NASA revealed 3Dprinted“Mars”habitat美国发布3D人造火星家园

2023-10-03孙启禄

疯狂英语·读写版 2023年8期

孙启禄

主题语境：科技篇幅：373词关键词：habitat， volunteers

1 Four small rooms， a gym and a lot of redsand—NASA revealed its new Marssimulationhabitat， in which volunteers will live for a yearat a time to test what life will be like on futuremissions to Earth’s neighbor.

2 Four volunteers will begin the firsttrial this summer， during which NASA plans to monitor their physical and mentalhealth to have a better understanding of humans’ courage for such a long isolation.With that data， NASA will have a better understanding of astronauts’“resource use”onMars.

3“We can really start to understand how we’re supporting them with what we’reproviding them， and that’s going to be really important information to making those criticalresource decisions，”said Grace Douglas， an expert， on a press tour of the habitat.“Such a distant mission comes with‘very strict mass limitations’，”she added.

4 The 160squaremeterhabitat is also designed to recreate environmental pressuresthat future visitors to Mars could face. Examples of this will be carrying out activities withlimited resources， being isolated and experiencing equipment failures.

5 Several pieces of equipment astronauts would likely use are scattered around the redsandcoveredfloor， including a weather station， a brickmakingmachine and a small greenhouse.There is also a treadmill （跑步機） on which the makebelieveastronauts will walksuspended from straps to simulate the red planet’s lesser gravity.

6 Four volunteers will use the treadmill to simulate long trips outside to explore Mars，collecting samples， gathering data or building infrastructure （基础设施）. The volunteers who will take part in the first experiment have not yet been named. NASA says the processof choosing the individuals will follow the same guidelines that are used to choose astronauts.The team members will be expected to have rich backgrounds in science， technology，engineering and math.

7 The habitat has another special feature： it was 3Dprinted.

8“That is one of the technologies that NASA is looking at as a potential to build habitaton other planetary or lunar surfaces，”Douglas said.

9 NASA is in the early stages of preparation for a mission to Mars， though most ofthe agency’s focus is on the upcoming Artemis missions， which aim to return humansto the Moon for the first time in half a century.

Reading Check

1. What does NASA want to do with the data to be collected at present？

A. To send volunteers to Mars to have the first trial.

B. To monitor volunteers’ physical and mental health.

C. To better understand how astronauts use the resources on Mars.

D. To ensure that volunteers can adapt to the environment on Mars.

2. What is paragraph 5 mainly about？

A. Exercise of the volunteers. B. Equipment in the habitat.

C. Proper use of the treadmill. D. Lesser gravity of Mars.

3. What can we learn about the wouldbe volunteers？

A. They will be strictly chosen.

B. They each must have a degree.

C. They must be fond of running.

D. They must know the guidelines.

4. What can we infer about the mission to Mars？

A. It has a long way to go.

B. Habitats have been printed on it.

C. Volunteers need to be chosen now.

D. Full preparations have been made.

語篇解码

本文是一篇新闻报道，主题语境是人与社会，话题是太空探索。美国国家航空航天局发布了一个新的3D模拟空间，为未来的火星任务做准备，以更好地了解长期隔离对人类健康的影响。

语言学习

Ⅰ. 语料荟萃

Ⅱ. 语句分析

1. Four volunteers will begin the first trial this summer， during which NASA plans to monitor their physical and mental health to have a better understanding of humans’ couragefor such a long isolation. 四名志愿者将于今年夏天开始第一次试验，在此期间，美国国家航空航天局计划监测他们的身心健康，以更好地了解人类在如此长时间的隔离中的勇气。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句。Four volunteers will begin the first trial thissummer是主句，during which NASA plans...health是“介词+关系代词”引导的非限制性定语从句，to have a better understanding of...isolation是动词不定式短语作目的状语。

2. NASA is in the early stages of preparation for a mission to Mars， though most of theagency’s focus is on the upcoming Artemis missions， which aim to return humans to theMoon for the first time in half a century. 美国国家航空航天局正处于火星任务的早期准备阶段，尽管该机构的大部分重心是即将到来的阿尔忒弥斯任务，该任务旨在让人类半个世纪以来首次重返月球。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句。NASA is in the early stages of...Mars是主句，though most of the agency’s focus is...missions是让步状语从句，which aim to return humansto...century是非限制性定语从句。

语言运用

Ⅰ. 例句仿写

虽然我们对火星有一定的了解，但是我们依然缺乏关于它的足够的知识。

_________________，we still lack enough knowledge about it.

Ⅱ. 写作实践

假定你是李华，学校英文网站邀请你写一篇有关火星探索的文章。要点如下：

1. 人类渴望探索火星；

2. 火星上的气候状况；

3. 人类应该做的准备。

注意：

1. 词数80左右；

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。