21世纪大学英语读写教程3第八单元课文中英对照

21世纪大学英语读写教程复习资料

Unit8

1. 火星上可能存在着生命的发现有望重新唤起公众对于外层空间探索的兴趣。但鉴于政治家们似乎已决心努力推进国际性的外层空间探索，公众对它的支持是否还有必要呢？

It is expected that the discovery of possible life-forms from the planet Mars will revive public interest in space exploration. But is public support for the international space effort necessary, given that politicians seem determined to press ahead with it anyway? 2. 1969年由美国人获胜的登月竞赛几乎完全是受政治驱动的。美国和前苏联之间的竞争意味着这两个国家都决心首先将人送到月球上。约翰 F 肯尼迪总统保证美国将赢得这场竞赛，作为美国历史上最得民心的总统之一，他激励国民将外层空间探索视为美国对其敌人苏联的优越性的终极考验。

The race to the moon, which was won by the Americans in 1969, was driven almost entirely by politics. The rivalry between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union meant that the two countries were determined to be the first to put a man on the moon. President John F.Kennedy promised that America would win this race and, as one of the most popular presidents in American history, he inspired a nation to think of space exploration as the ultimate test of America’ superiority over her Soviet enemy.

3. 美国作为第一个到达月球的国家的成功，以及持续不断的冷战竞赛，赢得了公众对于太空计划的大力支持，所以华盛顿能够为更多的航天任务提供资金。在20世纪70年代，月球被再次访问，不载人的飞船被送往火星，而且人造飞船也首次被送上将带领它们脱离太阳系的轨道。

America’s success as the first nation to reach the moon, coupled with continuing Cold

War rivalry, created much public support for the space programme and Washington was able to fund many more missions. During the 1970s, the moon was visited again, unmanned missions were sent to Mars and, for the first time, man-made craft were put on paths that would take them out of the solar system.

4. 但是，到了80年代，公众对于外层空间探索的支持已日见衰退。在1986年“挑战者”号航天飞机遇难之后，这种支持便几乎完全消失了，美国政府处于缩减其太空计划的压力之下。政治家们的反应是要求削减开支，这使得许多航天任务的前途变得渺茫。

But, by the 1980s, public support for space exploration was declining. It faded almost entirely after the Challenger space shuttle disaster of 1986, and the U.S. government was under pressure to scale back its space programme. Politicians reacted by demanding cuts in spending, which put the future of many space missions in doubt.

5. 在俄罗斯，资金也是一个问题。苏联的解体意味着这个国家再也无力承担其太空计划。事实上，它的银根已经很紧，经常没有足够的钱将在这个国家的“和平”号太空站工作的宇航员带回家。

In Russia, funding was also a problem. The end of the Soviet Union meant the country could no longer afford to sustain its space programme. In fact, spending became so tight that there was often not enough money to bring home astronauts working on the country’s Mir space station.

6. 但是，在过去几年里，政治家们似乎已经改变了他们对于外层空间探索的态度，尽管公众并没有表现出什么改变的迹象。新的火星飞行计划已经被制订，大量资金正被用于其他的地球外的活动。例如，去年，美国花在太空研究和开发上的资金就比花在健康和军事除外的其他任何研究领域上的资金都多。

But, in the last few years, politicians seem to have changed their attitude to space exploration, even though there is little evidence that the public have. New missions to Mars are planned, and plenty of money is being spent on other extraterrestrial activities. Last year, for instance, the U.S. spent more on space research and development than on any other area of research, except health and the military.

7. 在以后的几年中投资可能会增加：目前，国家航空和航天局正在计划几次飞往火星的航天任务，它还在努力推进一个有史以来耗资最多的外层空间探索计划—国际空间站。（三年前，这项计划—美国、加拿大、俄罗斯、欧洲和日本之间的一次合作—以一票之差险些被美国众议院取消。）

And spending is likely to increase in the coming years: currently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is planning a number of missions to Mars, and it is pressing ahead with the most expensive space-exploration project ever undertaken — the International Space Station. (Three years ago, this project — a collaboration between the U.S., Canada, Russia, Europe and Japan — came within one vote of being canceled by the American House of Representatives.)

8. 在外层空间探索上花费巨资的并不只是美国人。预计欧洲人、加拿大人和日本人要在他们的空间站份额中支付90亿美元，而欧洲已经花费了巨资研制阿丽亚娜火箭，其最近的一枚—阿丽亚娜五号—在发射后不久即爆炸。俄罗斯人也声称他们将不遗余力地支持国际空间站—一笔该国似乎无力支付的费用。

And the Americans are not the only ones spending huge sums on space exploration. The Europeans, Canadians and Japanese are expected to spend $9 billion on their share of the space station, and Europe has already spent huge sums developing its Ariane rockets, the most recent if which — Ariane 5 — blew up shortly after it was launched. The Russians,

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