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第八篇：The Mir Space Station

1　The Russian Mir Space Station, which came down in 2001 at last after 15 years of pioneering the concept of long-term human space flight, is remembered for its accomplishments in the human space flight history. It can be credited with many firsts in space.

2　During Mir’s lifetime, Russia spent about US $4.2 billion to build and maintain the station.

3　The Soviet Union launched Mir, which was designed to last from three to five years, on February 20, 1986, and housed 104 astronauts over 12 years and seven months, most of whom were not Russian. In fact, it became the first international space station by playing host to1 62 people from 11 countries. From 1995 through 1998, seven astronauts from the United States took turns living on Mir for up to six months each2. They were among the 37 Americans who visited the station during nine stopovers by space shuttles.

4　The more than 400 million the United States provided Russian for the visits not only kept Mir operating, but also gave the Americans and their partners in the international station project valuable experience in long-term flight and multinational operations.

5　A debate continues over Mir’s contributions to science. During its existence, Mir was the laboratory for 23,000 experiments and carried scientific equipment, estimated to be worth $80 million, from many nations.3 Experiments on Mir are credited with a range of findings, from the first solid measurement of the ration of heavy helium atoms in space to how to grow wheat in space. But for those favouring human space exploration, Mir showed that people could live and work in space long enough for a trip to Mars. The longest single stay in space is the 437.7 days that Russian astronaut Valery Polyakov spent on Mir from 1994 to 1995. And Sergie Avdeyev accumulated 747.6 days in space in three trips to the space station. The longest American stay was that of Shannon Lucid4, who spent 188 days aboard Mir in 1996.

6　Despite the many firsts Mir accomplished, 1997 was a bad year out of 15 for Mir. In 1997, an oxygen generator caught fire. Later, the main computer system broke down, causing the station to drift several times and there were power failures.

7　Most of these problems were repaired, with American help and suppliers, but Mir’s reputation as a space station was ruined.

8　Mir’s setbacks are nothing, though5, when we compare them with its accomplishments. Mir was a tremendous success, which will be remembered as a milestone in space exploration and the space station that showed long-term human habitation in space was possible. But it’s time to move on to the next generation. The International Space Station being built will be better, but it owes a great debt to Mir.

词汇：

pioneer / ,paɪə’nɪə(r)/ v．开拓

accomplishment / ə’kʌmplɪʃmənt, -’kɒm-/ n．成就

credit / ’kredɪt / v．归功于

host / həʊst / n．主人

stopover / ’stɒpəʊvə(r) / n．中途短暂停留

multinational / ,mʌltɪ’næʃənl/ adj．多国的

ration / ’ræʃən / n．含量

helium / ’hi:ljəm/ n．氦

aboard /ə’bɔ:d/ prep．在（船、飞机、车）上

setback / ’setbæk/ n．挫折

milestone / ’maɪlstəʊn/ n．里程碑

habitation / ,hæbɪ’teɪʃən / n．居住

debt / det / n．债

注释：

1．play host to：当东道主

2．... seven astronauts from the United States took turns living on Mir for up to six months each.来自美国的七位宇航员轮流在和平号上住了六个月之久。

take turns：轮流

living on Mir for up to six months each是现在分词短语，用作状语。

3．During its existence, Mir was the laboratory for 23,000 experiments and carried scientific equipment, estimated to be worth $80 million, from many nations：在和平号存在的时间里，它是进行23 000个实验的实验室，并携带了许多国家提供的价值估计为8 000万美元的科学仪器。

estimated to be worth $80 million是过去分词短语，用作定语。

4．The longest American stay was that of Shannon Lucid ...：美国人停留时间最长的一次是Shannon Lucid的那一次……

that替代前半句的stay。

5．Mir’s setbacks are nothing, though ... ：但是，和平号这些挫折算不了什么……

though：但是

练习：

1．Paragraph 4 ________

2．Paragraph 5 ________

3．Paragraph 6 ________

4．ParaeraDh 8 ________

A　Undeniable Mir’s Achievements

B　Rewards Following the US Financial Injection

C　Mir’s Problem Year

D　Mir Regarded as a Complete Failure

E　Mir’s Firsts in Scientific Experiments and Space Exploration

F　A Great Debt Owed to the International Space Station

5．Mir enhanced the confidence in the scientists that humans living in space for a long time was ________.

6．In Mir, the US astronauts created ________.

7．When we think of Mir in terms of its achievements, its setbacks are ________.

8．The writer tends to think that Mir was ________.

A　everything

B　a great success

C　a tremendous failure

D　nothing

E　many firsts

F　quite possible

答案与题解：

1．B　本段谈到，美国的经济支持产生了两个作用，即不仅使和平号空间站的航行得以继续，而且使美国及其他国家的宇航员取得了在宇宙空间长时间航行和多国合作的经验。

2．E　本段列举了和平号空间站取得的许多个第一。firsts这个词在第一段中出现，本段列举了许多的事实以支持第一段的论点。

3．C　选项C是正确的。1997年是和平号遇到不少麻烦的一年。

4．A　本段对和平号空间站作出了积极的评价，并谈到和平号出现的问题与其取得的成就相比是微不足道的。

5．F　选F的依据在第八段：（Mir）will be remembered as a milestone in space exploration and the space station that showed long-term human habitation in space was possible.

6．E　本文在第三段和第五段共列出美国借助和平号创造了多项第一，如：（1）From 1995 through 1998，seven astronauts from the United States took turns living on Mir for up to six months each.（第三段）（2）The longest American stay was that of Shannon Lucid, who spent 188 days aboard Mir in 1996.（第五段）

7．D　选D的依据在第八段：Mir’s setbacks are nothing, though, when we compare them with its accomplishments.

8．B　通篇文章都对和平号作出了积极的评价，并列出了不少具有重大意义的事实和数据。在第八段里，作者最后作出总结：Mir was a tremendous success, which will be remembered as a milestone in space exploration ...