CNN 2011-02-07

President Mubarak is the leader of a country that's in the middle of a political uprising. Protests against the government have been going on all across Egypt, and experts think there could be a lot more demonstrations¹ starting today. The Muslim Brotherhood², the largest group of protesters, is speaking out against President Mubarak's government. It's telling its followers³ to protest in the streets after today's weekly Muslim prayers end.

In some cases, protesters have fought with police officers. They've thrown things at the security forces. And those forces have used tear gas to try to break up the crowds. At least three protesters and one police officer have been killed this week. Social networking is playing a role in all of this, too. A lot of the protests are being organized on blogs and sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Focusing on a single event in our "This Day in History" segment. On January 28th, 1986 -- exactly 25 years ago today -- the space shuttle Challenger exploded less than two minutes after liftoff, killing⁴ all seven people on board.

One of those seven people was Christa McAuliffe. She wasn't an official government employee, like most other astronauts. She was a teacher. And she was picked from a group of more than 11,000 people in the field of education to journey into space. John Zarrella shows us how, 25 years after McAuliffe's tragic⁵ death, she's still inspiring young people.

The fifth graders at Francis Scott Key Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia know quite a bit about space.

I want to be able to drive rovers on Mars.

I just recently learned from my brother that the constellations⁶ have moved, which is very interesting!

There's a good reason. A picture of Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space, sits on a cabinet in the classroom. The kids know who she is not so much from history books, but from their teacher.

The woman moaned. This tooth must come out.

You see, their teacher Micaela Pond is connected to McAuliffe in a way that simply cannot fade over time.

I feel very lucky to have known her, and I try very much to inspire my students. Whatever your dream may be, it's possible.

A quarter century ago, Pond babysat Christa's kids and knew McAuliffe from Sunday school. A junior at Concord⁷ High in New Hampshire where McAuliffe taught, she sat in the auditorium⁸ with other students that January morning.

And then we heard, "Roger, go with throttle⁹ up."

Challenger, go with throttle up.

And that phrase, "obviously there's been a major malfunction¹⁰."

Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation, obviously a major malfunction.

I think the realization¹¹ hit us quite quickly that this isn't good.

Seventy-three seconds into the flight, McAuliffe and the six other astronauts perished when Challenger exploded. The accident was caused by bitter cold combined with a faulty rocket booster seal. But the tears that fell that day soon turned to a river of inspiration, leading Pond and many others to follow Christa's path.

I think Christa would be very proud of the legacy¹² she's left. I think she would be ecstatic to know that her students went on to be teachers and were inspired by her.

McAuliffe called her flight the ultimate field trip.

I don't think any teacher has ever been more ready.

She never got to teach her lessons from space. But today, Pond is one of so many who teach because of Christa McAuliffe. John Zarrella, CNN, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

1 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

2 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

6 constellations   

n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人）

参考例句：

• The map of the heavens showed all the northern constellations. 这份天体图标明了北半部所有的星座。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His time was coming, he would move in the constellations of power. 他时来运转，要进入权力中心了。 来自教父部分

7 concord   

n.和谐；协调

参考例句：

• These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
• His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。

8 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

9 throttle   

n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压

参考例句：

• These government restrictions are going to throttle our trade.这些政府的限制将要扼杀我们的贸易。
• High tariffs throttle trade between countries.高的关税抑制了国与国之间的贸易。

10 malfunction   

vi.发生功能故障，发生故障，显示机能失常

参考例句：

• There must have been a computer malfunction.一定是出了电脑故障。
• Results have been delayed owing to a malfunction in the computer.由于电脑发生故障，计算结果推迟了。

11 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

12 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。