托福课文阅读单词记忆：第十三篇

　　The space shuttle

　　 航天飞机

　　There was an engineer who specialized in designing spacecraft. It was his job to meet specificationsspecified by NASA. He was involved in the design ofthe space shuttle, a spaceship specifically designed tobe spared and reused. One of the requirements wasthat the space shuttle was to be spacious enough todo experiments inside, yet material was to be usedsparingly so as not to weigh it down. One of theexperiments to be performed was that of thespawning of a bird in the weightlessness of space. The specimen used the first time was that ofa sparrow. In the future, NASA would specify what species other than birds would follow.

　　有个专业设计宇宙飞行器的工程师。他的工作是按照美国航空航天局指定的规格进行设计。他参与设计了航天飞机，这是一架专门被设计以便回收再用的宇宙飞船。其中一项要求是，航天飞机要足够宽敞，可以在内部做实验，但为了不让航天飞机负重过大，使用的材料要节省。所进行的一项实验是鸟在失重的太空中产卵的情况。首次使用的样本是一只麻雀。将来，美国航空航天局还会指定使用除了鸟之外的其它种群的动物。

　　On the day of the lift-off, many spectators gathered to watch the spectacle. As the engineerstood there and saw the great span of the space shuttle, his heart was filled with pride. As the flag was being raised, the band started playing the Star Spangled Banner, the nationalanthem. Then a spark came from the bottom of the rocket boosters, and a great explosion offlames emitted. The scene was spectacular. The shuttle lifted off the launch pad and headedfor the sky. All the while, the engineer was choking with tears. The crowd watched the shuttleascend until it was just a speck. One of the onlookers said, "Spanking good show." Theengineer continued watching the heavens as the crowd became sparse. When everyone hadgone, he went home, too.

　　发射的那天，聚集了许多观众，都来观看这个场面。当工程师站在那里，看到航天飞机翼展宽阔，心里充满自豪。随着国旗的升起，乐队开始演奏国歌《星条旗》。随后，火箭助推器底部崩出火花，喷出一团巨大的火焰。场景壮观。航天飞机飞离发射台，直冲云霄。工程师始终眼含泪水，哽咽着。众人看着航天飞机升空，直到变成一个斑点。其中一位旁观者说道：“场面太棒了。”当人群变得稀疏，工程师仍继续望着天空。当人们散尽之时，他方踏上归途。

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