07spacerace.docVIP

Unit 7 The Real Space Race Is in Asia As China tries to catch up to the United States and Russia, its regional neighbors are fast on its heels By Mary Hennock, Adam B. Kushner and Jason Overdorf If the weather holds, China plans to celebrate another milestone on its long march to the moon this week in a PR extravaganza1 that will rival its Olympic performance a few weeks ago. Fittingly2, a Long March II-F rocket will take off from the Jiuquan launch center in Gansu province carrying three astronauts on China’s third mission to low Earth orbit. After a live broadcast of the launch and heartwarming made-for-TV linkups3 between the crew and their families, the ruggedly4 handsome Zhai Zhigang will open the hatch5 and emerge into outer space. It will be China’s first spacewalk and another step in its ambitious plan to build its own space station by 2015 and – if the rumors are true—to put astronauts on the moon by 2020. The display will no doubt be lauded6 as yet another indication that China is ready to join the ranks of the world’s space titans7, Russia and the United States. But are these missions cause for worry in Washington and Moscow? The Soviet Union performed the first spacewalk in 1965 when Aleksei Leonov stepped out of a Voskhod II capsule8, and the United States did it later that year when Ed White left his Gemini capsule. Although the ability to launch payloads9 can also be used to lob10 bombs, the military implications of a manned program are virtually nil11: nobody has yet figured out what humans can do in space that robotic weapons can’t do better. 注释： 1 extravaganza: n. spectacular entertainment 壮观的表演 2 fittingly: adv. properly, suitably 适当地， 合适地 3 linkup: n. connection, association 连接 4 ruggedly: adj. strongly and hardship enduring 强健，吃苦耐劳地 5 hatch: n. the cabin door (of the spacecraft) (宇宙飞船的)舱盖 6 laud: v. praise , glorify 称赞；赞美 7 titan: n. person of superhuman size, strength, intellect, etc. 身材、体力、智慧等出众的人 8 c