每日口說挑戰【CNN10】全球太空競賽｜2021年12月7日 (The Global Space Race | December 7, 2021)

●the vocabulary from the video●

1. Soviet Union 蘇聯 [ˋsovɪ͵ɛt]

2. outpace(v)（速度上）超過，比…更快
>The company has completely outpaced its rivals in the market.
這家公司在市場上已完全領先對手。

3. justify (v) 證明…正當（或有理、正確); 是…的正當理由
>Are you sure that these measures are justified?
你確定這些措施合理嗎？

4. onwards and upwards 步步高升；越來越成功
>Her publishing career started as an editorial assistant on a women's magazine and it was onwards and upwards from there.
她的出版事業從在一家女性雜誌做編輯助理起步，越做越成功。

5. get (sth) off the ground（使）開始；（使）成功進行
>A lot more money will be required to get this project off the ground.
要啟動這個工程，還需要大量的資金。

6. ignite /ɪɡˈnaɪt/ (v) 點燃，（使）燃燒；（使）爆炸
>The fuel spontaneously ignites because of the high temperature and pressure.
燃料因高溫和高壓而自燃。

7. lift-off（太空船或火箭的）發射，起飛，升空
>Thousand of spectators gathered to watch the lift-off of the space shuttle.
成千上萬的觀眾聚集在一起觀看航天飛機的升空。

8. rocket (v) 用火箭運載
>They succeeded in rocketing a satellite into orbit.
他們成功地用火箭把一顆衛星送入運行軌道。

9. exploratory rover [ɪkˋsplorə͵torɪ] [ˈroʊ.vɚ] 探測車
10. cosmological (a) 宇宙哲學的; 宇宙論的
11. spacecraft (n) 太空船

12. orbit (v)繞軌道運行，沿軌道圍繞（行星或恆星）運行
>The earth orbits the sun.
地球繞著太陽運行。

13. inch (v) 緩慢地移動
>We are inching towards an agreement.
我們在慢慢努力達成共識。

14. pivot (n) [ˋpɪvət] 關鍵人物；樞紐
>Their daughter was the pivot of their lives.
女兒是他們生活的中心。

15. probe (v) 探索；探查；查究；調查
>They are probing into the cause of the crime.
他們正在探究犯罪的原因。

16. asteroid [ˋæstə͵rɔɪd] (a) 星狀的

17. dwindle (v) 減小；降低；減少
>Hopes for their safety dwindled.
他們會平安無事的希望變得渺茫了。

18. standoff (n)【美】僵持；均衡
>The political standoff ended when the army took over.
軍隊接管後，政治僵局才告一段落。

19. geopolitic (a) 地緣政治學的

20. helm (n)（政府、組織等的）領導地位
>How long has that man been at the helm?
那人掌權多久了？

21. sell-by date = expired date （商品上標明的）到期日，保存期限

22. blemish (v) 玷汙；使有缺點；有損……的完美
>His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes.
由於報上一篇文章聲稱他曾逃稅，他的名譽受到損害。

23. wind up (ph) 使結束
>She wound up her speech with a quotation.
她以一句引言結束她的演講。

24. methane [ˋmɛθen]【化】甲烷，沼氣

25. potent (a) 強有力的；有權勢的；有影響的
>He is a potent ruler.
他是一個強有力的統治者。

26.landfill (n) 垃圾填埋；垃圾填埋地
27. dumpster (n) 大垃圾桶，廢料桶

28. divert (v) 將…用於其他目的；改變…的用途
>Should more funds be diverted from roads into railways?
是否應該將更多的資金從公路轉投到鐵路上？

29. bond (n) 紐帶；聯繫；關係
>There has been a close bond between them ever since she saved him from drowning.
他溺水被她救了以後他們之間一直來往密切。

30. drive-thru (n) 得來速
31. hazelnut (n) 榛果
32. nip (v) （風，霜等）摧殘
>Bitter frosts nipped the blossoms of the fruit trees.
嚴寒將果樹的花凍壞了。

[TRANSCRIPT]

Welcome to the CNN10 news report. I'm Leila.

Space Race 2.0 Evolves as New Players Enter the Game

In the original space race, the Soviet Union took the lead in 1957 when it became the first country to reach space with a satellite. Then in 1961, the USSR was first again, this time with a person, launching cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space.

Eventually, the United States caught up with and outpaced the USSR by putting two men on the moon in 1969, a feat that historians say marked America as the winner of the first space race. Since then, the US has continued to lead in space exploration and development, until now.

The head of the US Space Force, General David Thompson, says that China is moving twice as fast to catch up and it could surpass America by the end of the decade. Not surprising considering the billions of dollars that China is investing in its space program.

Consider what they’ve already accomplished: In the past three years, Chinese missions have brought back rock samples from the Moon, successfully landed a rover on the far side of the Moon, and then another one on Mars. This past October, China launched three astronauts from the Gobi desert towards the country’s new space station where the crew is currently living and working, and are expected to do so for a total of 183 days.

China and the US are not the only space-ambitious nations out there. You can watch the video for all the details, but here’s a quick run-down:

- The United Arab Emirates reached Mars earlier this year with a scientific satellite that began orbiting the Red Planet in February. The UAE is also planning an unmanned moon mission in 2024.
- India has been inching towards a new date for their unmanned lunar landing after their first attempt failed in 2019.
- The European Space Agency, which currently has probes exploring the Solar System, is also working on a moon lander.
- And finally, while the USSR may no longer exist, Russia is still a major player in space. The nation hopes to launch an automatic lunar station in July of next year, and they’re also joining forces with China for a robotic asteroid probe that’s set for 2024.

