当地时间14日，美国太空探索技术公司（SpaceX）的“星舰”（Starship）火箭进行第三次试飞。据报道，“星舰”在重新进入大气层后失联。
🤔️小作业：
1. According to the article, what is one of the key aspects of SpaceX's engineering culture?
a) Risk aversion
b) Frequent repetition of successful missions
c) Pushing spacecraft to the point of failure
d) Conservative flight-testing strategy
2. What is Elon Musk's vision for SpaceX's Starship rocket?
a) To replace all existing spacecraft in the aerospace industry
b) To conduct commercial missions to Mars exclusively
c) To fly uncrewed missions before carrying humans
d) To focus solely on satellite launch business
无注释原文：
SpaceX Starship lost on return to Earth after completing most of test flight
From: Reuters
SpaceX's Starship rocket, designed to eventually send astronauts to the moon and beyond, completed nearly an entire test flight on its third try on Thursday, making it much farther than before with a cruise through low orbit before being destroyed during a return to Earth, the company said.
During a live webcast of the flight, SpaceX commentators said mission control lost communications with the spacecraft during its atmospheric re-entry. The vehicle was nearing a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean about an hour after launch.
A few minutes later, SpaceX confirmed that the spacecraft had been lost, presumably either burning up or coming apart during re-entry or crashing into the sea.
Still, completion of most of the intended hour-plus test flight trajectory of Starship marked a major milestone in the development of a spacecraft crucial to Elon Musk's satellite launch business and NASA's moon program.
NASA chief Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX on what he called "a successful test flight" in a statement posted on the social media platform X.
The two-stage spacecraft, consisting of the Starship cruise vessel mounted atop its towering Super Heavy rocket booster, blasted off from the Elon Musk-owned company's Starbase launch site near Boca Chica Village on the south Texas Gulf Coast.
During its flight, Starship reached peak altitudes of 145 miles (234 km), the company said.
SpaceX engineers had hoped to improve on the Starship's two past performances, which both ended in explosions minutes after launch. However, the company had acknowledged in advance a high probability that its latest flight might similarly end with the spacecraft's destruction before the planned mission profile was finished.
SpaceX's engineering culture, considered more risk-tolerant than many of the aerospace industry's more established players, is built on a flight-testing strategy that pushes spacecraft to the point of failure, then fine-tunes improvements through frequent repetition.
Despite the outcome of Thursday's test, all indications are that Starship remains a considerable distance from becoming fully operational.
Musk, SpaceX's billionaire founder and CEO, has said the rocket should fly hundreds of uncrewed missions before carrying its first humans. Several other ambitious milestones overseen by NASA need to be met before the craft can execute a moon landing with American astronauts.
Still, Musk is counting on Starship to fulfill his goal of producing a large, multipurpose next-generation spacecraft capable of sending people and cargo to the moon later this decade, and ultimately flying to Mars.
Closer to home, Musk also sees Starship as eventually replacing the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as the workhorse in the company's commercial launch business. It already lofts most of the world's satellites and other payloads to low-Earth orbit.
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注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考
含注释全文：
SpaceX Starship lost on return to Earth after completing most of test flight
From: Reuters
SpaceX's Starship rocket, designed to eventually send astronauts to the moon and beyond, completed nearly an entire test flight on its third try on Thursday, making it much farther than before with acruisethrough loworbitbefore being destroyed during a return to Earth, the company said.
美国太空探索技术公司（SpaceX）设计的星舰（Starship）火箭，目标是最终将宇航员送往月球及更远宇宙。该火箭在周四的第三次试飞中几乎完成了整个试飞任务，比以往飞得更远，在低轨道上巡航。不过，随后在返回地球的过程中发生了事故。
cruise
cruise /kruːz/ 作名词，表示“航游，乘船游览”，英文解释为“a journey on a large ship for pleasure, during which you visit several places”如：a luxury cruise ship 豪华游轮。
作动词，表示“（船只或飞机）巡航，以平稳的速度航行”，英文解释为“If a ship or aircraft cruises, it travels at a continuous speed.”
orbit
orbit /ˈɔː.bɪt/ 作名词，1）表示“（天体等运行的）轨道”，英文解释为“a curved path followed by a planet or an object as it moves around another planet, star, moon, etc.”
