Female space tourist blasts off_科学技术

Female space tourist blasts off

文章来源：文章作者：发布时间：2006-09-19 05:27 字体： [大中小]　进入论坛

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Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Sept. 19 - An Iranian-American telecommunications entrepreneur took off Monday on a Russian rocket bound for the international space station, achieving her dream of becoming the the world's first paying female space tourist.

Anousheh Ansari was accompanied by a US-Russian crew on the Soyuz TMA-9 capsule, which entered orbit about 10 minutes after liftoff from the Russian cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Ansari reportedly paid US$20 million to become the fourth private astronaut to take a trip on a Russian spacecraft and visit the station.

"I'm just so happy to be here," she said ebulliently¹ as she entered the rocket Monday, watched by about a dozen relatives.

As smoke billowed below the rocket, her relatives gasped² and her mother clasped her hands in front of her chest.

Ansari's husband, Hamid Ansari, watched the liftoff stoically, but her sister's face was streaked³ with tears and her aunt jumped up and down, shrieking⁴ and pumping her arms in the air.

At Russian Mission Control, NASA flight director Robert Dempsey said Ansari's presence was a plus to the mission. As for the propriety⁵ of sending tourists into space, he said: "My personal feeling is I wish it could be me."

The Soyuz TMA-9 capsule took off less than a day after the US space shuttle Atlantis pulled away from the orbiting station and began its journey Earthward.

On board with Ansari were Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and US astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who were to join German astronaut Thomas Reiter on the station just over 48 hours after liftoff.

Ansari, 40, was due to return to Earth on Sept. 29, along with cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov and astronaut Jeffrey Williams, who have been on the station since April.

On Sunday, Ansari defended the role of "space flight participants" and said she viewed herself as an ambassador for attracting private investment to space flight.

"In order to make great leaps in space exploration ... private companies and the government need to work together," she said at a news conference at the cosmodrome in Baikonur.

Ansari gave US$10 million in 2002 for the naming rights to a prize awarded to the first successful privately⁶ financed manned trip into space.

Ansari follows in the footsteps of Britain's Helen Sharman, who flew to Russia's Mir Space Station in 1991 as a tourist as part of a lottery⁷ system called Project Juno.

Astronaut Lopez-Alegria said just a few years ago he was skeptical⁸ of private tourists. But he said now it was clear that the Russian space program needed such investment ¡ªand that without the Russian space program, the US space program would suffer.

"If that's the correct solution... then not only is it good from the standpoint of supporting the Russian space program, but it's good for us as well," he said. Ansari's presence in space "is a great dream and a great hope not just for our country but for countries all around the world."

Cosmonaut Tyurin called Ansari "very professional" and said he felt like they had worked together for a decade.

Ansari said she expected seeing Earth from space would alter her view of the planet.

"You'll see how small and how fragile the Earth is compared to the rest of the universe," she said. "It will give us a better sense of responsibility."

Earlier she said she was eager to see Iran from space, she hasn't been back since emigrating to the United States, and hopes to inspire girls in her homeland to study science.

Ansari and her family left Iran a few years after the Islamic revolution, in part because the opportunities for a young girl to study science were becoming limited there.

Speaking no English when she arrived as a teenager with her family in Virginia, she went on to earn bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering within a few years.

She and her husband married in 1991 and later moved to Texas to start a company that made signal-switching software for phone networks.

In 2000, at the height of the telecommunications boom, they sold their suburban⁹ Dallas company to Massachusetts-based Sonus Networks Inc. for US$550 million in Sonus stock.

The value of those shares slid from US$40 to under US$5 as the telecom industry collapsed¹⁰ but her husband said they had "enough opportunity to sell enough shares to earn financial independence."

The timing¹¹ of some stock sales led to shareholder¹² suits against Sonus and nine people, including Anousheh Ansari. The plaintiffs accused her of illegal insider trading in the sale of US$26.3 million in Sonus stock.

A spokeswoman for the couple said the Securities and Exchange Commission never accused Mrs. Ansari of insider trading.

Tyurin and Lopez-Alegria are to join Reiter as the construction at the space station is picking up pace. On the agenda for the four days following the departure of the Atlantis: The station's current crew will shift a Progress supply ship to a different docking port to make way for the Soyuz; Atlantis will land back on Earth; and the Soyuz will dock at the station.

During the six-month tenure¹³ of Tyurin and Lopez-Alegria, four space walks are planned, with as many as three to be conducted in January to help set up the station's permanent cooling system. Another will take place earlier to retrieve¹⁴ and install experiments on the station's exterior¹⁵.

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收听单词发音

1 ebulliently

参考例句：
Khrushchev ebulliently promised to supply rockets for the protection of Cuba against American aggression. 赫鲁晓夫激动地承诺要提供给古巴火箭以抵抗美国的侵略。来自互联网

2 gasped
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要
参考例句：
She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。 People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 streaked
adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹
参考例句：
The children streaked off as fast as they could. 孩子们拔脚飞跑来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 His face was pale and streaked with dirt. 他脸色苍白，脸上有一道道的污痕。来自辞典例句

4 shrieking
v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。来自《简明英汉词典》 They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。来自《简明英汉词典》

5 propriety
n.正当行为；正当；适当
参考例句：
We hesitated at the propriety of the method.我们对这种办法是否适用拿不定主意。 The sensitive matter was handled with great propriety.这件机密的事处理得极为适当。

6 privately
adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地
参考例句：
Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。 The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

7 lottery
n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事
参考例句：
He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。 They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

8 skeptical
adj.怀疑的，多疑的
参考例句：
Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。 Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

9 suburban
adj.城郊的，在郊区的
参考例句：
Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。 There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

10 collapsed
adj.倒塌的
参考例句：
Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。 The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

11 timing
n.时间安排，时间选择
参考例句：
The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。 The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

12 shareholder
n.股东，股票持有人
参考例句：
The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。 A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

13 tenure
n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期
参考例句：
He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。 Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

14 retrieve
vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索
参考例句：
He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。 The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

15 exterior
adj.外部的，外在的；表面的
参考例句：
The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。 We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

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