§本文是一篇關於月球之旅的文章。
§閱讀步驟，先讀第一遍，主旨含義
§第二遍，關注副詞/形容詞/並列結構
§ 陰影--段落主旨；黃色--重點句型
§紅色-重點、藍色-修飾性詞、綠色-生詞
原文音頻
Lunarspaceflight
THE $30m Google Lunar XPRIZE has had a slow time of it.Set up in 2007, it originally required competitors to land robots on the Moonby 2012. But the interest in returning to the Moon that the prize sought to catalysedid not quickly materialise; 【1】faced with a dearth of likely winners, the XPRIZE Foundationwas forced to push back its deadline again and again.Now, though, five competing teams have launch contracts to get their littlemarvels to the Moon by the end of this year. And as those robotic explorershead into the final straight, a new contest is opening up.
句型分析【1】 分詞短語作伴隨狀語，主句
【2】On February 27th Elon Musk said thatSpaceX, his aerospace company, had agreed to send two paying customers aroundthe Moon some time in 2018, using a new (and as yet untried) version of itsFalcon rocket, the Falcon Heavy.They would be the first people to travelbeyond low-Earth orbit since 1972. 【3】Two weeks before Mr. Musk’s announcement, NASA said itwas considering using the first flight of its new rocket, the Space LaunchSystem(SLS; also untested), to do something similar, though with astronauts,not paying tourists.The race, it seems, is on.
句型分析：【2】表時間的介詞短語+主語加賓語從句+分詞引導的伴隨狀語+同位語。
【3】時間狀語，主句，同位語，with的複合結構
This is not, though, a simple story of private sector versus public.For one thing, SpaceX can offer such a trip only thanks to NASA’s previouslargesse. 【4】The company’s Dragon space capsule, in which the Moontourists would fly, was developed to carry first cargo and, soon, people up tothe International Space Station—services for which NASA pays generously.For another, NASA might end up deciding to pay SpaceX for its Moon jollies,just as it pays for rides to the space station.
【4】主語，定語從句，主句，並列句--解釋說明。
In January anadviser to Donald Trump sent an e-mail to senior Republicans interested inspace policy suggesting an 「internal competition between Old Space and NewSpace」 at the agency to get people back to lunar orbit. 「Old Space」 almostcertainly meant the in-house SLS effort; 【5】「New Space」 probably means SpaceX—or possibly BlueOrigin, a company owned by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, which is alsoworking on a suitably big rocket. ANew Space option would seem to make budgetary sense.Though the FalconHeavy needed for SpaceX’s Moon trip has yet to fly, it is certain to be farcheaper than the SLS. But the SLS has a great deal of support in the Senate—and there are some in Washingtonwho have their doubts about making the country’s space programme too dependenton sometimes capricious billionaires.
句型分析：【5】主句--解釋，同位語，同位語，定語
The newadministration has yet to weigh in—or to appoint a NASA administrator. But itsambitions may have been hinted at when Mr. Trump evoked some of the wonders theUnited States might achieve by the time of its sestercentenary in this week’sspeech to Congress: 「American footprints on distant worlds,」 he said, 「are nottoo big a dream.」 The onlydistant world any foot will be leaving prints on by 2026 is the Moon.
Such feet do not have to be American. China sent a rover calledYutu to the Moon in2013, and plans a mission to return rocks to Earth thisyear. The idea of landing people on the Moon by 2030, or perhaps even earlier,has been discussed in public. That brings the possibility of yet another race.
In all such races it would be wise, as the XPRIZE shows, to expectdelays. The crew-carrying version of the Dragon is not expected to makeits first flight to the space station until the middle of 2018 at the earliest:sending one around the Moon by the end of that year is a tall order.【6】 That said, SpaceX’s customersmay not mind if the schedule slips to 2019—the 50th anniversary of the firstApollo Moon landing would add yet more pizzazz to what is sure to be a veryhigh-profile venture.
Who the purchasers of this pizzazz might be is not yet known, thoughone, at least, must be very rich. One possibility is Steve Jurvetson , aventure capitalist on SpaceX’s board. Another is the film-maker James Cameron,who directed 「Avatar」, the most profitable film ever made. Mr. Cameron hasalready plumbed the Mariana Trench in a submersible; in 2011 he showed interestin a privately funded Russian mission to the Moon. Having such a film- maker onboard would certainly ensure that the trip was spectacularly documented. Withthe right lenses, he might even pick out the tiny XPRIZE rovers as he flashesby.