2）表示“（人、组织等的）影响范围，势力范围”，英文解释为“an area that a particular person, organization, etc. deals with or is able to influence”如：to come/fall/be within sb's orbit 进入/落入/属于某人的势力范围。
作动词，表示“绕轨道运行，沿轨道围绕（行星或恒星）运行”，英文解释为“to follow a curved path around a planet or star”举个🌰：On this mission the Shuttle will orbit (the Earth) at a height of several hundred miles. 此次任务中，这架航天飞机将在距地面数百英里的高空绕（地球）轨道运行。
📍词根“orb-”来自拉丁语“orbis”，意味着“圆”，表示物体围绕中心点的路径。近义词：path（路径），同根词：orbital（轨道的），常用短语：enter into orbit（进入轨道）
During alive webcastof the flight, SpaceXcommentatorssaid mission control lost communications with thespacecraftduring itsatmosphericre-entry. The vehicle was nearing a plannedsplashdownin the Indian Ocean about an hour after launch.
在这次试飞网络直播中，SpaceX的评论员表示，星舰在重返大气层的过程中，与任务控制中心失去了联系。发射约一小时后，该航天器按计划即将在印度洋溅落。
live
此处 live 读作/laɪv/，可以作形容词，也可以作副词，表示“直播的；现场播出的”，英文解释为“broadcast as it happens; performing or being performed in front of an audience”举个🌰：I've got two tickets to see them (perform) live. 我有两张看他们现场演出的门票。
webcast
webcast /ˈweb.kɑːst/ 表示“网上播出的节目”，英文解释为“a broadcast made on the internet”举个🌰：Click here to join our live webcast, Current Consumer Issues. 点击此处进入我们的网上直播节目“当前消费者问题”。
commentator
commentator /ˈkɒm.ən.teɪ.tər/ 表示“（广播或电视的）解说员，评论员”，英文解释为“a reporter for radio or television who provides a spoken description of and remarks on an event, especially a sports competition, as it happens”如：a radio commentator 广播解说员。
spacecraft
spacecraft /ˈspeɪs.krɑːft/ 表示“宇宙飞船”，英文解释为“a vehicle used for travel in space”如：a manned/unmanned spacecraft (= with/without people inside) 载人/无人驾驶的宇宙飞船。
结合我们常见的aircraft/spacecraft/hovercraft等词可以猜到，craft可以表示“船，艇；飞行器，航空器”，英文解释为“a vehicle for travelling on water or through the air”，如：naval craft 军舰，civilian craft 民用船，cpatrol craft 巡逻艇，rescue craft 救生艇。
📍补充：hovercraft 气垫船，military aircraft 军用飞机，a manned/unmanned spacecraft 载人/无人的宇宙飞船。
📍此外，craft作名词还可以指“工艺，手艺；技术”，英文解释为“skill and experience, especially in relation to making objects; a job or activity that needs skill and experience, or something produced using skill and experience”如：the craft of furniture making/sewing 家具制作/缝纫工艺 political/literary craft 政治手腕／文学手法，rural/ancient/traditional crafts 乡村的/古老的/传统的手艺，craft workers (= skilled workers) 熟练工人，工匠。
📍当然，craft也可以作为动词表示“精制，（手工）制作”，举个🌰：Each doll is crafted individually by specialists. 每个布娃娃都由专业人员手工制作。
🎬电影《外星人保罗》（Paul）中的台词提到：Hey, imagine if we got buzzed by a craft. 想象一下如果一艘飞船从我们头上掠过。
atmospheric
atmospheric /ˌæt.məsˈfer.ɪk/ 1）表示“空气的；大气（层）的”，英文解释为“relating to the air or to the atmosphere”举个🌰：Plants are the main source of atmospheric oxygen. 大气中的氧气主要是植物产生的。
2）表示“制造独特氛围的；有神秘美感的；富有情调的”，英文解释为“creating a special feeling, especially a mysterious or romantic feeling”如：atmospheric lighting/music 富有情调的灯光/音乐。
splashdown
splashdown /ˈsplæʃ.daʊn/ 表示“溅落（指航天器坠入海里）”，英文解释为“a landing by a spacecraft in the sea”
A few minutes later, SpaceX confirmed that the spacecraft had been lost,presumablyeither burning up or coming apart during re-entry or crashing into the sea.
几分钟后，SpaceX证实该航天器已失联，推测其在重返大气层过程中可能被烧毁或解体，或是坠入大海。
presumably
presumably /prɪˈzuː.mə.bli/ 表示“据推测，大概，可能”，英文解释为“used to say what you think is the likely situation”举个🌰：They can presumably afford to buy a bigger apartment. 他们大概买得起一套大一点的公寓。
Still, completion of most of the intended hour-plus test flight trajectory of Starship marked a majormilestonein the development of a spacecraft crucial to Elon Musk's satellite launch business and NASA's moon program.
