英语听力精选进阶版 7107（在线收听）

Background: 尼尔·阿姆斯特郎 (Neil Armstrong) 是 1969 年第一位登上月球的宇航员。当时有无数人听到了他从月球上发回的的广播讲话录音。其中就包括了下面这句话 It’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind. 这句话成为了名言，不过有些人说，句子有语法错误。现在一项新的研究对此进行了重新考证。

Neil Armstrong:

"It's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

Or should that have been, "One small step for a man"?

Neil Armstrong has always said that he thought that that's what he said and maybe the vital 'a' got lost in a crackle of static.

Now researchers analysing recently released digitally-enhanced recordings of the entire Apollo 11 mission have confirmed that he did not say the word 'a'.

But a linguistic analysis of the way in which he spoke suggested that he intended to say 'a' and that the first words spoken on the moon were spontaneous and not memorised from a written script.

The researchers also argue that although the expression was not strictly correct its rhythm and symmetry poetically capture the sense and mood of one of humanity's most epic moments.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

leap 飞跃

mankind 人类

vital 关键的

crackle （无线电干扰）噼啪声

static 静电的

analysing 分析

digitally-enhanced 经过数码化处理的

Apollo 11 mission 阿波罗11号登月使命

linguistic 语言的

spontaneous 即兴的

memorised 记在脑子里了

rhythm 韵律

symmetry 对称的

capture 抓住

humanity's 人类的

epic 壮丽的/史诗般的

Questions and Answers

1. What was Neil Armstrong’s grammatical error?

Many people think he should have said, "One small step for a man…"

2. Does Neil Armstrong think that he made an error?

No, Neil Armstrong thought he said 'a' and that it got lost in static.

3. According to the new research, did Neil Armstrong really make an error?

Yes, researchers have confirmed that he did not say 'a'.

4. Did Neil Armstrong’s error ruin his speech from the moon?

No. Although it was not strictly correct, what Neil Armstrong said has greater rhythm and symmetry.