万花筒2008-02-21:美国欲导弹打卫星

The Pentagon plans to shoot down a disabled spy satellite to prevent a potential deadly gas leak, officials said.

Upon notification of the descending¹ NRO satellite, the President and his national and homeland security advisors² reviewed the options available to us, to mitigate³ risk from the descending satellite.

As background, I'd like to note that over the past 30-plus years, uh, there have been many satellites and other man-made objects falling from space of course, uh, they’ve fallen uh, with very little damage and no injuries. Uh, what makes this case a little bit different however, and in particular for the President in his consideration, uh, was the likelihood that the satellite upon descent to the Earth’s surface, could release much of its thousand-plus pounds of hydrazine fuel as a toxic⁴ gas. 

The likelihood of the satellite falling in a populated area is small, and the extent and duration of toxic hydrazine in the atmosphere would be quite limited, nevertheless, if the satellite did fall in a populated area, there was a possibility of death or injury to human beings, beyond that associated with the fall of satellites and other space uh, objects normally, if we can use that word, specifically, there was enough of a risk for the President to be quite concerned about human life, and on that basis, he asked us to review our options. 

WORDS IN THE NEWS     

1. NRO : National Reconnaissance Office

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) helps the US practice the first rule of warfare⁵: Know thine enemy. Called the "nation's eyes and ears in space," the Department of Defense⁶ agency designs, builds, and operates US reconnaissance satellites for the Central Intelligence Agency and the DoD. 

2. mitigate : verb

To mitigate something means to make it less unpleasant, serious, or painful. (FORMAL)

1 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

2 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

3 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

4 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

5 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。