VOA标准英语2010-NASA Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Apoll

In April 1970, Apollo 13 was scheduled to land on the moon in NASA's bid to further explore the lunar surface.  Instead, an in-flight explosion rocked the spacecraft, preventing astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack¹ Swigert, and Fred Haise from landing on the moon.

Their weeklong ordeal² in space captivated the world.  Now, NASA and the Adler Planetarium³ in Chicago are celebrating what many call the "successful failure."

By April 1970, man had already landed on the moon and the public's interest in the space program began to wane⁴.

The Apollo 13 mission was slated⁵ to be the third lunar landing.  But many news organizations initially⁶ overlooked it.

"The enthusiasm for lunar flights had diminished greatly," explained Lovell.

When Jim Lovell took command of Apollo 13, with astronauts Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, he was about to realize his dream to land on the moon.

But the dream faded two days into the mission. An explosion crippled the spacecraft soon after the crew wrapped up a lengthy⁷ live television broadcast.

"After that explosion, of course everyone was riveted⁸ as to what's going to happen," he added.  "Can we get these guys back?"

With the world watching, flight controllers at NASA and the astronauts frantically⁹ worked to find a way to get them safely back to Earth.

For five days, through one crisis after another, the Apollo 13 crew and mission specialists on the ground worked through each difficulty.  The astronauts survived by rationing¹⁰ water and food while using the lunar lander as a lifeboat before returning to the command module¹¹ for re-entry to Earth.

Their efforts ended with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. All three astronauts survived, and Apollo 13 became known as a "successful failure."

"It was a failure with regards to its initial mission, a success to the triumph of the people that suddenly were thrust upon a problem that they never anticipated, they never planned for, they never trained for, and were able to pull off successfully a successful recovery," said Lovell.

The ordeal was the basis of the 1995 movie Apollo 13. Tom Hanks starred as Jim Lovell.

Lovell never returned to space or landed on the moon, yet the movie made him a household name.

"I think it regenerated¹² a whole new generation of young Americans about the space program," he said.

For the 40th anniversary of Apollo 13, events are planned at the Adler Planetarium near Lovell's home in Chicago, and at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  Lovell will join fellow astronaut Fred Haise to mark the occasion.  Jack Swigert died in 1982.

"I look at the 40th anniversary of Apollo 13 as the last anniversary of Apollo 13.  The last anniversary probably of Apollo flights.  I think we have to go forward now," Lovell noted¹³. 

But NASA's Space Shuttle program is scheduled to end in September, a move Lovell opposes because he says the United States will not be able to support the International Space Station.

Lovell says NASA currently lacks goals for the space program.  He favors a project to send people to Mars, but he also wants to see American astronauts return to the one place he never reached, the surface of the moon.
 

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

3 planetarium   

n.天文馆；天象仪

参考例句：

• The planetarium staff also prepared talks for radio broadcast.天文馆的工作人员还要准备讲稿给电台广播。
• It landed in a shallow basin fifty yards from the planetarium.它降落在离天文馆五十码处的一个浅盆地中。

4 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。

5 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

8 riveted   

铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意

参考例句：

• I was absolutely riveted by her story. 我完全被她的故事吸引住了。
• My attention was riveted by a slight movement in the bushes. 我的注意力被灌木丛中的轻微晃动吸引住了。

9 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

10 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

11 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。

12 regenerated   

v.新生，再生( regenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They are regarded as being enveloped in regenerated gneisses. 它们被认为包围在再生的片麻岩之中。 来自辞典例句
• The party soon regenerated under her leadership. 该党在她的领导下很快焕然一新。 来自辞典例句

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。