时代周刊:时代百大人物 终极宇航员佩吉·惠特森

Peggy Whitson THE ULTIMATE ASTRONAUT

佩吉·惠特森，终极宇航员

BY THOMAS PESQUET

托马斯·佩斯凯

(Time Notes: Pesquet is a French aerospace¹ engineer and European Space Agency astronaut)

(注：佩斯凯是法国的一名航空航天工程师，也是欧洲航天局的一名宇航员)

An astronaut doesn’t scare easily.

宇航员是不会轻易被惊吓到的。

Yet when I learned that I would partner with Peggy Whitson,

但当我得知我的首次太空之旅就是和佩吉·惠特森搭档时，

the first female chief of the NASA astronaut office, for my inaugural² trip to space,

她是NASA宇航员办公室的第一位女性主管，

I felt an unusual tinge³ of pressure.

我还是感觉到了超出寻常的压力。

I would have to meet a very high professional standard—that’s what her name means in the astronaut community.

我必须要达到非常高的职业标准——因为她的名字在宇航员圈子里就意味着这一点。

I could only imagine the challenges she had to overcome,

我只能靠想象才能体会得到她必须克服的那些挑战——

moving from a farm in rural Iowa to academia to the International Space Station,

从爱荷华州农村的一个农场到学术界再到国际空间站，

cracking through the glass ceiling with every step.

她走过的每一步都是在突破当时的玻璃天花板。

As we trained together—

我们一起受训的时候——

in a simulator in Russia, out in the wild for a survival exercise, underwater or in a jet—

在俄罗斯的一个模拟装置里，在野外，水下或在飞机上，进行生存训练——

I got to know Peggy up close.

我得以近距离地了解了佩吉。

She is by far the most hardworking and strong-willed person I’ve ever met.

她是我所见过的最勤奋、最坚强的人。

She never accepts limitations.

她从不接受限制。

And she’s a genuinely good person: passionate⁴ but kind, fearless but gentle,

也是一个由衷的好人：她热情而善良，无畏而温柔，

with all the heart you want a leader to have, in order to follow her into battle.

还有着你希望能跟随她战斗的领导人的所有特质。

It’s no wonder that Peggy has almost single-handedly redeined the role of women in space exploration.

所以，她能勉强做到凭一己之力拯救女性在太空探索中的角色也就不足为奇了。

She is now the most successful astronaut in the history of the United States,

现如今，她是美国历史上最成功的宇航员了，

having spent a record-breaking 665 cumulative⁵ days in space

在太空中累计度过了破纪录的665天时间，

and contributing to hundreds of scientific experiments while she was there.

并在那期间为数百项科学实验做出了不小的贡献。

I’m proud to consider Peggy a mentor⁶ and friend.

能视她为我的良师益友，我感到十分自豪。

And as I watch her legacy⁷ unfold,

看到她留给世人的精神财富继续流传，

and I see the looks on little girls’ faces when she speaks and the diference in their lives that she’s making,

看到她说话时小女孩们脸上的表情，以及她对小女孩儿们的生活的影响，

it reminds me that, yes, one can change history and make Earth a better place by going to space,

这些都提醒着我，是的，人是可以通过太空改变历史，让地球变得更加美好的，

because that’s what Peggy has achieved.

因为佩吉就做到了。

1 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

2 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

3 tinge   

vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息

参考例句：

• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
• There was a tinge of sadness in her voice.她声音中流露出一丝忧伤。

4 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

5 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

6 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

7 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。