Go to Mars?
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Table of Contents Are We There Yet?
内容表 我们在那里吗?
4 You’re Going to Need a Bigger Rocket.
4你需要更大的火箭。
6 Don’t Forget to Take Some Gravity!
6 不要忘记拿一些重力!
8 Cosmic Radiation Is Bad.
8宇宙辐射是坏事.
9 But We Just Dusted Yesterday!
9,但我们只是昨天被弄脏了!
10 What’s There to Eat on Mars?
火星上有什么吃的?
Nothing.
没什么
Are You Still Here?
你还在吗?
12 What’s All This Going to Cost?
12 这一切将花费多少?
13 Mars or Bust!
13个火星或Bust!
(Could Be Both, Actually).
(可能是两个,其实。)
14 Glossary.
14 词汇表。
16 Are We There Yet?
16 我们到了吗?
Scientists have been talking about sending astronauts to Mars for what seems like.
科学家们一直在谈论将宇航员送入火星的 似乎是什么。
forever!
永远!
However, the closest the United States has gotten is to send a series of rovers to Mars.
然而,美国得到的最接近的是 送出一系列的骑行者去火星。
Between 1969 and 1972, the United States sent astronauts on six round trips to Earth’s nearest neighbor, the Moon.
1969至1972年间,美国派遣了宇航员6次往返地球最近的邻居月球.
With that accomplished, Mars was the obvious next stop in our solar system.
有了这个成就,火星是我们太阳系的一站。
But when are we going to actually go there?
但我们什么时候去?
What’s the holdup?
为何如此?
This design concept for a Mars-capable ship comes from the Inspiration Mars project, a private nonprofit foundation.
火星能飞船的这个设计概念出自一个私人非营利基金会Inspirence Mars项目.
It turns out that traveling to Mars presents challenges that astronauts have never had to face.
结果发现去火星旅行带来了宇航员从来就不用面对的挑战.
For starters, Mars is much, much farther away than the Moon—more than five hundred times farther away on average.
首先,火星远比月球远得多——平均远500多倍。
Getting to Mars in one piece and staying alive there won’t be easy.
回到火星,
In fact, it will be the greatest technological feat humans have ever accomplished.
事实上,这将是人类有史以来最伟大的技术成就。
But here’s the good news: The talk about a Mars mission is finally getting serious.
但好消息是: 关于火星任务的说法终于变得严肃了.
Many people would love to make that trip.
许多人都很想去旅行
Maybe you’re one of them.
也许你是其中之一。
Let’s find out what you’re up against.
让我们来看看你面对的是什么。
You’re Going to Need a Bigger Rocket.
你需要更大的火箭。
So just how long is this trip to Mars that you want to take?
你想去火星旅行多久?
Well, the Red Planet—so called because of reddish iron-rich minerals in its soil— is never closer than about 55 million kilometers (34 million mi.)
红色星球, 因其土壤中富含多铁的矿物而得名,
from Earth.
从地球。
The average distance is about 240 million kilometers (140 million mi.)
平均距离约为2.4亿公里(1.4亿米.
A Mars mission would take seven to nine months each way.
A级 火星任务需要7到9个月
Add to that whatever amount of time you plan to spend on the planet’s surface.
再加上你计划花在地球表面的时间。
A trip of that distance and duration will require spaceships bigger than anything that exists today.
这种距离和持续时间的旅行需要比今天任何一艘太空船都大的太空船。
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—the U.
美国国家航空航天局(美国航天局)-U.
S.
师曰.
space agency— is hard at work building an enormous rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS).
空间局——正在努力建造一种巨大的火箭,称为空间发射系统。
In the meantime, a private company, Space X, is developing its own rocket, a whopper called Falcon Heavy.
在此期间,一家私人公司"Space X"正在研制自己的火箭,这枚火箭叫"猎鹰重".
NASA’s new SLS rocket will be more powerful than the Saturn V rocket used to carry astronauts to the Moon.
NASA新的SLS火箭将比用来运载宇航员去月球的土星V火箭更强大.
