VOA慢速英语2013 Rocket Scientists Enjoy a Good Reputation

 

Rocket Scientists Enjoy a Good Reputation

Hello. I'm Phil Murray with Words and Their Stories, a program in Special English.

"You do not need to be a rocket scientist." Americans hear these words often. People say them in schools, offices and factories. Broadcasters on radio and television use them.

This is how you might hear the words used.

Workers in an office are afraid to try to use their new computer system. Their employer¹ tells them not to be foolish. "You do not need to be a rocket scientist to learn this," he says.

Or, high school students cannot seem to understand something their teacher is explaining. "Come on," she says. "You do not need to be a rocket scientist to understand this."

Or, a company that makes soap is trying to sell its product on television. "You do not need to be a rocket scientist to see that our soap cleans better," the company says.

These words send a strong message. They say that you do not need to be extremely intelligent to understand something.

How did the expression begin?

No one seems to know for sure. But an official of the American space agency², NASA, says the expression just grew. It grew, he says, because rocket scientists probably are the most intelligent people around.

Not everyone would agree.

Some people might be considered more intelligent than rocket scientists. For example, a person who speaks and reads fifteen languages, or a medical doctor who operates on the brain.

Still, many people would agree that there is something special about scientists who build rockets. Maybe it has to do with the mystery of space travel.

Moving pictures from before World War II showed a man named Buck³ Rogers landing⁴ on the planet⁵ Mars⁶. He was a hero who could defeat any enemy from outer space.

The rocket scientist is a different kind of hero. He or she makes space travel possible.

Rocket scientists, however, can have problems just like anyone else.

A Washington rocket scientist tells about a launch⁷ that was postponed⁸ many, many times. Finally, everything seemed right. Mechanical⁹ failures had been repaired. The weather was good.

The scientists had planned that part of the rocket would fall into the ocean after the launch. All ships and boats within many kilometers of the danger area had been warned. But in the last few seconds a small boat entered the area. Once again, the launch was postponed.

When the work goes well, most rocket scientists enjoy their jobs. One scientist said, "As a child I loved to build rockets. Now I am grown. I still love to build rockets. And now I get paid for it."

This program, Words and Their Stories, was written by Jeri Watson. I'm Phil Murray.

1 employer   

n.雇用方，雇主

参考例句：

• My employer deducted ten pounds from my wages this week.我的雇主从我本周的工钱中扣除了十英镑。
• His monthly salary is paid into the bank by his employer.他的月薪由雇主替他存入银行。

2 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

3 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

4 landing   

n.登陆；着陆；楼梯平台

参考例句：

• Owing to engine trouble,the plane had to make a forced landing.由于发动机出了毛病，飞机不得不进行迫降。
• When are we landing?我们什么时候着陆？

5 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

6 Mars   

n.火星，战争

参考例句：

• As of now we don't know much about Mars.目前我们对火星还知之甚少。
• He contended that there must be life on Mars.他坚信火星上面一定有生物。

7 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

8 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

9 mechanical   

adj.机械(学)的；力学的；机械似的；手工操作的

参考例句：

• He borrowed a mechanical book from me.他从我这儿借了一本力学方面的书。
• He looks very mechanical.他看上去非常呆板。