尽管如此，星舰完成了预计历时一小时的试飞过程，这是该航天器开发中的一个重大进展，对埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）的卫星发射业务和美国国家航空航天局（NASA）的登月计划具有重要意义。
milestone
milestone /ˈmaɪl.stəʊn/ 表示“里程碑；重大事件；转折点”，英文解释为“an important event in the development or history of something or in someone's life”举个🌰：He felt that moving out of his parents' home was a real milestone in his life. 他感到搬出父母家是他一生中一个真正的转折点。
NASA chief Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX on what he called "a successful test flight" in a statement posted on the social media platform X.
美国国家航空航天局局长比尔·纳尔逊（Bill Nelson）在社交媒体平台X上发表声明，祝贺SpaceX公司“试飞成功”。
The two-stage spacecraft, consisting of the Starship cruisevessel mounted atopitstoweringSuper Heavy rocketbooster,blasted offfrom the Elon Musk-owned company's Starbase launch site near Boca Chica Village on the south Texas Gulf Coast.
这艘由星舰巡航器和其庞大的超重型火箭助推器组成的两级飞船，从埃隆·马斯克旗下公司公司位于得克萨斯州南部墨西哥湾沿岸博卡奇卡村（Boca Chica Village）附近的星际基地（Starbase）发射场发射升空。
vessel
vessel /ˈvɛsəl/ 1）表示“（盛液体的）容器，器皿”，英文解释为“a container used for holding liquids, such as a bowl, cup, etc.”如：a Bronze Age drinking vessel 青铜器时代的饮具。
2）表示“船，舰”，英文解释为“a large boat or a ship”如：a cargo / fishing / naval / patrol / sailing / supply vessel 货船 / 渔船 / 海军舰艇 / 巡逻艇 / 帆船 / 补给船。
📍词源和词根：来自拉丁语的"vasellum"，意为"小船或容器"，来自更早的词"vas"，意为"容器"。
mount
mount /maʊnt/ 1）表示“准备；安排；组织；开展，发动”，英文解释为“If you mount a campaign or event, you organize it and make it take place.”举个🌰：The National Gallery mounted an exhibition of American painting. 国家美术馆举办了美国画展。
📍比如，BBC在「重庆公交车坠江」一文中提到的，开展大规模救援行动，A huge rescue operation was mounted.
📍纽约时报在「全美最严苛反堕胎法案诞生」一文中也有用到了mount的这个含义：In the coming days, we will be mounting the fight of our lives — we will take this to court and ensure abortion remains safe and legal. 在未来的日子里，我们将发动我们生命中的斗争--我们将诉诸法庭，确保堕胎仍然安全和合法。
2）表示“逐步增加；增长，上升”，就是increase的高级版，举个🌰：The death toll continues to mount. 死亡人数持续增加。
📍2019年9月，美国电子烟巨头Juul的CEO辞职时，经济学人的文章中用到了As concerns mount这一表达：Juul replaced its chief executive, as concerns mount about the health risks of e-cigarettes.
3）表示“安放，安装；镶嵌；裱贴”，英文解释为“to fix something to a wall, in a frame, etc., so that it can be looked at or used”举个🌰：The surveillance camera is mounted above the main door. 闭路电视的摄像机安装在大门的上方。
4）熟词僻义，作动词，表示“骑上（马、自行车等）”，英文解释为“to get on a horse, bicycle, etc.. in order to ride”举个🌰：She mounted her horse and rode off. 她骑上马走了。
5）作名词，则可以直接表示“马”，英文解释为“a horse”如：an excellent mount for a child 供孩子骑的好马。
atop
atop /əˈtɒp/ 表示“在…之上，在…顶上”，英文解释为“on or at the top of”举个🌰：She sat atop a two-metre wall. 她坐在一堵两米高的墙上。
towering
towering /ˈtaʊə.rɪŋ/ 1）表示“高耸的”，英文解释为“very high and making people feel respect”如：the towering walls of the Acropolis 雅典卫城高耸的城墙。
2）表示“杰出的，卓越的”，英文解释为“very great”如：a towering figure in the art world 艺术界的杰出人物。
booster
booster /ˈbuː.stər/ 1）表示“（航天器的）推进器”，英文解释为“an engine on a spacecraft that gives extra power for the first part of a flight”如：a rocket booster 火箭推进器。
2）表示“（增强药效的）辅助药剂”，英文解释为“a small amount of a substance that is given to increase the effect of the same substance given some time before, to continue to protect a person from illness”如：a polio booster 小儿麻痹症辅助药剂。
📍booster / booster shot / booster dose用来指加强针（疫苗）。
blast of
表示“（火箭）点火起飞，发射升空”，英文解释为“If a rocket blasts off, it leaves the ground to go into space.”
