Space Shuttle Discovery Prepares for its Final

    The U.S. space shuttle（航天飞机） Discovery has completed its work at the International Space Station on its 39th and final mission, and is preparing for Wednesday's scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
    The shuttle successfully undocked from the space station early Monday at 1200 UTC. After completing its 13-day mission,Discovery will be retired¹ as the oldest and longest-serving space shuttle in the 30-year-old NASA program.
    The shuttle and its crew of five men and one woman spent nearly nine days docked at the space station, after NASA（美国宇航局） added two days to its mission. In addition to ferrying essential supplies for the orbiting outpost, theDiscovery astronauts installed a new pressurized multipurpose storage module² on the Earth-facing side of the space station. They also delivered a new humanoid robot, called Robonaut 2. NASA hopes Robonaut 2 eventually will be upgraded to function as the space station's official astronaut helper.
    The space shuttle crew Monday morning received a special wake-up greeting modified for Discovery from the opening theme of the original 1960'sStar Trek  television series. The surprise salutation was a recording³ by the show's star, William Shatner, who played the iconic Captain James T. Kirk of the 23rd-century star ship, Enterprise.
    Shuttle flight managers later hinted that the Discovery  astronauts might receive another unique wake-up experience on Tuesday.
    NASA's other two remaining space shuttles, Endeavour  and Atlantis, will join Discovery  in retirement⁴ after they complete their final missions in April and June.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

 

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。