt Damon plays astronaut Mark Watney, who is part of a space mission to explore Mars. He gets caught up in a huge storm and the rest of his crew, deciding that he must be dead, return home without him. Watney must now somehow survive everything the planet can throw at him and try and find a way of making contact with his base back on Earth. The plot might seem a bit far-fetched, but scientists agree that the film gets a lot right about Mars. The special effects are amazing, and consequently, this film is best seen on the big screen. But even on a small screen, this is easily the best space film of all time.

第106页阅读 练习2 21世纪四大太空电影 美国国家航空航天局的InSight在火星表面的惊险着陆让我对太空有了很多思考。 所以，考虑到这一点， 我决定列出迄今为止我最喜欢的21世纪四部太空电影。 只选四个并不容易 （你可能不同意我的观点），但它们在这里。 1抵达（2016） 到达并不完全是行动包装。 不会发生太多事情，但它仍然会让你在之后的几天里思考它。 艾米·亚当斯饰演路易斯·班克斯， 一位语言学家，被美国军方要求尝试帮助他们与外星宇宙飞船进行交流。 它是在地球各地降落的12艘船只之一。 由于这些国家之间的紧张局势加剧， 路易丝必须迅速破译外星人发送的密码，并找出他们为什么在这里。 这是一部令人难忘的电影，被许多评论家认为是2016年的顶级电影之一。 2重力（2009） 我在大屏幕上看到了这张3D照片，它让我大吃一惊。 总之，这太令人震惊了。 外太空的照片太令人叹为观止了 你一直以为自己真的在上面。 我不想透露太多的情节， 但由于一连串难以置信的厄运， 桑德拉·布洛克饰演的宇航员发现自己独自一人在国际空间站， 回家的希望渺茫。 她会还是不会？ 看，你会发现的。 《地心引力》也以乔治·克鲁尼为主角，但时间太短，取得了巨大的票房成功， 但也受到了批评者的欢迎。 它总共获得了七项奥斯卡奖。 3第一人（2018） 这个与我的其他选择不同，因为它基于一个真实的故事。 尼尔·阿姆斯特朗是这部电影标题中提到的第一个人： 第一个登上月球的人。 瑞安·高斯林在这部美国最著名的宇航员传记片中出色地扮演了他。 它充满了引人入胜的细节和你从未知道的事情。 这有时非常感人，尤其是在处理阿姆斯特朗小女儿的死亡时。 有时它确实会变得有点伤感， 也许是因为史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格担任执行制片人。 所有太空旅行爱好者的必备品，强烈推荐给其他人。 4火星人（2015） 我把最好的留到最后。 马特·达蒙饰演宇航员马克·沃特尼，他是探索火星太空任务的一部分。 他和其他船员陷入了一场巨大的风暴， 认定他一定死了，就不带他回家。 沃特尼现在必须设法度过这个星球对他的一切打击 并尝试找到一种方法与他在地球上的基地取得联系。 这个情节可能看起来有点牵强， 但科学家们一致认为，这部电影对火星的描述非常准确。 特效令人惊叹，因此，这部电影最好在大屏幕上观看。 但即使在小屏幕上，这也很容易成为有史以来最好的太空电影。

