VOA标准英语2011--Space Crew to Enjoy Thanksgiving Feast in Orbit

Space Crew to Enjoy Thanksgiving Feast in Orbit

The three crew members on the International Space Station plan to have their own Thanksgiving feast on Thursday as they orbit 352 kilometers above the earth. The lone¹ American on board plans to share some traditional holiday fare with his two Russian crew mates.

It is hard to be away from home on a holiday, especially if are far away in space.

But Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank still plans to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner .

“Let's see. Well, we are going to have some smoked turkey, home style potatoes, cornbread dressing²...,“ he said.

Burbank will share it with his two companions, Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin.

Veteran astronaut Clay Anderson says eating in orbit poses challenges.

“If you take a package like this and we have re-hydrated the cornbread dressing, you can kind of see some of it is squeezing out of the top. It is very sticky and very gooey, so that it does not flake³ off and fly away from you, so you can actually put it on your spoon and it will stick together and it is a lot of fun to eat,” Andereson said.

Commander Burbank says Thanksgiving in space is more than just Thanksgiving dinner.. “We are going to be real thankful for the opportunity we have to fly aboard this magnificent space station and we are going to be thankful for the love and the support of all the folks we have back home,” Burbank said.

And people enjoying Thanksgiving on Earth can look skyward and salute⁴ the Space Station crew.

1 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

2 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

3 flake   

v.使成薄片；雪片般落下；n.薄片

参考例句：

• Drain the salmon,discard the skin,crush the bones and flake the salmon with a fork.将鲑鱼沥干，去表皮，粉碎鱼骨并用餐叉子将鱼肉切成小薄片状。
• The paint's beginning to flake.油漆开始剥落了。

4 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。