飞船回来了，人还在天上

近日，美国波音公司遭遇技术故障的“星际客机”飞船在新墨西哥州的沙漠中着陆，成功返回地球。而两名宇航员仍留在国际空间站，计划于明年2月再乘坐太空探索技术公司的“龙”飞船返回地球。

🤔️小作业：

1. What caused the first launch attempt to be delayed according to the passage?

A) Bad weather conditions.

B) A valve issue on the second stage of the rocket.

C) A power supply fault in the control computer.

D) A helium leak on the second stage of the rocket.

2. What can be inferred about NASA's relationship with Boeing and SpaceX from the article?

A) NASA only relies on Boeing for space missions.

B) NASA prefers SpaceX due to fewer technical problems.

C) NASA works with both Boeing and SpaceX for orbital taxi services.

D) NASA no longer works with Boeing after Starliner's failures.

Boeing's Starliner lands on Earth – without its astronauts

From: The Guardian

Boeing's Starlinerspacecraftlanded in a New Mexico desert late on Friday, months after its originaldeparturedate and without the two astronauts it carried when it launched in early June.

周五晚些时候，波音公司的 “星际客机”（Starliner）飞船在新墨西哥州的沙漠中着陆，这次返航比预定计划推迟了几个月，且未搭载6月初发射时的两名宇航员。

spacecraft

spacecraft /ˈspeɪs.krɑːft/ 表示“宇宙飞船”，英文解释为“a vehicle used for travel in space”如：a manned/unmanned spacecraft (= with/without people inside) 载人/无人驾驶的宇宙飞船。

结合我们常见的aircraft/spacecraft/hovercraft等词可以猜到，craft可以表示“船，艇；飞行器，航空器”，英文解释为“a vehicle for travelling on water or through the air”，如：naval craft 军舰，civilian craft 民用船，cpatrol craft 巡逻艇，rescue craft 救生艇。

📍补充：hovercraft 气垫船，military aircraft 军用飞机，a manned/unmanned spacecraft 载人/无人的宇宙飞船。

📍此外，craft作名词还可以指“工艺，手艺；技术”，英文解释为“skill and experience, especially in relation to making objects; a job or activity that needs skill and experience, or something produced using skill and experience”如：the craft of furniture making/sewing 家具制作/缝纫工艺，political/literary craft 政治手腕／文学手法，rural/ancient/traditional crafts 乡村的/古老的/传统的手艺，craft workers (= skilled workers) 熟练工人，工匠。

📍craft也可以作为动词表示“精制，（手工）制作”，举个🌰：Each doll is crafted individually by specialists. 每个布娃娃都由专业人员手工制作。

🎬电影《外星人保罗》（Paul）中的台词提到：Hey, imagine if we got buzzed by a craft. 想象一下如果一艘飞船从我们头上掠过。

departure

departure /dɪˈpɑː.tʃər/ 1）表示“（人、交通工具等）离开；启程，出发”，英文解释为“the fact of a person or vehicle, etc. leaving somewhere”如：departure time 出发时间，举个🌰：Our departure was delayed because of bad weather. 由于天气不好，我们的出发时间推迟了。

2）表示“偏离，背离，脱离”，英文解释为“a change from what is expected, or from what has happened before”举个🌰：There can be no departure from the rules. 不得违反规则。

Starliner returned to Earth seemingly without ahitch, a Nasalive streamshowed,nailingthe critical final phase of its mission.

美国国家航空航天局（Nasa）的现场直播显示，“星际客机”似乎顺利返回地球，完成了其任务的最后关键阶段。

hitch

hitch /hɪtʃ/  作名词，表示“临时故障，小问题”，英文解释为“a temporary difficulty that causes a short delay”举个🌰：Due to a slight technical hitch the concert will be starting half an hour late. 由于出了一点小小的技术故障，音乐会将推后半小时开始。

作动词，表示“（用绳子）系住；（用钩子）挂住”，英文解释为“to fasten something to another thing by tying it with a rope or using a metal hook”举个🌰：The horses were hitched to a shiny, black carriage. 马匹被套在一辆黑亮的大车上。

