满分四六级

英语四级阅读美文

Space Tourism

Would you like to‵orbit the Earth｜inside the‵ International Space Station? Now you can‵ take a space holiday — for a price. Last April, American businessman Dennis Tito｜‵reportedly paid｜between ‵twelve-million｜and ‵twenty-million dollars｜to ‵spend one week｜on the ‵International Space Station. NASA｜had ‵strongly objected to the Russian plan｜to‵permit a civilian｜on the ‵costly research vehicle.① After two years of‵ negotiations,｜space officials｜have ‵agreed on a process｜to ‵train private citizens｜to ‵take trips｜to the ‵International Space Station.

NASA｜‵recently agreed to conditions that｜will‵ permit Russia｜to ‵sell trips｜to the space station. The trips are ‵planned｜by an American company｜‵called Space Adventures Limited of Arlington,｜Virginia. The company ‵calls itself｜“‵the world’s leading space tourism company”. The company has ‵sold a space trip｜to ‵Mark Shuttleworth, a South African ‵businessman. In April, Mister Shuttleworth｜will be ‵launched into space｜from‵ the Baikonur Cosmodrome｜in Kazakhstan.

Experts ‵say the change in policy at NASA｜‵shows a new desire｜to ‵use space vehicles｜for business and industrial ‵purposes. In a speech to ‵Congress last year, NASA official Michael Hawes‵said that｜the space agency｜had‵ not considered civilian travel｜as ‵one of the industries it ‵wanted to develop. However, Mister Hawes‵said that｜private space travel could now be‵ done｜as long as ‵safety measures are ‵observed carefully.

Yet, the average citizen｜will ‵not be able to‵ travel into ‵space｜in the near future. Space Adventures Limited｜‵sells a‵ training program｜for space flight that｜costs ‵two-hundred-thousand dollars. That price does ‵not include the cost of the trip｜to the‵ International Space Station. That holiday in space｜costs ‵twenty-million dollars.

Candidates for adventure space travel trips｜must be in ‵excellent health｜and must ‵pass difficult health tests. They must ‵receive a lot of training. However, learning English｜can ‵help you prepare for｜a ‵space holiday. This is because｜all successful ‵candidates｜who wish to ‵travel to the ‵International Space Station｜must be able to ‵read｜and speak English. [339 words]

译韵袅袅
太空旅行

你想在国际太空站上环游地球吗？现在你可以花钱到太空去度假。据报道去年四月，美国商人丹尼斯·提托支付了一千两百万到两千万美元在国际太空站上呆了一个星期。美国国家航空和宇宙航行局曾经强烈反对俄罗斯的这一计划，即允许公民登临耗资巨大的太空研究飞行器。①经过两年的协商，宇航局官员同意训练普通公民去国际太空站旅行。

国家航空和宇宙航空局与俄罗斯就出售太空旅行达成一致。这一旅行由美国维吉尼亚一家名为阿灵顿太空冒险的有限公司所策划。这个公司称自己为“世界领先的太空旅行公司”。这个公司将一次太空旅行出卖给一个南非的商人马可·沙特沃斯。四月，沙特沃斯先生将在哈萨克斯坦的拜科努尔太空发射基地被送上太空。

专家说，美国国家航空和宇宙航空局在政策上的变化表明了一种新的想法，即利用太空工具达到商业和工业目的。去年，航空局官员马歇尔·豪斯在向国会做的一次演讲中称，太空总署还没有考虑发展太空旅行这一行业。但是，豪斯先生说，只要安全措施得到监控，现在就可以进行私人太空旅行。

但是，普通公民近期仍无法去太空旅行。太空冒险有限公司出售的太空飞行训练方案价值二十万美元。这一价格不包括去国际空间站的花费。太空旅行要花费两千万美元。

太空冒险旅行的候选人身体必须极其健康，并且必须通过严格的健康测试。他们必须接受许多训练。但是，学习英语可以帮助你为太空旅行做准备。 这是因为所有希望去国际空间站旅行的成功候选人必须能够阅读英文，能够说英语。

词汇露珠
tourism n. 观光事业，游览
space vehicle 太空工具
safety measures 安全措施
the average citizen 普通公民

佳句如风
①【赏析】谓语部分是had stronly objected to （强烈反对），谓语动词短语object to中to是介词，其宾语是the Russian plan ，后面的不定式to permit a civilian on the costly research vehicle修饰限定plan，做其定语。
【临摹】The general public objects to the use of drugs.大众反对使用毒品。

每日口语
A: Hey, shouldn’t you be driving 50 km/h in the back-streets now? (责任编辑：www.cetcet.com)