VOA标准英语2011--Discovery Crew Experiences a First in Or

The space shuttle Discovery's crew experienced a first on the shuttle's last full day in orbit. Our correspondent reports on the astronauts' welcome wake-up call Tuesday morning.
If you have to wake up for work, an acoustic¹ solo certainly beats a buzzing alarm clock.
The six astronauts on board the shuttle Discovery were awakened² on their last full day in space by the song "Blue Sky," performed live from Mission Control by the lead singer of the American rock band, Big Head Todd and the Monsters.
It was the first time NASA astronauts have ever been awakened by a live musical performance from Houston.
Discovery served as the inspiration for the song "Blue Sky." Big Head Todd and the Monsters wrote it as a tribute for Discovery's return to orbital missions in 2005, two years after the space shuttle Columbia and its crew were lost in a re-entry explosion.
And it was "Blue Sky" that received the most votes in NASA's contest to select which song Discovery's astronauts would wake-up to on the final full day in orbit.
More than 2.4 million votes were tallied³ in NASA's Top 40 song contest, with "Blue Sky" earning nearly a third of them - more than 722,000 votes.
Discovery's Commander Steve Lindsey congratulated the band on the win and thanked them for the early morning serenade.
The band's lead singer, Todd Park Mohr, thanked the astronauts for their courage and bravery and for inspiring creativity back on Earth.
Commander Lindsey responded:
"We all wish you could see what we can see when we look out at the Earth, and, hopefully, everybody will be able to do that one of these days," said Lindsay. "Hopefully sooner rather than later."
The practice of waking up the astronauts with a song has been a part of the space program since the days of the Apollo program, and it looks as if it will continue through the shuttle program's retirement⁴ this year. The public will be able to vote for wake-up songs for the upcoming Endeavour mission on NASA's web site.
The runner-up song for Discovery's final full workday served to wake up the crew Monday morning. The song, well known to space-watchers and spacewalkers alike, raked in more than 671,000 votes.
William Shatner, star of the classic television show Star Trek⁵, even adapted the theme song for the Discovery crew.
March 8th is Discovery's last full day in orbit before the shuttle heads into retirement. Discovery's return to Earth on March 9th will not only complete its final, 13-day mission, but also mark its record 365th day in orbit.
Since Discovery first launched in 1984, it has logged more than 148 million miles in space...the final frontier.

1 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。

2 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 tallied   

v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
• His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。