短语：

📍hitch a lift/ride 表示“免费搭车；搭便车”，英文解释为“to get a free ride in a person's car; to travel around in this way, by standing at the side of the road and trying to get passing cars to stop”举个🌰：They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。

📍get hitched 表示“结婚”，英文解释为“to get married”举个🌰：Is LR really getting hitched? LR真的要结婚了吗？（假的。

live stream

livestream/live-stream 表示“互联网直播，线上直播，流直播”，英文解释为“to broadcast video and sound of an event over the internet as it happens, or to be broadcast in this way”

nail

nail /neɪl/ 1）表示“用钉子钉，将…钉牢”，英文解释为“to fasten something with nails”举个🌰：She had nailed a small shelf to the door. 她在门上钉了一个小架子。

2）表示“（成功）做到，完成，实现”，英文解释为“to do something succcessfully”举个🌰：She nailed her audition and got the lead part in the musical. 她在试镜中表现出色，得到了音乐剧中的主角角色。You totally nailed it! 你完全搞定了！

The spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere around 11pm ET atorbitalspeeds of roughly 27,400km/h. About 45 minutes later, itdeployeda series ofparachutesto slow itsdescentandinflateda set of airbags moments before touching down at the White Sands Space Harbor, anariddesert in New Mexico.

飞船在美国东部时间晚上11点左右以大约27400公里/小时的轨道速度重新进入地球大气层。大约45分钟后，飞船展开了一系列降落伞以减缓下降速度，并在降落到新墨西哥州干旱沙漠中的白沙太空港的前一刻为一组安全气囊充气。

orbital

orbital /ˈɔːbɪtəl/ 表示“轨道的”，英文解释为“Orbital describes things relating to the orbit of an object in space.”举个🌰：The newly discovered world followed an orbital path unlike that of any other planet. 新发现的这个天体的运行轨和任何其他行星的不同。

deploy

deploy /dɪˈplɔɪ/ 1）表示“利用，调动（尤指想法、论据等）；有效运用；发挥…的作用”，英文解释为“to use something for a particular purpose, especially ideas, arguments etc”如：a job in which a variety of professional skills will be deployed 要用到多项专业技术的工作。

2）表示“部署，调度”，英文解释为“to organize or move soldiers, military equipment etc so that they are in the right place and ready to be used”如：NATO's decision to deploy cruise missiles 北约要部署巡航导弹的决定。

parachute

parachute /ˈpærəˌʃuːt/ 表示“降落伞”，英文解释为“a piece of equipment made of a large piece of special cloth that is fastened to a person or thing that is dropped from an aircraft, in order to make him, her, or it fall slowly and safely to the ground”

descent

descent /dɪˈsent/ 作名词，表示“血缘关系，家族关系；祖先；出身，血统”，英文解释为“the state or fact of being related to a particular person or group of people who lived in the past”如：of Asian descent 亚裔，举个🌰：She's a woman of mixed/French descent. 她是一个混血/法裔女人。

📍descent 还有“下降，下落；下沉”的意思，可以作名词也可作动词，英文解释为“a movement down”举个🌰：The plane began (to make) its final descent into the airport. 飞机开始（做）最终下降，准备在机场着陆。

📍还可以表示“不期而至，突然到达”，英文解释为“an occasion when a group of people arrive somewhere, usually suddenly or unexpectedly”，举个🌰：We weren't prepared for the descent of thousands of journalists on the town. 我们没想到数千名记者会突然来到镇上。

inflate

inflate /ɪnˈfleɪt/ 1）表示“抬高；夸大”，英文解释为“to make something larger or more important”举个🌰：They inflated their part in the rescue every time they told the story. 他们每次讲这个故事时都要夸大自己在营救中的作用。

2）表示“（使）充气；（使）膨胀”，英文解释为“to make something increase in size by filling it with air”举个🌰：He inflated the balloons with helium. 他给气球充了氦气。

🎬电影《泰迪熊2》（Ted 2）中的台词提到：It's just a way for the government to inflate law enforcement budgets 那不过是政府为增加警务预算...