How Far Away Is Mars?
火星有多远?
It Depends When You Ask.
这取决于何时你问。
Earth Orbit Sun closest distancefarthest distance 400 million km (249 million miles) million km (34 million miles) Mars Orbit Earth travels more quickly around the Sun than Mars does.
地球轨道 太阳最远距离 4亿公里(2.49亿英里) 百万公里(3,400万英里) 火星轨道地球绕太阳飞行的速度比火星快.
It passes between the Sun and Mars once every twenty-six months.
它每隔26个月在太阳和火星之间穿过一次.
At any given time, Earth can be on the same side of the Sun as Mars, on the opposite side, or anywhere in between on its orbit.
在任何特定时间,地球都可以同火星一样站在太阳的一面,在相反的一面,或者在其轨道之间的任何地方.
Centrifugal Force In a spaceship, centrifugal force could be used within a large, rotating section of the ship to create artificial gravity.
离心力 在宇宙飞船中,离心力可以被用在飞船的大型旋转部分内来制造人造重力.
Astronauts on the inside surface of this circular area would be constantly moving around the center of rotation.
这个圆形区域内表面的宇航员会不断围绕旋转中心移动.
They could walk around on the surface as though they were being pulled downward by gravity.
他们可以在地表上走来走去 好像被重力拉下
Great!
赞!
So you can just hop on one of those puppies and go to Mars!
所以你可以跳上那些小狗 然后去火星!
If only.
唯愿如来.
No, neither of those rockets would work as a stand-alone vehicle for a Mars mission.
不,这些火箭都不会成为火星飞行任务的独立载体。
A Mars ship would have to be even bigger, with a larger crew area.
A级 火星飞船必须更大 拥有更大的船员区
Experts say a Mars mission would be such a huge undertaking that several ships would be required to transport the crew, supplies, and habitat.
专家说火星任务将是一个巨大的任务,需要几艘船来运送船员,补给品和栖息地.
What the SLS and Falcon Heavy rockets could be used for is lifting separate parts of Mars ships to Earth orbit.
SLS和猎鹰重力火箭可以用来将火星舰只的单独部分提升到地球轨道.
The spacecraft would be assembled there for the trip to the Red Planet, saving lots of fuel.
宇宙飞船将在那里组装,用于去"红星球"的旅行,节省了大量的燃料.
That’s how the International Space Station (ISS) was built, so we know how to do it.
国际空间站(ISS)就是这样建造的,所以我们知道如何建造。
We’re just not ready yet.
我们只是还没有准备好。
Don’t Forget to Take Some Gravity!
别忘了带点重力!
Gravity will also be a problem—or rather the absence of it.
重力也是一个问题,或者说缺乏重力。
Gravity is a good thing.
地心引力是好事.
It enables us to walk, pour a glass of milk, shoot baskets—all the stuff we take for granted.
它使我们能够走,倒一瓶牛奶,射出篮子——所有我们视为理所当然的东西。
Gravity also keeps us healthy and fit by making our bodies work against it.
引力还使我们的身体与它相抗衡,从而使我们保持健康和健康。
A spaceship would be a zero-gravity environment.
宇宙飞船将是一个零重力环境。
Without gravity, bad things start to happen to your body.
没有地心引力 坏事就会发生在你的身体上
Muscles shrink and bones weaken.
肌肉收缩而骨弱.
After nine months in space, you’ d be a physical wreck.
在太空九个月后,
The answer to this problem is artificial gravity.
这个问题的答案是人为地引力.
A circular, rotating section of the spaceship would simulate gravity through centrifugal force.
宇宙飞船的圆形旋转部分将通过离心力来模拟重力。
It’s taken more than thirty flights to deliver and assemble the pieces that make up the International Space Station (ISS).
超过30次飞行,
Cosmic Radiation Is Bad In space, electrically charged particles whiz around by the gazillion, coming from both the Sun and interstellar space.
宇宙辐射是坏的 在太空中,电荷粒子被恒星环绕着 从太阳和星际空间传来
Down here, we’re safe from all that dangerous radiation because Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that pushes the particles away.
