节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-10-25
难易度:High
关键字:superb, prospective, accomodations, astronomical, suborbital
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for joining us today.
My name is Steve.
Well, have you ever dreamed of taking a trip into outer space?
For many years, the realm of space was the domain of highly trained astronauts
and a few scientists.
Only those with the "right stuff" could leave the Earth and experience the
marvel of outer space.
Well, over the past decade, the door for civilians, you know, average people
like you and me, to venture into space has slowly been opening.
What will it take now for us to blast off on a rocket into the great, wide
yonder?
Let's turn to page 45 and find out.
Space Tourism.
Currently, a handful of companies offer you a space ride with a superb view of
Earth's outer atmosphere.
XCOR Aerospace advertises a $95,000 suborbital flight, and 100 people have
already signed up.
The flight takes people 100 kilometers above Earth where the space adventurers
can look back at Earth and also see the blackness of space.
They experience weightlessness for several minutes before coming back to Earth.
Virgin Galactic offers a 2.5-hour suborbital flight (including five minutes of
weightlessness) for only $200,000,
and more than 500 prospective passengers have paid their fare.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us right here in the studio as we are exploring
space.
My name is Kaylah.
And my name is Ryan.
And friends, you are joining us on our trip to the final frontier,
not on a mission... or not on the government satellite rocket or on NASA's space
shuttle but through a private company.
Have you ever wanted to go to space?
Do you want to go see the stars and look at Earth from up in space?
Well, maybe you can with space tourism.
And a little bit of money as well.
Friends, currently, there are a handful of companies who can offer you a space
ride with a superb view of Earth's outer atmosphere.
Ooh. That sounds exciting.
So you get to go into space.
And of course, when you're out in outer space, you get a view, and you get a
superb view.
That's right.
Something that is "superb" is very excellent in quality or very great.
I can imagine, Ryan, if you're in space looking down at Earth,
it must be superb, amazing and great because you get to look not just at Earth
but at the outer atmosphere, everything around it.
Yeah. Friends, how many of you have traveled to the top of a mountain or even
looked down on Earth out of an airplane window when you're very high?
It is beautiful.
But imagine being much, much higher, all the way up into space.
Now Ryan, we said at the beginning of this sentence that there is a handful of
companies that can help you out.
And Liz is going to take that apart for us with our Grammar on the Go.
Hello, friends.
Greetings from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
My name is Liz.
And it's time for Grammar on the Go.
So we're talking about space tourism in today's article, and we read:
Currently, a handful of companies offer you a space ride with a superb view of
Earth's outer atmosphere.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Notice the word: handful.
Normally, we use the word "handful" to mean an amount you can fit in one hand,
like:
I grabbed a handful of popcorn.
But in today's sentence, we're not talking about an amount that you can fit in
your hand.
Instead the word "handful" in today's sentence means a small amount.
So today's sentence just means:
Currently, there are a few companies that offer you a space ride with a superb
view of Earth's outer atmosphere.
This use of "handful" is a creative way of emphasizing how there aren't too many
of a certain kind of thing.
For example:
We only got a handful of ideas from the brainstorming meeting.
We can also use "handful" to talk about people, like:
Mr. Lee wanted a small party, so only a handful of guests were invited.
Friends, if you have a copy of this month's magazine with you, be sure to check
out today's Grammar Tip section for more example sentences.
Thanks again for joining me here.
And I hope to see you next time.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go, signing off, at Kennedy Space Center.
Bye-bye.
Thank you, Liz.
Friends, we've seen there are a few companies that can offer you a trip into
space.
So let's take a look at one now called XCOR Aerospace.
They advertise a $95,000 suborbital flight, and 100 people have already signed
up for it.
OK, Ryan, hold on.
Let's take a look at that price first, $95,000!
Now friends, that refers to U.S. dollars.
Do you have that kind of money?
Uh, no... No, I do not.
Oh, I wish I could go to space, but that's quite expensive.
But that doesn't stop everyone because over 100 people have already signed up.
That's right.
Now friends, this is not necessarily a trip all the way up into space.
It is suborbital.
Friends, something that is "suborbital" means that it is outside of a layer of
the Earth's atmosphere but not completely out of the atmosphere.
It's very low in space.
OK. To "orbit" means to go around the outside of a ball or a circle.
As you know, the Earth is the shape of a ball.
So to orbit around, it would be to go around the whole thing.
And you have to be all the way out to do that.
This is suborbital, meaning below that level.
So as Ryan said, it's a lower flight.
Exactly.
In order to orbit the Earth, spaceships have to travel very fast and very high.
This spaceship does not necessarily do that.
It's very, very high but not high enough to be orbital.
So it is suborbital, or below orbital.
But friends, before you start thinking that this flight is overpriced for not
even reaching outer space,
let's look at what it does give you, and you might change your mind.
OK. The flight takes people 100 kilometers above the Earth,
where the space adventurers can then look back at the Earth and also see the
blackness of space above them.
That's kind of cool.
You can get 100 kilometers into the air, look down at Earth but also turn and
look out the other side all of the darkness of space around you.
Yeah. That's very cool.
Now usually friends, when you see someone on a spaceship, you see them kind of
float in the air.
They become weightless, which means they have no weight.
Well, customers on this ship also experience weightlessness for several minutes
before coming back to the Earth.
OK, friends.
You can see pictures of astronauts and tourists doing weightless activities,
kind of flying and floating in the air in your magazine on page 44 and 45.
Now I think that would be the most fun for me is actually feeling your body
float into the air on the spaceship for several minutes too.
That's awesome.
Now Virgin Galactic, which is another company, offers a 2.5-hour suborbital
flight - this is including five minutes of weightlessness.
OK. So you get five minutes of weightlessness.
It is also a suborbital flight, but it lasts for 2.5 hours.
That's pretty long.
And how much does this cost, Kaylah?
It costs only $200,000, and with... has more than 500 prospective passengers
that are already... paid their fare.
OK. So there are "prospective" passengers.
These are people that are planning on or expecting to buy or do something.
OK. So they are offering it.
It's not quite available yet.
But over 500 people have already signed up for this flight and have paid their
fare, which means they've paid the money to take this flight.
All right, friends.
We're going to learn a lot more about Virgin Galactic's flights into space right
after we visit the Chat Room.
Hey, Ken.
I hope you brought your umbrella today.
It is really raining hard out there.
I did bring my small umbrella just in case.
That's very smart of you.
Well, I sure hope it clears before lunchtime.
When you say "clears," are you talking about the weather or the sky?
Oh, I suppose I mean both.
If the weather clears, it means the sky is clear and without clouds and the rain
those clouds can bring.
You know, one time a good friend of mine came up and said he wanted to clear the
air between us.
Well, that does happen sometime.
What were you two angry about?
How did you know we had a fight?
Because "to clear the air" means to get rid of the angry feelings that exist
between people.
Oh. See, I didn't know that.
When I heard him say that, I immediately opened up the window to clear the air.
Well, a little fresh air never hurts.
Speaking of air, are you familiar with the term "atmosphere"?
Yes, I know it has something to do with the air we breathe on Earth.
Right. It refers to all of the gases that surround the air.
And of course, oxygen is one of those gases.
But it can also refer to the mood of a place.
Like my favorite restaurant, it has a great atmosphere.
Oh, really!
What makes it so great?
Not only does it have great Italian food, but it also has modern decorations and
comfortable seats.
Oh. That does sound like a good atmosphere.
Make sure to invite me next time.
Sure. I'll give you a call.