下面小编给大家整理发现号再次踏上回家之路英语美文,本文共2篇,希望大家喜欢!本文原稿由网友“到处浪”提供。
篇1:发现号再次踏上回家之路英语美文
发现号再次踏上回家之路英语美文
Discovery, seen here, roared safely back to Earth after a tense first shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster and its crew pleaded for support for future space travel (AFP)
Low clouds kept shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven from making their much-anticipated return to Earth, and NASA vowed to bring the spacecraft down Tuesday in Florida, California or possibly even New Mexico.
“We will attempt to land somewhere,” flight director LeRoy Cain said after Monday morning“s two unsuccessful landing opportunities.
The delay disappointed the astronauts” families, who were waiting at Kennedy Space Center for their loved ones“ return after nearly two stressful weeks in orbit.
Discovery”s astronauts woke up Monday evening to The Beatles “Good Day Sunshine” and were ready to get back home.
It is the first shuttle flight since Columbia“s catastrophic re-entry in 2003, and the mission experienced a series of problems that required emergency spacewalk repairs and constant engineering analysis.
More cloudy weather was expected at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday with a chance of rain, but it remained NASA”s first choice for an early morning touchdown. Edwards Air Force Base in California“s Mojave Desert was the next choice, followed by the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the absolute last resort.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin insisted ”there“s no agony” associated with the one-day delay in getting Discovery home. Like other space agency officials, he was waiting for “wheels stop” on the runway before even thinking about celebrating.
Come Tuesday, “We”re going to land one way or another, one place or another, and all we“re talking about is where,” Griffin said.
NASA prefers landing shuttles at the same place where it launches them, to avoid the several days and estimated $1 million in ferrying the spacecraft atop a modified jumbo jet back from the West Coast.
Discovery had enough power and supplies to stay in orbit until Wednesday, but NASA was holding out that option only if a technical problem arose that needed time to be resolved.
During the mission, the biggest setback was the loss of a 1-pound chunk of foam insulation from the fuel tank during the July 26 launch, the same problem that ended up destroying Columbia. NASA suspended future shuttle flights just one day after Discovery took off.
低沉的云层阻碍了“发现”号航天飞机和机上七名工作人员预期的返航,美国宇航局(NASA)誓言要在本周二让这架航天飞机重返地球,着陆地点可能在佛罗里达州、加利福尼亚州甚至是新墨西哥州。
“我们将尝试找个地方着陆。”这次飞行任务的主管莱罗伊·凯恩在错过了周一早上的两次降落机会后说。
计划的推迟让宇航员的家属们很失望,他们正在肯尼迪航天中心等待亲人在近两周艰苦的太空工作后能平安归来。
周一晚上,“发现”号上的宇航员们被“披头士”乐队的《阳光日安》唤醒,他们已经做好了回家的准备。
这是自“哥伦比亚”号返回地球时发生惨剧以来美国的首次航天飞行,此次任务遭遇了一连串的麻烦,不得不进行紧急太空行走以检修故障,NASA一直在对故障原因展开工程学分析。
本周二,肯尼迪航天中心的云层预计会加厚,还有可能下雨,但它仍是NASA首选的凌晨着陆场。位于加利福尼亚州莫哈韦沙漠的爱德华兹空军基地是次选,新墨西哥州的.白沙导弹靶场则是最后一步棋。
美国宇航局局长麦克尔·格里芬坚持认为,发现号推迟一天回家“并不令人懊恼”。和其他宇航局官员一样,他在等待“发现”号的轮子在跑道上“停止滑动”的那一刻的到来,至于庆祝活动他压根还没想。
“我们无论如何都要让航天飞机着陆,我们一直在讨论的就是在哪里降落,”格里芬周二说。
NASA倾向于让航天飞机在原来的发射场着陆,因为这样可以不用花几天时间把航天飞机放在一架改装过的巨型喷气式飞机上从西海岸运回,免去了大约100万美元的运输费用。
“发现”号有足够的能量和供给维持飞行到周三,但只有当需费时解决的技术问题出现时,NASA才会考虑这种选择。
在本次飞行任务中,最大的挫折无疑是在7月26日的发射过程中,飞机油箱掉落了一块一磅重的泡沫隔热材料,而当年“哥伦比亚”号正是毁于同样的问题。于是在“发现”号起飞的后一天,NASA推迟了之后的航天飞行。
Vocabulary:
stressful : 充满压力的
touchdown: 着地,降落
jumbo jet: 大型喷气式客机
篇2:爸爸今晚可以回家陪我吃饭吗的英语美文欣赏
爸爸今晚可以回家陪我吃饭吗的英语美文欣赏
A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5—year old son waiting for him at the door。
“Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
“Yeah sure, what is it?” replied the man。
“Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
“That's none of your business。 Why do you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily。
“I just want to know。 Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?” pleaded the little boy。
“If you must know, I make an hour。”
“Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down。 Looking up, he said, “Daddy, may I please borrow ?”
The father was furious, “If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed。 Think about why you are being so selfish。 I work hard every day for such childish behavior。”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door。 The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions。 How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that and he really didn't ask for money very often。
The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door。
“Are you asleep, son?” He asked。
“No daddy, I'm awake,” replied the boy。
“I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man, “It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you。 Here's the you asked for。”
The little boy sat straight up, smiling。 “Oh, thank you daddy!” He yelled。 Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills。 The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again。 The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at his father。
“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled。
“Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied。 “Daddy, I have now。 Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow。 I would like to have dinner with you。”
一个人工作到很晚,带着疲惫与愤怒回到家里,却发现5岁大的儿子正在门口等他。
“爸爸,我可以问你一个问题吗?”
“当然,什么问题?”
“爸爸,你一个小时赚多少钱?”
“这不关你的事。怎么问这样一个问题?”父亲生气地说道。
“我只是想知道。请告诉我吧,你一个小时赚多少钱?”小男孩乞求地说。
“真想知道就告诉你吧,我一小时赚20美元。”
“噢,”男孩说着,低下了头。接着,他抬起头来问:“爸爸,我可以借你10美元钱吗?”
父亲生气了:“如果你问这个问题,只是为了借钱买无聊的玩具或其他没用的东西,那就赶紧回你的房间睡觉去。想想你怎么会这么自私。我每天工作这么辛苦,得到的竟是这样幼稚愚蠢的举动。”
小男孩静静地走进自己的房间,关上了门。这个人坐下后,更加为这个男孩的问题生气了。这孩子怎么敢问这样的`问题,就为了借些钱呢?大约过了一个小时,他才平静下来了,开始想:也许他真的需要这10美元买什么东西呢,他并不是经常要钱花。
于是这个人走到小男孩的门口,打开了门。
“你睡了吗,孩子?”他问。
“没有呢,爸爸。我醒着,”男孩回答。
“我在想,可能刚才我对你太严厉了,”父亲说,“经过漫长的一天,我把怒气都发到你身上了。这是你要的10美元。”
小男孩坐直了身子,笑了:“噢,谢谢爸爸!”他忍不住呼喊起来。接着,他伸手到枕头底下,拿出一把皱巴巴的钞票。看到男孩已经有钱了,父亲又忍不住要发火。小男孩慢慢地数着钱,然后抬头看着父亲。
“既然你已经有钱了,为什么还要更多钱?”父亲粗鲁地抱怨说。
“因为我的钱不够,不过现在够了,”小男孩回答,“爸爸,我现在有20美元了,我可以买你一小时的时间吗?请你明天早点下班,我想和你一起吃饭。