地球被磁场所包围, 将粒子推走。
A Mars ship, however, would be continuously bombarded.
A级 然而,火星飞船将不断被轰炸。
Engineers are studying ways of protecting astronauts from radiation on long space journeys.
工程师们正在研究如何保护宇航员在漫长的太空旅程中免受辐射.
One idea is to surround the crew areas with a tank of water to absorb incoming particles.
一个想法是用一罐水来包围船员区来吸收来袭的粒子.
However, water is heavy, and it would greatly increase the mass of the ship.
然而,水很重,这将大大增加舰只的质量.
Increased mass means higher fuel usage.
质量增加意味着燃料使用量增加。
A better solution might be to design a spaceship with its own magnetic shield, making it a sort of mini-Earth.
更好的解决办法可能是设计出一艘带有自身磁屏蔽的宇宙飞船,使其成为一种小型地球.
Researchers around the world are busy trying to design such a system.
世界各地的研究人员正忙于设计这样的系统.
So, engineers— to your workstations!
所以,工程师们... 去你们的工作站!
But We Just Dusted Yesterday!
但我们只是昨天被弄脏了!
When you finally arrive at Mars, what awaits you on the surface?
当你终于到达火星, 是什么等待你 在地表?
Let’s just say, life on the Red Planet will be no picnic.
红星球的生活不会是野餐。
First of all, because Mars has no protective magnetic field, the radiation problem for astronauts will continue.
首先,由于火星没有保护性磁场,宇航员的辐射问题将继续存在.
You simply won’t be able to get away from that pesky radiation unless you go underground.
除非进入地下, 否则你根本无法摆脱那肮脏的辐射。
Any habitat constructed on the planet’s surface will have to be as heavily shielded as the spaceship.
在地球表面建造的任何栖息地都必须同太空船一样被严密地屏蔽.
That’s not all.
这还不是全部。
Mars is a barren planet covered with dust, dirt, and rocks.
火星是一个贫瘠的星球 上面覆盖有灰尘、泥土和岩石
Violent, towering dust storms often roar across its surface.
猛烈而猛烈的沙尘暴经常在地表上咆哮。
That dust will pose a threat to both you and your equipment.
尘土会对你和你的设备构成威胁
This NASA rocket design would use fuel tanks and shields arranged in a ring outside the vessel to protect the crew from radiation.
这种NASA的火箭设计将使用在舰只外的环状排列的燃料箱和盾牌来保护船员免受辐射.
Mars has the largest dust storms in our solar system.
火星拥有我们太阳系中最大的尘暴.
What’s There to Eat on Mars?
在火星上吃什么?
Nothing.
没什么
To put it bluntly, Mars is not good farmland.
直说吧,火星不是好的农田
So what are voyagers to the Red Planet going to eat?
红星球的航海者要吃什么?
Well, if you’re going to stay a short while and then return to Earth, you can take your food with you.
如果你打算呆一会儿然后回到地球, 你可以带着你的食物。
That’s what NASA plans for its first Mars missions.
美国国家航空航天局的首次火星任务就是这个计划。
On the other hand, let’s say you plan to settle down and call Mars home—what then?
另一方面,我们假设你计划安顿下来,叫火星回家,然后呢?
Your best bet would be to grow crop plants in a hydroponic solution.
你最好的赌注是用水相溶液种植作物
That would require lots of water.
这需要大量的水。
Here’s where Mars can lend a helping hand.
火星可以在这里伸出援手。
The planet seems to have plenty of water, both at the poles (frozen as ice) and deep underground.
这个星球似乎有很多水,无论是在极地(被冻为冰块)还是在地底深处.
There’s enough water for drinking, indoor farming, and other uses.
水足够饮用、室内耕作和其他用途。
Maybe some of it could be used to wet down that dust!
也许可以用来把灰尘弄湿!
Are You Still Here?
你还在吗?
A big problem can arise when people are confined together for a long time.
