VOA慢速英语2019 宇航员用新的测试烤箱制作饼干

Astronauts to Make Cookies with New Test Oven¹

Astronauts on the International Space Station will soon test a new oven for making chocolate chip cookies.

国际空间站上，宇航员将很快测试新烤箱，用其制作巧克力曲奇饼干。 

A spaceship carrying the cooking equipment and other supplies was launched³ Saturday from the Wallops Flight Facility in the United States. The shipment⁴, weighing 3,700 kilograms, reached the space station on Monday.

上周六（11月2日），一艘载有烹饪设备和其他物品的太空飞船从美国的沃洛普斯飞行中心发射升空。这批重达3700公斤的货物于本周一（11月4日）到达空间站。

The goal is to explore the possibility of making freshly baked cookies for space travelers.

该实验旨在探索为太空旅行者制作新鲜出炉的曲奇的可能性。 

American company Nanoracks designed and built the oven and helped with organizing the flight to the space station. Hilton DoubleTree hotels supplied the cookie dough⁵ the astronauts will use.

美国公司Nanoracks设计并制造了该烤箱，还协助组织了这次空间站的发射任务。希尔顿逸林酒店提供了宇航员将会用到的饼干面团。

In the past, space station crews have created their own pizzas using a thin, flat piece of bread known as flatbread. Astronauts have tried other creative ways to make food, such as creating salads from vegetables grown in the space station.

过去，太空站的工作人员曾使用又薄又扁的面包（称为面饼）制作他们自己的披萨。宇航员们还尝试了其他创新的方式来做饭，例如利用太空站上种植的蔬菜制作沙拉，

Results have been mixed.

结果好坏参半。 

The cookie baking will be a slow process. The oven can heat just one cookie at a time. It could be weeks before the astronauts have time to try out the oven.

饼干烘烤将是个缓慢的过程。烤箱一次只能烤一个曲奇。这可能需要等几周的时间，因为宇航员要有时间先检验烤箱。

Five unbaked cookies have been in a space station freezer for several weeks. Each is in its own individual clear bag made out of silicone. The oven can heat foods to temperatures as high as 177 degrees Celsius⁶. That is twice the temperature of the U.S. and Russian food warmers on the space station. The oven uses electric heating⁷ elements.

五块还未烘烤的饼干已在太空站的冰柜里存放了几周。每个都单独放在由硅胶制成的透明袋中。烤箱可以将食物加热到高达177摄氏度，是空间站上美国和俄罗斯食物加热装置可达最高温度的两倍。该烤箱使用电加热元件。

Mary Murphy is with Nanoracks. Murphy said she expects a baking time of 15 to 20 minutes for each cookie when the oven is heated to about 163 degrees Celsius. She added that the smell of baking cookies should fill the space station each time a cookie comes out of the oven. The Associated Press reported her comments.

玛丽·墨菲就职于Nanoracks。墨菲称，预计烤箱加热到163摄氏度的话，每块曲奇的烘烤时间就是15至20分钟。她补充道，每次从烤箱中拿出一块饼干时，烘烤饼干的香味应该充满整个空间站。美联社报道了她的评论。

The oven’s first use will be the real test. Without the force of gravity, the astronauts do not know exactly how the cookie will look. Three of the space-baked cookies are to be returned to Earth for testing.

烤箱的首次使用将是真正的测试。在失重状态下，宇航员们不知道饼干将会是什么样子的。三块太空烘烤饼干将被带回地球进行测试。

“Baking doesn’t always go according to plan, even on the ground,” said Murphy.

墨菲说：“即使在地面上，烘烤也并非总是按计划进行。” 

The American space agency⁸ NASA has agreements with two companies, Northrop Grumman and SpaceX, to keep the space station supplied. The recent launch² is Northrop Grumman’s 12th successful flight of its Cygnus rocket since 2013.

美国国家航空航天局（NASA）与诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司和太空探索技术公司这两家公司达成协议，以保证空间站的供应。最近的这次发射是诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司“天鹅座”火箭自2013年以来第12次成功发射。

1 oven   

n.烤炉；烤箱

参考例句：

• You put food inside an oven to cook it.你把食物放进烤箱里热一下。
• She baked bread in an oven.她用烤炉烤面包。

2 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

3 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

4 shipment   

n.装货，装载的货物

参考例句：

• The goods are done up in bundles for shipment.货物已打包以备装船。
• Please advise the date of shipment as soon as possible.请尽快通知装货日期。

5 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

6 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

7 heating   

n.加热，供暖，暖气装置；adj.加热的，供暖的

参考例句：

• They will install a heating and lighting system in our house.他们将在我们家装上供热供电系统。
• If the pressure is too low,the heating system will act up.如果压力太低，供暖系统就会出毛病。

8 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。