arid

arid /ˈær.ɪd/ 表示“干旱的；干燥的”，英文解释为“having little or no rain; very dry”，如：arid and semi-arid deserts 干旱和半干旱的沙漠。

The Nasa astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore should have flown the Starliner back to Earth in June, a week after launching in it. Butthrusterfailures andheliumleaksmarredtheir ride to the space station. Instead, they will remain at the ISS for the rest of the year and will return in Februaryaboardthe SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

美国国家航空航天局宇航员苏尼·威廉姆斯（Suni Williams）和布奇·威尔莫尔（Butch Wilmore）本应在“星际客机”发射一周后，于6月份返回地球。但因推进器故障和氦气泄漏，他们的旅程受到了影响。相反，他们将在今年余下的时间里继续留在国际空间站，并将于二月搭乘SpaceX的龙飞船返回地球。

thruster

thruster  /ˈθrʌstə(r)/ 表示“助力器；（尤指航天器的）推进器，推力器”，英文解释为“a small engine used to provide extra force, especially on a spacecraft”

helium

helium /ˈhiː.li.əm/ 表示“氦”，英文解释为“a chemical element that is a gas lighter than air, that will not burn and is used in balloons, airships, and some types of lights”

mar

mar /mɑːr/ 表示“损坏；破坏；损伤”，英文解释为“to spoil something, making it less good or less enjoyable”举个🌰：Sadly, the text is marred by careless errors. 很遗憾，这篇文章因一些粗心大意的错误而大为减色。

🎬电影《我，机器人》（I, Robot）中的台词提到：In a bizarre turn, the rollout of USR's new generation of robots... was marred by the death of Alfred Lanning... 阿尔弗雷德·兰尼的惨死让机器人公司新型机器人的发布出现了戏剧性的转折。

aboard

aboard /əˈbɔːd/ 表示“上船（或飞机、公共汽车、火车等）；在船（或飞机、公共汽车、火车等）上”，英文解释为“on or onto a ship, aircraft, bus, or train”举个🌰：The flight attendant welcomed us aboard. 乘务员迎候我们登机。We spent two months aboard ship (= on the ship). 我们坐了两个月的船。

Nasa ultimately decided it was too risky to return Williams and Wilmore on the Starliner. So thecapsulecontains their empty seats and blue spacesuits along with some old station equipment.

美国国家航空航天局最终认为，让威廉姆斯和威尔莫尔乘坐“星际客机”返回地球风险太大。因此，返回地球的飞船内只装载了他们的空座位、宇航服和一些旧设备。

capsule

capsule /ˈkæp.sjuːl/ 1）表示“（装药物的）胶囊”，英文解释为“a small container which has a measured amount of a medicine inside and which dissolves when you swallow it”

2）表示“（装物或装液体的）小塑料容器”，英文解释为“a small plastic container with a substance or liquid inside”

3）表示“太空舱；航天舱”，英文解释为“the part of a spacecraft in which people travel and that often separates from the main rocket”

📍the return capsule / re-entry capsule 返回舱

Boeing's first astronaut flightcapsa journey filled with delays and setbacks. After Nasa's spaceshuttleswere retired more than a decade ago, Nasa hired Boeing and SpaceX for orbital taxi service. Boeing ran into so many problems on its first test flight with no one onboard in 2019 that it had to repeat it. The 2022 do-over uncovered even more flaws and the repair billtopped$1.5bn.

波音公司的首次载人飞行任务可谓历经波折，充满了延期和挫折。十多年前，美国国家航空航天局的航天飞机退役后，国家航空航天局委托波音公司和SpaceX公司提供轨道运输服务。波音公司在2019年首次试飞时遇到了许多问题，不得不重新测试。2022年的重飞发现了更多技术缺陷，维修费用高达15亿美元。

cap

cap /kæp/ 可以作名词，也可以作动词，1）表示“对（收费或花费）定限额，限制；限额收取（或支出）”，英文解释为“to limit the amount of money that can be charged for sth or spent on sth”如：a capped mortgage 限额按揭，举个🌰：Our mortgage is capped at 8.75 percent for five years. 我们的按揭贷款5年期的利率上限为8.75%。

