万花筒 Kaleidoscope 2007-02-12&13, 美宇航员追击情敌被捕

Thanks.It's a story that perplexed¹ people from coast to coast. What would drive a NASA astronaut to snap confronting a woman she thought was her romantic rival? And NASA is now asking itself the same question this morning, wondering if it let Lisa Nowak slip through the cracks. NBC’s Don Teague’s at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston with the latest on this.
Don, good morning.

Good morning, Mac. It’s one of the most bizarre and embarrassing episodes in NASA’s history. Today the first astronaut ever charged with a felony is back in Houston as NASA tries to figure out what happened.
Her return to Houston was anything but the hero’s welcome astronauts so used to. Lisa Nowak hid her head under a jacket to avoid cameras as police and chief NASA astronaut Steve Lindsey escorted her out of the airport. Nowak is free on bond facing charges of attempted murder in a bizarre attack that / shaken those in NASA.

It's hard to tell the astronaut caught took this, I think folks are shocked and concerned.

At the Johnson Space Center, NASA officials announce they are now reviewing psychological screening procedures for astronauts in the wake of the Nowak case.

In light of the current situation, determine whether there were any areas of concern, any leading indicators² we might have picked up on.
And liftoff.
NASA astronauts are considered the best of the best . They undergo rigorous physical and mental testing before ever-taking flight. But Nowak, mother of three children and recently separated from her husband, was hardly acting³ normal.
Prosecutors⁴ say she wore adult diaper on a 900-mile drive from Houston to Orlando where she allegedly pepper-sprayed Colleen Shipman, an air force officer she considered a rival for the affection of shuttle pilot William Oefelein.

Shipment filed for restraining order on Monday, claiming Nowak had been stalking her for 2 months. Back in Houston, Nowak and her family aren’t speaking publicly. Neighbors, too, are in shock.

I have sympathy for the stress she apparently⁵ was under.

But beyond simple stress, psychology⁶ professor Kiv Davis believes Nowak may have been / deeply insecure and susceptible⁷ to romantic illusions.

She’s a kind of person because of her attachment⁸ / insecurity would lash⁹ onto someone who may have done nothing, and then been perfectly¹⁰ prepared to eliminate any rival to this new relationship.

As for NASA rules concerning romantic relationships between astronauts, right now, there aren’t any.

We do not meddle¹¹ into the private lives of astronauts.

But that, too, may soon change.

As you can imagine, this has all been a huge distraction¹² for NASA, but the agency says it’s important not to lose focus on its mission, in fact, astronauts at the International Space Station have a spacewalk today, Mac.

Alright, Don, thanks very much.Don Teague in Houston.

1 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

2 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

7 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

8 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

9 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

10 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

11 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

12 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。