🎬电影《海啸奇迹》（The Impossible）中在放“孔明灯”时大家就狂喊：Blast off.
During its flight, Starship reachedpeak altitudesof 145 miles (234 km), the company said.
该公司称，在飞行过程中，星舰的最高飞行高度达到了145英里（234公里）。
peak
peak /piːk/ 可以作名词，也可以作动词，表示“（达到）峰值”，英文解释为“When something peaks, it reaches its highest value or its highest level.”举个🌰：Temperatures have peaked at over 90 degrees. 温度已达到峰值，超过了90度。
还可以作形容词，表示“最高度的；高峰时期的；巅峰状态的”，英文解释为“used to describe the highest level of sth, or a time when the greatest number of people are doing sth or using sth”
altitude
altitude表示“海拔；海拔高度；高程”，英文解释为“the height above sea level”举个例子：We are flying at an altitude of 6 000 metres. 我们的飞行高度是6 000米。
区分：
📍latitude：the distance of a place north or south of the equator (= the line around the world dividing north and south) , measured in degrees 纬度;
📍longitude：the distance of a place east or west of the Greenwich meridian , measured in degrees 经度。
SpaceX engineers had hoped to improve on the Starship's two past performances, which both ended in explosions minutes after launch. However, the company had acknowledged in advance a high probability that its latest flight might similarly end with the spacecraft'sdestructionbefore the planned mission profile was finished.
SpaceX公司的工程师们曾希望改善星舰过去两次试飞表现，这两次试飞都在发射几分钟后以爆炸告终。不过，该公司事先承认，星舰最新试飞很有可能同样在计划任务完成前被摧毁而告终。
destruction
destruction /dɪˈstrʌk.ʃən/ 表示“毁灭，消灭，破坏”，英文解释为“the act of destroying something, or the fact of being destroyed”举个🌰：Many people are very concerned about the destruction of the rainforests. 许多人都非常关注雨林遭破坏的问题。
SpaceX's engineering culture, considered more risk-tolerant than many of theaerospaceindustry's moreestablishedplayers, is built on a flight-testing strategy that pushes spacecraft to the point of failure, thenfine-tunesimprovements through frequent repetition.
与许多航空航天业的老牌公司相比，SpaceX公司的工程文化被认为更具风险承受能力，这种文化建立在飞行测试策略的基础上，即通过频繁重复试错来微调改进。
aerospace
aerospace /ˈeə.rə.speɪs/ 表示“航空航天工业的；航空航天器制造的”，英文解释为“producing or operating aircraft or spacecraft”。
established
established /ɪˈstæb.lɪʃt/ 形容词，1）可以表示“（因为优秀而）被认可的，著名的”，英文解释为“used for describing someone who is known for doing a job well, because they have been doing it for a long time”，如：an established artist/star 著名艺术家/明星。
2）表示“（因长期存在而）已确立的；被承认的；既定的”，英文解释为“accepted or respected because of having existed for a long period of time”举个🌰：There are established procedures for dealing with emergencies. 处理紧急情况有一些既定程序。
fine-tune
fine-tune /ˌfaɪnˈtʃuːn/ 表示“对…进行微调”，英文解释为“to make very small changes to something in order to make it work as well as possible”举个🌰：She spent hours fine-tuning her speech. 她花了好几个小时对自己的讲稿作细微的修改润饰。
Despite the outcome of Thursday's test, all indications are that Starship remains a considerable distance from becoming fully operational.
尽管周四的试飞取得了一定成果，但所有迹象表明，星舰距离完全投入使用还有相当长的路要走。
Musk, SpaceX's billionaire founder and CEO, has said the rocket should fly hundreds of uncrewed missions before carrying its first humans. Several other ambitious milestonesoverseenby NASA need to be met before the craft canexecutea moon landing with American astronauts.