2）表示“成为…的结尾；使达到高潮；结束”，英文解释为“If someone says that a good or bad event caps a series of events, they mean it is the final event in the series, and the other events were also good or bad.” 举个🌰：He capped a memorable season by becoming champion of champions. 他以成为冠军中的冠军的方式结束了这个难忘的赛季。

3）作名词，表示“（有帽舌的）帽子，制服帽；（防水的）帽”，英文解释为“a soft flat hat that has a curved part sticking out at the front, often worn as part of a uniform”

shuttle

shuttle /ˈʃʌt.əl/ 作名词，表示“穿梭运行的车辆，接驳车；穿梭航班”，英文解释为“a vehicle or aircraft that travels regularly between two places”举个🌰：The American (space) shuttle was able to be used many times to put payloads in space. 美国的航天飞机可以多次使用，向太空运送物品。

作动词，表示“往返穿梭；往返运送（人）”，英文解释为“to travel or take people regularly between the same two places”举个🌰：A bus shuttles constantly between the terminal and the runways. 一辆公共汽车往返于机场大厅和跑道之间。

top

作动词，表示“超过；高过；胜过（某一数量）”，英文解释为“to be higher than a particular amount”举个🌰：Worldwide sales look set to top $5 billion. 全球销售额看来很可能要超过50亿元。

作名词，熟词僻义，表示“上装，上衣”，英文解释为“any piece of light clothing worn on the part of the body above the waist”如：a skimpy top 暴露的上装。

The Starliner finallyblastedinto space on 5 June from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after unsuccessful launches on 6 May and 1 June wereplaguedwith problems and after earlier delays that included reports of helium leaks in the servicemodule.

“星际客机”在5月6日和6月1日的两次发射尝试均因服务舱氦气泄漏等问题而延期，飞船最终于6月5日从佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角空军基地发射升空。

blast

作名词，blast /blɑːst/ 表示“爆炸；爆破”，英文解释为“an explosion”举个🌰：Three people were injured in the blast. 爆炸中有3人受伤。

作动词，1）表示“炸毁；爆破”，英文解释为“to explode or destroy something or someone with explosives, or to break through or hit something with a similar, very strong force”

2）表示“抨击，严厉批评”，英文解释为“to criticize someone or something severely”举个🌰：They were blasted for failing to create jobs. 他们因未能创造工作机会而遭到抨击。

3）表示“产生巨大噪声；发出刺耳声”，英文解释为“to make a very loud and unpleasant noise”如：guns/music blasting (away/out) 炮声隆隆/音乐震天响。

常用：blast of 表示“（火箭）点火起飞，发射升空”，英文解释为“If a rocket blasts off, it leaves the ground to go into space.”

📍“霉霉”再怼特朗普文中提到，DEADLINE媒体对此事的报道中标题是：Taylor Swift Blasts Trump’s “Calculated Dismantling Of USPS” Amid President's Efforts To Decommission Services，

plague

plague /pleɪɡ/ 1）作名词可表示“瘟疫，疫病”，如：a fresh outbreak of plague 瘟疫的新一轮爆发；

2）作动词表示“不断困扰，折磨，使苦恼”，英文解释为“to cause pain, suffering, or trouble to someone, especially for a long period of time”，举个🌰 ：She was plagued by weakness, fatigue, and dizziness. 她受虚弱、疲劳和眩晕所折磨。

🎬电影《白宫管家》（The Butler）中的台词提到：It's time we take a stand against these injustices that have plagued our community. 现在是时候该表明立场和采取行动来对抗这些已困扰我们很久了的不公。

module

module /ˈmɒdjuːl/ 表示“（航天器独立的）舱”，英文解释为“a part of a spacecraft that can operate independently of the other parts, especially when separate from them”

On the first launch attempt, a problem was found with avalveon the second stage, or upper portion, of the rocket. On the second, a computertrippedan automatic hold just three minutes and 50 seconds fromliftoff. That was laterattributedto a single ground power supply fault within one of the launch control computers.

