必修三 U4 R-TH SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER 太空：最后的边境

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" Are we alone ? What's out there ?"

“我们是否孤独？太空以外是什么？”

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Looking up at the stars , people have always wanted to learn more about space

仰望星空，人们一直想更多地了解太空。

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Scientists work hard to find answers

科学家们也在努力寻找答案。

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They make vehicles to carry brave people into space to find out the secrets of the universe

他们制造运载勇敢的人儿进入太空的交通工具来探索宇宙的秘密。

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They also really wish to discover other planets that are suitable enough to support life

他们也非常希望发现其他适合生命存在的行星。

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Before the mid-20th century , most people felt travelling into space was an impossible dream

在20世纪中叶之前，大多数人都认为进入太空是不可能实现的梦想。

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However , some scientists were determined to help humans realise their dream to explore space

然而，一些科学家决意要帮助人类实现探索太空的梦想。

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After many experiments , they succeeded in making rockets that could escape Earth's gravity

经过多次实验，他们成功制造出能逃脱地球引力的火箭。

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On 4 October 1957 , the Sputnik 1 satellite was lunched by the USSR and successfully orbited around Earth

1957年10月4日，苏联发射了人造卫星“旅伴一号”，并成功环绕地球运行。

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Afterwards , the USSR focused on sending people into space

此后，苏联将重点放在将人类送入太空。

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On 12 April 1961 , Yuri Gagarin became the first person in the world to go into space

1961年4月12日，尤里·加加林成为世界上第一个进入太空的人；

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Over eight years later , on 20 July 1969 , American astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon , famously saying ," That's one small step for [ a ] man , one giant leap for mankind ."

八年后的1969年7月20日，美国宇航员尼尔·阿姆斯特朗登上月球，他说过一句名言：“对一个人来说，这是一小步；对于人类来说，这是一次巨大飞跃。”

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Following this , many more goals were achieved

在此之后，又实现了更多的目标。

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For example , America's NASA space agency launched Voyager 1 on 5 September 1977 to study deep space , and it still transmits data today

例如，国家航空与航天局于1977年9月5日发射了“旅行者一号”，用于研究外太空，如今它仍在传输数据。

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Although scientists try to make sure nothing goes wrong , accidents can still happen . All the astronauts on the USSR's Soyuz 11 and America's Challenger died during their missions

尽管科学家努力确保万无一失，但是意外还是可能发生。苏联“联盟11号”和美国“挑战者”号航天飞机上的所有宇航员都在执行任务时死亡。

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These disasters made everyone sad and disappointed

这些灾难让每个人都感到悲伤和失望。

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But the desire to explore the universe never died

但是探索宇宙渴望却从未停止过。

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This is because people believe in the importance of carrying on space exploration despite the huge risks

是因为人们坚信太空探索的重要性，哪怕面临巨大的风险。

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An example of this ongoing work is the International Space Station

仍在工作的一个例子是国际空间站。

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It orbits Earth and has astronauts from different countries on board , providing a continuous human presence in space

它绕地球运转，并有来自不同国家的宇航员在宇宙飞船上，为太空提供了持续的人类存在。

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China's space programme started later than those of Russia and the US , but it has made great progress in a short time

中国的太空计划起步晚于俄罗斯和美国，但中国在短时间内取得了巨大进展。

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China became the third country in the world to independently send humans into space in 2003 , when Yang Liwei successfully orbited Earth in the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft

2003年，杨利伟乘坐神舟五号成功绕地球飞行，中国成为世界上第三个实现载人航天的国家。

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Then Shenzhou 6 and 7 completed a second manned orbit and the first Chinese spacewalk

此后，神舟六号和七号分别完成了第二次载人飞行以及中国人的第一次太空行走。

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Followed by the vehicle Jade Rabbit being sent to the moon to study its surface

随后，“玉兔”月球车被送上月球研究其表面。

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After that , China launched the Tiangong 2 space lab into space and Tianzhou1 to dock with it

之后，中国将天宫二号空间实验室送入太空，天舟一号与其交会对接。

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This signalled one step further in China's plan to establish a space station in the future

这标志着中国在未来建立空间站的计划又向前迈进了一步。

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More recently , China has sent Chang'e 4 to explore the surface of the far side of the moon to make measurements and observations

最近，中国发射嫦娥四号探测月球背面，以进行测量和观察。

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The future of space exploration remains bright

太空探索的未来依然光明。

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Europe , the US , and China all have plans to further study and explore planets like Mars and Jupiter

欧洲、美国和中国都计划进一步研究和探索火星和木星等行星。

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Despite the difficulties , scientists hope future discoveries will not only enable us to understand how the universe began , but also help us survive well into the future

尽管困难重重，科学家们希望未来的发现不仅能让我们了解宇宙的起源，而且还能帮助我们更好地在未来生存。