SpaceX公司的亿万富翁创始人兼首席执行官马斯克曾表示，在搭载第一批人类之前，星舰应该执行数百次无人飞行任务。在运载美国宇航员登月之前，还有许多由NASA负责的关键里程碑需要实现。
oversee
oversee /ˌəʊ.vəˈsiː/ 表示“监督；监察；监管”，英文解释为“to watch or organize a job or an activity to make certain that it is being done correctly”举个🌰：As marketing manager, her job is to oversee all the company's advertising. 作为营销经理，她的工作是负责公司所有的广告业务。
execute
execute /ˈek.sɪ.kjuːt/ 常见的意思表示“（尤指有计划地）实施，履行，表演”，英文解释为“to do something that has been carefully planned formal”举个🌰：The whole play was executed with great precision. 这出戏从头到尾表演得丝丝入扣，有板有眼。
此外，还有“（依法）将…处死”的意思，英文解释为“to kill someone, especially legally as a punishment”举个🌰：One group claimed to have executed the hostage. 一个组织声称他们已处死了那名人质。
Still, Musk is counting on Starship to fulfill his goal of producing a large, multipurpose next-generation spacecraftcapableof sending people and cargo to the moon later this decade, and ultimately flying to Mars.
尽管如此，马斯克仍寄希望于星舰能实现其愿景：制造一个大型、多用途的下一代航天器，能够在21世纪20年代后期将人类和货物送上月球，并最终飞往火星。
capable
capable /ˈkeɪ.pə.bəl/ 表示“有能力的；熟练的；能干的”，英文解释为“able to do things effectively and skilfully, and to achieve results”举个🌰：She's a very capable woman/worker/judge. 她是个很能干的女人/很熟练的工人／能力很强的法官。
📍-capable 表示“可…的，有…能力的（加在名次后形成形容词）”，英文解释为“added to nouns to form adjectives that mean able to use the stated thing”举个🌰：These are nuclear-capable aircraft (= they can carry nuclear weapons). 这些飞机可载核武器。
Closer to home, Musk also sees Starship as eventually replacing the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as theworkhorsein the company's commercial launch business. It alreadyloftsmost of the world's satellites and otherpayloadsto low-Earth orbit.
更近期内，马斯克还认为星舰最终将取代SpaceX的猎鹰9号火箭，成为该公司商业发射业务的主力。该火箭已将世界上大部分卫星和其他有效载荷送入近地轨道。
workhorse
workhorse /ˈwɜːk.hɔːs/ 1）表示“吃苦耐劳的人；埋头苦干的人”，英文解释为“a person who does a lot of work, especially of a type that is necessary but not interesting”如：a willing/reliable workhorse 甘愿挑重担的人/可靠的老黄牛。
2）表示“经久耐用的机器”，英文解释为“a machine that operates without failing for long periods, although it might not be very interesting or exciting”举个🌰：The steam engine was the workhorse of the Industrial Revolution. 蒸汽机是工业革命中经久耐用的重负荷机器。
loft
loft /lɒft/ 作名词，表示“阁楼，顶楼”，英文解释为“a space at the top of a building under the roof used for storing things and usually entered by a ladder, or sometimes made into a room for living in”或者表示“（由工业用建筑改建的）公寓”，英文解释为“an apartment in a large building that was previously used for industry”举个🌰：The firm specializes in loft conversions (= making lofts into rooms). 该公司专门从事阁楼改造。
作动词，表示“向高处击;击（高球）”，英文解释为“to hit a ball high”
payload
payload /ˈpeɪ.ləʊd/ 表示“（运输工具的）净载重量，有用载重量；（导弹的）有效载荷，有效负荷”，英文解释为“the amount of goods or people that a vehicle, such as a truck or aircraft, can carry或者表示“飞船携带的设备”，英文解释为“the equipment carried in a spacecraft”
- 词汇盘点 -
cruise、 orbit、 live、 webcast、 commentator、 spacecraft、 atmospheric、 splashdown、 presumably、 milestone、 vessel、 mount、 atop、 towering、 booster、 blast of、 peak、 altitude、 destruction、 aerospace、 established、 fine-tune、 oversee、 execute、 capable、 workhorse、 loft、 payload
- 词汇助记 By ChatGPT -
During a live webcast, a commentator announced the spacecraft's successful orbit cruise. As it approached atmospheric re-entry, cheers turned to gasps. Despite a splashdown, the destruction was presumed. Yet, it marked a milestone in aerospace advancement.
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