Lunarspaceflight 月球之旅
THE $30m GoogleLunar XPRIZE has had a slow time of it. Set upin 2007, it originally required competitorsto land robots on the Moon by 2012. But the interest in returning to the Moon that the prizesought tocatalyse did not quickly materialise;facedwith a dearth of likelywinners, the XPRIZE Foundation was forced to push back its deadlineagain and again. Now, though, five competing teams have launch contracts to get their little marvelsto the Moon by the end of this year. And as those robotic explorers head into the final straight,a new contest is opening up.
獎金高達3000 萬美元的谷歌登月競賽的進展卻很緩慢。譯註：have a slow time 實際上是一種調侃，後面會提到）該比賽始於2007 年，最初要求所有的參賽隊伍在2012 年之前將各自的機器人送到月球。但是以重金推動重返月球的計劃並不能立竿見影（譯註：sought to catalyse 原意是尋求、試圖催化，直接翻譯為推動即可）；由於參賽選手表現平平（譯註：adearth of 缺乏），XPRIZE基金會被迫多次推遲比賽的截止日期。不過，目前已有五支參賽隊伍籤約承諾，他們將在今年年底前把他們的「小傢伙」送往月球（譯註：這裡籤約的意思看起來很突兀，實際上這個比賽的要求是：民間組織（必須是私人資助）在2017 年年底前預定到將其機器人送往月球的火箭，這些火箭的使用是需要與運輸公司籤約的）。隨著這些機器探險家進入比賽的衝刺階段，一場新的較量即將上演。
★has had a slow time 第一個has是完成時中的助動詞，第二個had是與後面固定搭配，havea slow time
★originallyadv.起初;原來The novel originally came from a true love affair.這本小說原先是從一個真實的愛情故事發展而來的。
★marvels n.奇蹟vt.對…感到驚異vi.感到驚訝
★straight1 adj.直的，筆直的，連續的，不間斷的，直率的Keep your back absolutely straight.把你的背挺得正直。She was as straight as a die.她絕對誠實。2 adv.直接地，徑直地，立即，馬上Stand straight and stretch the left hand to the right foot站直身體，伸左手夠右腳。Turn right and just basically walk straight, right over theriver.向右轉，然後大致直著往前走，越過小河。
On February 27thElon Musk said that SpaceX, his aerospace company,had agreed to send two paying customersaround the Moon some time in 2018, using a new (and as yet untried) version of itsFalcon rocket, the Falcon Heavy. They would be the first people totravel beyond low-Earth orbit since 1972. Two weeks beforeMr. Musk’s announcement, NASA said it was consideringusing the first flight of its new rocket, the Space Launch System(SLS;also untested), to do something similar, though with astronauts, not payingtourists. The race, it seems, is on.
2月27日，埃隆馬斯克說，他的太空探索技術公司SpaceX已經同意在2018年的某個時候，發射尚未經測試的獵鷹號火箭「FalconHeavy」，用以搭載兩位付費客戶至月球。他們將成為自1972年阿姆斯特朗團隊登月後，抵達低地球軌道外的第一批旅客。就在馬斯克先生宣布此消息的前兩周，美國國家航空航天局也表示，他們正在考慮使用新火箭「太空發射系統」（簡稱SLS；也未經測試）進行類似的工作，只不過其運載的是太空人而非付費遊客。一場較量似乎已初見端倪。
★untried adj. 未經實驗的；未經審訊的；未經檢查的He was young and untried, with no reputation of his own.他年輕沒有經驗，也沒什麼名氣。
★considering using consider+doing sth考慮做某事They are considering upsizing their information systems.他們在考慮擴大他們的信息系統。
This is not, though, a simple story of private sector versus public. For one thing, SpaceXcan offer such a trip only thanks to NASA’sprevious largesse. The company’s Dragonspace capsule, in which the Moon touristswould fly, was developed to carry first cargoand, soon, people up to the International Space Station—services for which NASA pays generously.For another, NASA might end up deciding to pay SpaceX for its Moon jollies, just as it pays for rides to the spacestation.
