VOA常速英语2008年-Bad Weather May Delay Thursday US Shuttle 'Atla

By Brian Wagner
Miami
06 February 2008

NASA officials say expected rain showers may delay Thursday's launch of the space shuttle Atlantis whose mission is to deliver a new science lab to the International Space Station. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports.

NASA engineers and astronauts are eager to begin the Atlantis mission, which was postponed¹ about two months because of equipment problems on the shuttle's external tanks.

Technicians resolved that problem by replacing a faulty connection in the fuel system on the liquid hydrogen tanks.

Now officials say they are concerned about a weather pattern that will move through the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday. The storm front has already spawned² a string of tornadoes³ in five south-central states that killed at least 50 people late Tuesday.

Shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters says more severe weather is unlikely, but she says the storm front may hamper⁴ the launch.

"Our concerns are having showers in the area, low ceilings, and even a potential for thunderstorm," said Kathy Winters. "So with that we do have a 70 percent chance of weather prohibiting launch for tomorrow."

Winters says the weather system should be gone by Friday or Saturday to allow the launch to take place.

Atlantis is set to dock at the International Space Station and deliver the Columbus science laboratory that was built by the European Space Agency. The seven-meter-long module⁵ will provide new room and tools for astronauts to conduct research in space.

Space station program manager, Alan Thirkettle, said the module is the heart of the agency's $7-billion program.

"We will have the right to have our astronauts flying on there [the station] to perform the iterative science that they can do so well, and to be the icons⁶ for the youths of the future in Europe as well," said Thirkettle.

He said the module will carry equipment for two initial experiments, including one to study the sun and another to test materials for future space vehicles.

Once attached to the space station, the Columbus module also will be used to receive supplies from an unmanned shuttle system that European engineers are preparing to launch. Thirkettle said the Automated⁷ Transfer Vehicle is crucial to deliver food, water, fuel and other supplies to astronauts aboard the station.

"It contains a menu of cargo⁸, and on any one mission it can carry up to six tons of usable cargo to the station," he said.

He said space officials hope to use the cargo system to carry 45 tons of supplies into space over the next year to further construction on the space station.

NASA officials have planned at least five shuttle flights this year to help meet a 2010 deadline for completing expansion of the space station.

1 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。

2 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

3 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

4 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

5 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

6 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

8 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。