Page 108 Culture Exercise 2 A multinational enterprise Somewhere up there in the skies, 400 km above your head, a huge metallic structure the size of an American football pitch is orbiting the Earth every hour and a half, as it travels at speeds of up to 28,000 km/h. Inside, you will find several sleeping areas, two bathrooms, a gym and a 360° window offering some of the most spectacular views you can imagine. You will also find people! It's the International Space Station (or ISS for short) and as its name suggests, it truly is the result of a huge collaboration between many different countries. The main financial contributors are the US, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan. Although it is constantly being added to and adapted, the main construction of it was completed between 1998 and 2011. It was taken up into space piece by piece, using NASA'S space shuttle to transport most of the larger pieces. Once up there, these pieces were assembled by robots and astronauts. Since November 2nd 2000, it has been called home by 230 astronauts from 18 different countries. The majority (145) have been from the US, with Russia sending the second most (46). Other countries that have sent astronauts include Italy, Japan, Brazil, Malaysia and South Africa. Although English is the official language of the Space Station, astronauts are also expected to learn Russian, as technical commands are given in that language. This has led to the creation of 'Runglish' – a mixture of the two – that many of the astronauts use to socialise in their everyday life on board the station. These days, the ISS generally has a crew of three to six people living on it. Their journey begins on board a Russian Soyuz spaceship, which transports them from Earth to the station where they spend on average six months before returning home. In case of emergency, they can always evacuate the station using one of the two Soyuz spaceships that are docked to the ISS. During their time there, crew members have a number of different responsibilities. One of the main reasons they are there is to conduct scientific experiments in space. These range from growing plants, to observing the effect of life in space on the human body, in order to understand the challenges humans will face if they want to explore further into the solar system. They also test products such as 3D printers and coffee makers to see how they perform in zero gravity. But the astronauts are also responsible for making sure the ISS is in full working order and they will often need to make repairs which might involve spacewalks to access the exterior of the station. They also put aside two hours each day for exercise and to make sure they are taking care of themselves. But the ISS might well not be there forever. At the moment, there are plans to keep it in operation until at least 2024 and possibly until 2028, but after that, its future is not so certain. It might be taken out of orbit permanently or broken up into parts to be used on future space stations. But whatever happens to it, let's hope the spirit of international co-operation will continue as mankind explores further and further into space.

第108页文化 练习2 一家跨国企业 在天空的某个地方，在你头顶400公里处， 一个美式足球场大小的巨大金属结构 它以高达28000公里/小时的速度绕地球运行。 在里面，你会发现几个睡眠区， 两间浴室、一间健身房和一扇360°窗户，可以欣赏到你能想象到的最壮观的景色。 你也会找到人！ 这就是国际空间站（简称ISS），正如它的名字所暗示的那样， 这确实是许多不同国家之间巨大合作的结果。 主要的财政捐助国是美国、俄罗斯、加拿大、欧洲和日本。 虽然它不断被添加和调整， 它的主要建设于1998年至2011年期间完成。 它被一块一块地送入太空， 使用美国国家航空航天局的航天飞机运输大部分较大的碎片。 一旦到达那里，这些部件就由机器人和宇航员组装起来。 自2000年11月2日以来， 来自18个不同国家的230名宇航员将其称为家园。 大多数（145人）来自美国，俄罗斯派出的人数第二多（46人）。 其他派遣宇航员的国家包括意大利、日本、巴西、马来西亚和南非。 虽然英语是空间站的官方语言， 宇航员还将学习俄语，因为技术命令是用俄语下达的。 这导致了“龙格式英语”的产生——两者的混合—— 许多宇航员在空间站的日常生活中都会用它来社交。 如今，国际空间站通常有三到六名宇航员居住在上面。 他们的旅程从俄罗斯联盟号宇宙飞船上开始， 它将它们从地球运送到空间站，在那里它们平均要呆六个月才能回家。 在紧急情况下，他们可以随时撤离车站 使用停靠在国际空间站的两艘联盟号宇宙飞船中的一艘。 在那里的时间里，船员们有许多不同的职责。 他们在那里的主要原因之一是在太空中进行科学实验。 这些包括种植植物， 观察太空中生命对人体的影响， 为了了解人类如果想进一步探索太阳系将面临的挑战。 他们还测试了3D打印机和咖啡机等产品，以了解它们在零重力下的性能。 但宇航员也有责任确保国际空间站处于完全正常的工作状态 他们经常需要进行维修，这可能涉及太空行走以进入空间站的外部。 他们还每天留出两个小时锻炼身体 并确保他们照顾好自己。 但国际空间站可能不会永远存在。 目前，有计划将其运行到至少2024年，甚至可能到2028年， 但在那之后，它的未来就不那么确定了。 它可能会被永久带出轨道，也可能被分解成几个部分，用于未来的空间站。 但无论发生什么， 让我们希望，随着人类对太空的探索越来越深入，国际合作的精神将继续下去。