While countries vie for position in space, the ongoing debate remains of whether or not space exploration is even worthwhile. On one hand, supporters say that the investigation of other planets and galaxies helps us learn more about our own and encourages the development of new technologies that will solve problems both in space and on our soil. On the other hand, opponents say the cost to benefit ratio of deep space missions is too risky to justify the amount of resources spent on them, resources like money from taxpayer funds. But recently, more money has come from private sources as we have seen with the US pivoting towards commercializing space. India’s prime minister is also encouraging the same kind of private sector development.


New App Makes Soon-To-Expire Groceries More Appealing to Shoppers

One challenge that every grocery store and supermarket faces is how to sell the meats, fruits, and vegetables that are close to their expiration or sell-by dates. In the US alone, up to 40% of the food supply is thrown out, but around the world, grocery stores throw out an estimated 133 million tons of food every year.

On the surface, this problem may seem specific to grocery stores losing money on wasted food, but if we zoom out in perspective, so to speak, we quickly realize that no one benefits when food is thrown out. The decomposition process alone for all that food emits methane, a gas that is 25 times more potent than CO2 when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere. In fact, if international food waste were a country, it’d be the third leading cause of greenhouse gas emission, behind the US and China.

Grocery stores have tried selling these foods at deep discounts, including the "ugly" produce which is still edible despite its bumps and bruises, but these attempts haven’t always worked. This is where a Canadian-based startup called Flashfood comes in.

By working with supermarkets, Flashfood sells soon-to-expire groceries before they’re thrown out. To incentivize customers, the company marks down fruit, vegetables, meat, and seafood by as much as 50 percent.

Shoppers use an app to see what deals are available at stores near them. Then, they can pick up the groceries from a designated Flashfood locker at one of the 1,200 supermarkets across Canada and the US.

According to Nicholas Bertram, President and CEO of The GIANT Company, marking down near-expiration foods is an age-old practice for grocers. The problem is that there hasn’t been a good way to catalog and publicize all that food until now. The Giant company has deployed Flashfood in all of its 187 grocery stores across the US, and in doing so, has diverted over 300,000 kilograms from being thrown out. Overall, Flashfood says it has diverted 13.6 million kilos of food that would’ve ended up in landfills, all while saving its customers 90 million dollars.


And now, our Sentence of the Day:

Supporters say investigating other planets and galaxies teaches us more about our own and encourages the development of new technologies to solve problems.
支持派說，研究其他星球和銀河系會使我們更瞭解自己的星球並促進新技術的開發來解決問題。

Let’s look at some vocabulary from the sentence:

supporter
KK [səˋportɚ] IPA /səˈpɔːr.t̬ɚ/
someone who supports a particular idea, group, or person
i.e. Ann is a long-time supporter of the charity and its mission to fund the best childhood cancer research.
Ann 是該慈善機構及其為最頂尖的兒童癌症研究提供資金的使命的長期贊助者。

investigate
KK [ɪnˋvɛstə͵get] IPA /ɪnˈves.tə.ɡeɪt/
to examine a crime, problem, statement, etc. carefully, especially to discover the truth
i.e. Police are still investigating the matter and will follow up on any tips, regardless of the source.
警方仍在調查此案件，並且無論消息來源為何，都將跟進任何一條線索。

encourage
KK [ɪnˋkɝɪdʒ] IPA /ɪnˈkɝː.ɪdʒ/
- as used in the Sentence of the Day:
to make someone more likely to do something, or to make something more likely to happen
- also means:
to talk or behave in a way that gives someone confidence to do something
i.e. The food may have been a little underwhelming, but I’d rather say something nice to encourage Amaresh to keep cooking.
這道菜可能有點平淡無奇，但我寧願說些好話來鼓勵 Amaresh 繼續做菜。

Today's CNN10 video left me with some gray-area questions.

Will America stage another come-back or is it time for a new winner in this international space race? At the beginning of the last space race, the American public was galvanized behind a very popular president. How well will America fare this time around given the current political climate?

It is said that necessity is the mother of all invention. Considering the way that methane emissions highlight the need to reduce food waste in many western countries, coupled with added pressure from supply chain difficulties, will private enterprises continue to fill the void, innovating ways to solve systemic problems?

I’m Leila, and that’s the news for now.

Supporters say investigating other planets and galaxies teaches us more about our own and encourages the development of new technologies to solve problems.

☺Supporters say investigating other planets and galaxies teaches us more about our own and encourages the development of new technologies to solve problems.
支持派說，研究其他星球和銀河系會使我們更瞭解自己的星球並促進開發可解決問題的新技術。
【心得】喜歡研究星座的人應該多過喜歡研究星球的人吧!?
■supporter [səˋportɚ] (n.C) 支持者、擁護者；援助者；扶養者、贍養者支撐物；(運動員等用的)護身、三角帶；吊襪帶；(紋章中)扶持盾牌的人形(或獸形)
■investigate [ɪnˋvɛstə͵get] (vi.&vt.) (尤指為揭開真相)調查、審查[(+into)]
■encourage [ɪnˋkɝɪdʒ] (vt.) 鼓勵、支持；慫恿；促進、助長；激發

加油加油

好久不見的VT

Supporters say investigating all the planets and galaxies teaches us more about our own and encourages the development of new technologies to solve problems

Supporters say investigating other planets and galaxies teaches us more about our own and encourages the development of new technologies to solve problems.