当人们被长期关押在一起时,就会产生一个大问题。
Being that close to other people for such a long time can result in, shall we say, tension.
如此之久与他人相亲可造成紧张。
People often end up arguing or fighting with one another.
人们往往最终会争吵或互相打斗.
Annoying attitudes and personality traits—usually shrugged off in normal circumstances—become magnified in an enclosed environment over a long period.
在封闭的环境下,在很长一段时间里,令人憎恶的态度和个性特征——通常在正常情况下被压抑了下来——得到了放大。
The result can be severe conflicts.
其结果可能是严重的冲突。
To avoid personality clashes, would-be Mars voyagers would have to be carefully screened for compatibility.
为了避免个性相冲突,未来的火星航行员必须经过仔细筛选,才能兼容。
There would be no guarantee of friendly relations, of course.
当然,不能保证友好关系。
In the 1990s, eight carefully selected people—four men and four women—were locked for two years in an artificial environment in Arizona.
在1990年代,有8名经过仔细挑选的人——4名男子和4名女子——被关在亚利桑那的人工环境中两年。
That experiment, called Biosphere 2, was actually designed to mimic life on Mars.
那个叫做"生物圈2"的实验 其实是为了模仿火星上的生命
By the end of the two years, the volunteers were barely on speaking terms.
到了两年末,志愿者们几乎没有说话的条件.
Hydroponic Farming During grocery shopping, your parents may have bought produce labeled “hydroponically grown.”
在杂货店购物时,你的父母可能购买了标有“水利种植”字样的产品。 “
In hydroponic farming, crop plants are grown in large tanks of water to which various nutrients have been added.
在水管养殖中,作物植物生长在大水箱中,其中添加了各种营养.
The most common crop plants grown hydroponically here on Earth are lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.
地球上最常见的水生作物是生菜、番茄、花椒和黄瓜。
A Mars colony would undoubtedly grow many other kinds of crops in this way.
A级 火星殖民地无疑会以这种方式种植出许多其他种类的作物.
Biosphere 2 explored how living things interact in an enclosed space.
生物圈2探索了生物在封闭空间中如何相互作用.
What’s All This Going to Cost?
成本是多少?
The short answer to this question is: plenty.
这个问题的简短答案是:很多。
The long answer is that it depends on what kind of Mars mission you’re planning.
长的答案是,这取决于你计划什么样的火星任务。
The estimated costs for a round trip to Mars with a stay on the surface—weeks or months—have ranged up to $500 billion.
前往火星停留一周或几个月的往返旅费估计高达5 000亿美元。
That’s billion, with a b.
有十亿个,
The high price tag is one of the reasons a Mars mission has not yet been undertaken.
高价标记是火星任务尚未执行的原因之一。
When a mission to the Red Planet finally becomes a reality, it will probably be a team effort of the United States and several other nations.
当去"红星球"的任务最终成为现实时,很可能是美国和其他几个国家的团队努力.
A private company—Mars One, based in the Netherlands—has its own ideas.
一个私人公司... 火星一号位于荷兰,有自己的想法。
It proposes using Space X’s Falcon Heavy to lift parts for each of its spacecraft into low Earth orbit for assembly.
它建议利用Space Qs Falcon Hight将每个航天器的部件抬入低地轨道进行组装。
Mars One claims it can carry out a mission to the Red Planet for $6 billion.
火星 有人声称,它可以以60亿美元执行前往"红色星球"的任务.
That’s not exactly small change, but compared to $500 billion, it’s a bargain.
但与5000亿美元相比,
Mars or Bust!
火星还是巴士!
(Could Be Both, Actually) Okay, so things are shaping up for a trip to Mars.
(可能两个,实际上) 好吧,所以事情正在形成 一个火星之行。
What’s the expected schedule?
计划如何?
NASA is talking about a possible round trip to Mars in about 2033.
NASA在谈论可能于2033年左右去火星的回程.
Three ships would be assembled in Earth orbit.
三艘舰将在地球轨道集结。
Two of the ships would take a habitat and supplies to Mars ahead of the third ship, which would carry the crew.