然而這絕非單純是一個私營企業叫板政府機構的案例。一方面，美國太空探索技術公司（SpaceX）得益於NASA 當年的慷慨資助才能提供這樣的旅行。該公司的龍太空艙，最初曾經開發用來攜帶貨物，很快，也運載人們到國際空間站——NASA曾為此服務慷慨解囊，現在，那些乘客也將乘坐它去月球。另一方面，NASA可能最終愉快地決定支付SpaceX 去往月球的費用，正如它當初為那些去空間站的人買單一樣。
★largesse n. 慷慨的贈與；慷慨贈與物（等於largess）Unfortunately, this gesture of largesse comes with a price tagmuch bigger than that $100 bowl. 不幸的是，這種慷慨大度的姿態卻有比100美元一碗更高昂的價籤。
★capsule n. [醫]膠囊；[航]太空艙；[植]蒴果；小容器adj. 壓縮的；概要的vt.簡述；壓縮
★cargo n.貨物，船貨
★services forWe can supply the best service for you. 我們可為您提供最周到的服務。It is service for the poor by the poor.這是一種由窮人來為窮人提供的服務。
In January anadviser to Donald Trump sent an e-mail to seniorRepublicans interested in space policy suggesting an 「internalcompetition between Old Space and New Space」 at the agency to get people back to lunar orbit. 「Old Space」 almost certainly meant thein-house SLS effort; 「New Space」 probably meansSpaceX—or possibly Blue Origin, a company owned by Jeff Bezos, the founder ofAmazon, which is also working on a suitably big rocket. A New Space option would seem tomake budgetary sense. Though the FalconHeavy needed for SpaceX’s Moon trip has yet to fly, it is certain to be far cheaper than the SLS. But the SLS has a great deal of support in the Senate—and there aresome in Washington who have their doubts about making the country’s spaceprogramme too dependent on sometimes capriciousbillionaires.
1月，川普的顧問向對空間政策感興趣的資深共和黨人發送了一封電子郵件，郵件中提出「國內傳統航天企業與新興太空企業的競爭」，以期重返月球。「傳統航天企業」毫無疑問是指政府的NASA，「新興太空企業」可能指的是SpaceX，也可能是傑夫·貝佐斯的Blue Origin，他也是亞馬遜的創始人，這家公司同樣也擁有相應的大火箭。就預算來說，新興太空企業似乎是更好的選擇。儘管SpaceX 月球之旅的火箭「FalconHeavy」尚未發射，但是肯定會比SLS 便宜的多。然而，參議院大力支持SLS——白宮的很多人對選擇新興企業存在質疑：美國的太空計劃太過於依賴這些反覆無常的億萬富翁。
★Get 和make find 的用法一致，系動詞
★seem to they seem to get on pretty well.他們看來相處得很不錯。That seems to be a sensible idea.那似乎是個明智的主意。
★budgetary adj.預算上的
★capricious billionaires反覆無常的億萬富翁
The new administration has yet to weighin—or to appoint a NASA administrator. But its ambitions may have been hinted at when Mr. Trump evokedsome of the wonders the United States mightachieve by the time of its sestercentenary inthis week’s speech to Congress: 「American footprintson distant worlds,」 he said, 「are not toobig a dream.」 The only distant world any foot will be leaving prints on by 2026 is the Moon.
新政府還未考慮——或者說尚未任命NASA 的最高負責人，但是在本周的國會演說裡，川普提到了短期內美國可能實現的一些奇蹟，比如「美國踏足遙遠世界」再也不會只是空談，這展露出美國在這方面的野心。
★hint n.暗示；線索vt.暗示；示意vi. 示意
★evoke vt.產生,引起,喚起The music evoked memories of her youth.這樂曲勾起了她對青年時期的回憶。
★print n. 印刷字體，印成的圖畫，圖案，版畫，(由底片印出的)照片vt. 印刷, 出版vt. & vi. 用印刷體寫，衝洗(照片) He started to printhis own posters to distribute abroad.他開始印刷他自己的宣傳海報以在國外散發。Print your name and address on a postcard and send it to us.用印刷體將你的名字和地址寫在一張明信片上寄給我們。
Such feet do not have to be American. Chinasent a rover called Yutu to the Moon in2013,and plans a mission to return rocks to Earththis year. The idea of landing people on the Moon by 2030, or perhaps even earlier, has been discussed inpublic. That brings the possibility of yet another race.