在第一次发射尝试中，火箭第二级（即上部）的一个阀门出现了问题。第二次发射尝试时，计算机在距升空仅3分50秒时触发了自动暂停机制，后来被归因为发射控制计算机中的一个地面电源故障。

valve

valve /vælv/ 表示“阀；活门；（心脏或血管的）瓣膜”，英文解释为“a device that opens and closes to control the flow of liquids or gases, or a similar structure in the heart and the veins that controls the flow of blood”举个🌰：The valve failed to open/close. 阀门打不开/关不上了。

trip

trip 熟词僻义，作动词，表示“转动（开关）；转动开关开动（或关掉）；触发（开关）；（松开开关）开动”，英文解释为“to move a switch that operates an electrical system, or to cause such a system to start or stop working by moving a switch”举个🌰：A special system prevents the circuitry from being tripped accidentally by a power surge or lightning strike. 有一种特殊系统防止电路因电力激增或闪电而被意外切断。

作动词，还可以表示“绊，绊倒”，英文解释为“to lose your balance after knocking your foot against something when you are walking or running, or to cause someone to do this”举个🌰：He tripped and fell down, grazing his knee. 他绊了个跟头，擦伤了膝盖。

liftoff

lift-off /ˈlɪft.ɒf/ 表示“（宇宙飞船或火箭的）发射，起飞，升空”，英文解释为“the action of a spacecraft or rocket leaving the ground”举个🌰：We have lift-off. 我们有发射任务。

attribute

attribute /ˈæt.rɪ.bjuːt/ 作名词，表示“特性，特质，属性”，英文解释为“a quality or feature, especially one that is considered to be good or useful”举个🌰：What attributes should a good manager possess? 一名优秀的经理应该具备哪些素质？

作动词，attribute sth to sb/sth 表示“把…归因于…；认为…由…生产；认为…是…所为；将（某种特质）归属于（某人）；认为（某人）有（某种特性）”，英文解释为“to say or think that something is the result or work of something or someone else；to think that someone or something has a particular quality or feature”举个🌰：The doctors have attributed the cause of the illness to an unknown virus. 医生们认为这种疾病是由一种未知的病毒引起的。I wouldn't dream of attributing such a lack of judgment to you. 我做梦都想不到你会如此缺乏判断力。

Even after it successfully launched, helium leaks continued to trouble the spacecraft. As the Starliner approached the ISS, two leaks were detected but Nasa determined the spacecraft remained stable.

即使在成功发射之后，飞船依然遭遇氦气泄漏问题。当“星际客机”接近国际空间站时，发现了两处泄漏，但美国国家航空航天局认为飞船状态仍然稳定。

What started as an eight-day mission dragged on for three months after the leaks andfaultythrusters raised safety concerns.

由于泄漏和推进器故障引发了安全问题，原本为期八天的任务拖了三个月。

faulty

faulty /ˈfɒl.ti/ 表示“有缺陷的；不完美的”，英文解释为“A faulty machine or device is not perfectly made or does not work correctly.”如：faulty wiring/brakes 毛病的电线线路/刹车。

However, Nasa and Boeing officials wereadamantthat the astronauts were notstrandedand that the technical difficulties did not threaten the mission.

不过，美国国家航空航天局和波音公司的官员坚称，宇航员们并未受困，技术上的困难也没有威胁到这次任务。

adamant

adamant /ˈæd.ə.mənt/ 表示“固执的；坚决的，坚定不移的”，英文解释为“impossible to persuade, or unwilling to change an opinion or decision”举个🌰：I've told her she should stay at home and rest but she's adamant that she's coming. 我告诉过她应该在家休息，可她坚持要来。

stranded

stranded /ˈstræn.dɪd/ 表示“（因缺乏交通工具、金钱等）滞留的，被困住的”，英文解释为“unable to leave somewhere because of a problem such as not having any transport or money”举个🌰：If the tide comes in, we'll be stranded on these rocks. 如果涨潮的话，我们就会被困在这些礁石上。

strand /strænd/ 作名词，表示“（线、绳等的）缕，股”，英文解释为“a thin thread of something, often one of a few, twisted around each other to make a string or rope”举个🌰：She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears. 她把一绺松下来的头发拢到耳后。

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