其中两艘飞船将在第三艘载船员的飞船之前取取去一个栖息地并给火星提供补给.
The astronauts would spend weeks or months exploring the planet and gathering soil samples.
宇航员会花几周或几个月的时间探索地球 收集土壤样本
An American billionaire, Dennis Tito, hopes to beat NASA to Mars.
美国亿万富翁丹尼斯·蒂托希望将NASA打入火星.
His proposed mission, Inspiration Mars, would send two people to Mars on a flyby—around the Red Planet and back—in 2018.
他提议的任务, Inspirence Mars, 将在2018年将两个人送入火星,
If a trip to the Red Planet is still your vision of paradise, Mars One could be the answer.
如果红星球之行仍然是你对天堂的憧憬 火星一号就是答案
It hopes to send several dozen people to Mars beginning in 2024 to establish a permanent colony.
它希望从2024年开始派遣数十人去火星建立永久殖民地.
A crew of four would make the first trip and would be followed by four more settlers every two years.
4人的乘员将进行第一次出行,以后每两年再有4名定居者出行。
This is your chance!
这是你的机会!
Once you turn the required age of eighteen, YOU could possibly go to Mars.
一旦你满18岁,你可以去火星
There’s just one catch: These trips will all be (gulp) one-way.
只有一条线索: 这些旅行都将是单向的。
None of the Mars One colonists can expect to return home.
没有火星 一个殖民者可以期待回国.
This artist’s drawing shows what a Mars One settlement might look like.
这名艺术家的绘画显示了火星一号解决方案可能是什么样子的.
How many people would want to sign up for a deal like that?
有多少人愿意报名参加这样的交易?
Well, lots, actually.
嗯,很多,其实。
As of 2014, more than two hundred thousand hopefuls had applied for the program.
截至2014年,已有超过20万的希望人士申请该方案.
Those selected will undergo an eight-year training program.
被选中的人将接受为期八年的培训方案。
Then, if all goes well, they will embark for Mars.
然后,如果一切顺利, 他们将登上火星。
The colonists will live in a base of connected domes containing living and work areas.
殖民者将生活在一个包含生活和工作区域的接通的圆顶上.
The base will also have areas for hydroponic farming.
该基地还将有水龙头农业区域。
The settlers will carry out a variety of tasks.
定居者将执行各种任务。
They will study the health effects of living on Mars, research the planet’s geology, and look for evidence of both present and ancient life.
他们将研究生活在火星上的健康影响,研究地球的地理学,并寻找现在和古代生命的证据。
But Biosphere 2 holds some cautionary lessons for Martian colonists.
但"生物圈2"为火星殖民者提供了一些谨慎的教训.
That Arizona experiment went wrong in several ways aside from interpersonal conflict.
除了人际冲突之外,亚利桑那的实验在几个方面都是错误的。
Other problems included crop failures and a rising shortage of oxygen.
其他问题包括作物歉收和氧气日益短缺。
Those people could shrug and walk out into the fresh air of Arizona.
那些人可以缩出 走出亚利桑那州的新鲜空气
There would be no escape on Mars.
火星上无法逃脱
The would-be Martians beating on Mars One’s doors are undaunted by the dangers.
在火星一号的门上被火星人殴打,
Their attitude is, “I want to go to Mars!
他们的态度是:“我想去火星!
Choose me!”
选择我!”
Glossary barren (adj.)
词汇学(adj.)
lacking vegetation (p.
缺乏植被(p.
10) colony (n.)
10) 聚居地 (n.
a group of people living in a new territory who maintain relations with their place of origin (p.
生活在新领土上并与原籍保持关系的一群人(p.
14) compatibility the state of coexisting or working together (n.)
14)兼容共存或合作状态(n.
without conflict or problems (p.
(中文(简体) ).
12) embark (v.)
12) 起降(五.
to get on a ship, airplane, or other vehicle; to start something new (p.
(p.) 开始新的活动(p.
15) feat (n.)
15) 壮举 (n.