開疆拓土並不是美國人的專利。中國在2013 年向月球發射了「玉兔」探測器，並計劃今年將巖石取回地球。人們已經公開討論過到2030 年，甚至在此之前將人類送上月球的計劃，這可能又帶來了另一場較量。
★plans a mission計劃
★perhaps adv.也許；可能n.假定；猜想；未定之事Straightenhim out; he perhaps misunderstood what I said. 向他解釋清楚，他也許誤解了我的意思。Perhaps I may be permitted a few suggestions.也許能容許我提幾條建議。
In all such races it would be wise, as theXPRIZE shows, to expect delays. The crew-carrying versionof the Dragon is not expected to make its firstflight to the space station until the middle of 2018 at the earliest: sendingone around the Moon by the end of that year is atall order. That said, SpaceX’s customers may not mind if the schedule slips to 2019—the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo Moon landing would add yet more pizzazz to what is sure to be a very high-profile venture.
正如XPRIZE 登月比賽所展示出來的，人們明智地預見到截止日期的推遲。對於龍太空艙，預計最早也要到2018 年中期才會第一次飛往空間站：年底發送到月球更是苛求。
★expect vt. 期望；指望；認為；預料 vi. 期待；預期時態：expected, expecting, expects 形容詞：expectable副詞：expectably，expectedly名詞：expectedness
Hewasn't expecting our hospitality.他沒有期待我們的熱情款待。
★slips v. 溜走；使滑動（slip的第三人稱單數）n.外場員防守的地區；幼枝；後裔（slip的複數）funny how time slips away時光飛逝；美好時光飛逝
★pizzazz n. 精力,瀟灑Do a housework workout. Whenever you have todo those nagging chores, do them with some pizzazz. 當你面對一大堆讓人頭疼的家務事的時候，不妨來點有有活力和動感的刺激。
★venture vt. 敢於vi. 冒險；投機n. 冒險；風險；企業時態：ventured,venturing, ventures 名詞：venturerThe beauty of the venture is that we stand to losenothing.此次冒險的美妙之處在於我們不會失去任何東西。joint venture合資企業
Who thepurchasers of this pizzazz might be is notyet known, though one, at least, must be very rich. One possibility is SteveJurvetson , a venture capitalist on SpaceX’sboard. Another is the film-maker JamesCameron, who directed 「Avatar」, the most profitablefilm ever made. Mr. Cameron has already plumbedthe Mariana Trench in a submersible; in 2011he showed interest in a privately funded Russian mission to the Moon. Havingsuch a film- maker on board would certainly ensurethat the trip was spectacularly documented.With the right lenses, he might even pickout the tiny XPRIZE rovers as he flashes by.
誰將為此買單尚且不明，但至少也要非常有錢。一個潛在顧客是史蒂夫·尤爾韋松，SpaceX董事會的風險資本家。另一個可能是導演詹姆斯·卡梅倫，他執導的《阿凡達》是有史以來最賺錢的電影。卡梅倫先生曾經搭乘深海潛水器穿過了馬裡亞納海溝（譯註：世界上最深的海溝，地球表面最深處，前面也翻譯過一篇關於它的文章）；在2011 年，他也表現出私人資助俄羅斯登月項目的興趣。有這樣的導演在船上（譯註:onboard 原意指在船上，我原本以為是他在地面上拍，那麼on board 的意思就應該是「參與到這個項目中」，但是看了一下他的訪談才知道，他自己想花錢登月，任性！），想必一定能精妙地記錄下整個旅途。使用適當的鏡頭，他甚至可以找出太空中閃爍的XPRIZE 探測器。
★capitalist n. 資本家adj. 資本主義的，資本家的
★plumb vt. 使垂直；探測，探索n. 鉛錘；垂直adv. 恰恰，正；垂直地vi. 當管子工adj. 垂直的時態：plumbed，plumbing，plumbs 形容詞：plumbable
★submersible n.潛水器，深潛器，潛艇adj.能潛入〔可浸入〕水中的
★spectacular adj.壯觀的, 雄偉的, 引人入勝的名詞: spectacularity副詞:spectacularly This isthe most spectacular financial crash of the decade.這是10年裡最引人注目的金融破產事件。
★flash vt.使閃光；反射n.閃光，閃現；一瞬間vi. 閃光，閃現；反射adj.閃光的，火速的a flash in the pan曇花一現adobeflash player一種多媒體播放器Our start to the season was just a flash in the pan.我們在本賽季開始時的態勢不過是曇花一現。
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