Who Was Neil Armstrong - 尼尔·阿姆斯特朗 Chapter 10 Returning Home

It was a sixty-hour trip back to Earth. On July 24, around noon, the spacecraft pierced through the atmosphere. Three parachutes billowed out and set the craft down gently in the Pacific Ocean. A helicopter picked up the astronauts and took them to a recovery ship.
Neil, Buzz, and Mike were home.
Yes, they were finally home. But they could not see their families or friends. For almost three weeks, the three astronauts were kept in isolation¹. Scientists had to make sure that they had not brought back germs from the moon.
On August 13, the three astronauts and their families arrived in New York City on Air Force One, the president’s plane. All during the parade in their honor, the cheering never stopped. People threw so much confetti and ticker tape, it looked as if there were a summertime blizzard²!
Neil and his crewmates not only toured the United States, they visited twenty-one other countries on what was called the Giant Leap Tour. The Apollo 11 astronauts were world famous, Neil Armstrong most of all.
Neil had never liked attention. He was happiest soaring above Earth, flying in a plane. In the years after his trip to the moon, he has tried to live a much quieter life.
He became a professor at a college in Ohio. He bought a farm. Sadly, he and Janet were divorced after thirty-eight years of marriage. Neil got married again to a woman named Carol Held Knight³, who also enjoys flying.
During the years of the Apollo space program, which ended in 1972, ten other astronauts walked on the moon. NASA does not have plans to send more people to the moon. And at present there is no plan to land on Mars, the closest planet to Earth. The space program is concentrating on learning more about deep space beyond our solar system.
Yet the first trip to the moon remains⁴ an important event, a great human achievement. It was, as Neil said, a “giant leap for mankind.”

1 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

2 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

3 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。