每日口說挑戰【CNN10】太空材料新展望 | 2022年1月25日 (Lessons From Space | January 25, 2022)

[TRANSCRIPT]

Welcome to this week’s news report. I'm Leila.

Tensions Over Eight-Year Ukrainian Conflict Continue to Grow

The eastern part of Ukraine has been in conflict since 2014. While the Ukrainian government wants closer ties to other European countries, those in Eastern Ukraine want closer ties to neighboring Russia. The international audience has some involvement here as Russia supports Eastern Ukraine, and NATO supports the Ukrainian government.

Players on all sides have been slowly but steadily increasing their presence and/or readiness in case the conflict turns hot. Along the Russia-Ukraine border, tens of thousands of Russian troops stand ready, however, Russia says it has no plans to invade. The US has sent weapons and military equipment to the Ukrainian government, though President Biden has said he will not send American troops unless Russia takes action against Ukraine. NATO has announced it will send ships, fighter jets, and additional resources to NATO deployments in eastern Europe. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelinski is building up his military presence in Eastern Ukraine, but has said that everything is under control.

And what of the Ukrainian people? They seem to be the most concerned about avoiding panic. When America told non-essential staff and family members at the US embassy in Ukraine to leave three weeks ago, Ukrainians worried that this would create the image that the potential for Russian aggression was imminent. The hope is still that the diplomatic process will play out and bear some fruit, but in the meantime, preparations are being made for the worst.


A Case for Continued Space Exploration and Research

The permanent laboratory that orbits the Earth, the International Space Station, cost $150 billion to build and still takes several billion dollars more to maintain every year. Critics of the ISS and space programs in general argue that the expense hasn’t yielded enough scientific advancements to justify the exorbitant cost.

Looking back, memory foam was developed in the 1960s for the space program. Freeze-dried foods, portable hand vacuums, scratch-resistant lenses, and smoke detectors are all inventions that saw improvements under space programs, which then made their way to store shelves.

Thomas Pesquet is a European Space Agency astronaut as well as an ambassador for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN. He has been working to apply the research from the ISS to modern life on Earth. Toward the end of creating climate-change-resistant crops here on Earth, Pesquet and his colleagues have been studying how plants grow in the harsh conditions of space. To limit the production of plastic waste, the astronauts have created packaging that, after protecting supplies from shocks during launch into space, can be eaten.

Beyond these specific issues being researched, Pesquet reminds us in today’s video of the shift in perspective that space exploration affords you–indeed, this is a horizon-broadening experience that astronauts before Pesquet have affirmed. Pesquet describes Earth as analogous to the ISS. Our planet orbits the Sun, while the ISS orbits our planet. Similar to the space station, Earth has limited resources that require care and management because, as Pesquet says, "The Earth is a spaceship and we are its crew," adding later on that "[...] you want the flight to be as long and peaceful as possible".



And now, our Sentence of the Day:

Not all of these inventions were created for space exploration, but they all saw improvements under space programs that eventually made their way to store shelves flash forward a few decades.
並非所有這些發明都是為太空探索而創造的，但它們都在太空計劃下看到了改進，並最終進入了商店的貨架，時間向前推了幾十年。


Let’s look at some vocabulary from the sentence:

invention
KK /ɪnˋvɛnʃən/ IPA /ɪnˈven.ʃən/
something that has never been made before, or the process of creating something that has never been made before
發明，創造
i.e. The invention of the railroad was a milestone in the history of transportation.
鐵路的發明是交通史上的一個里程碑。

improvement
KK /ɪmˋpruvmənt/ IPA /ɪmˈpruːv.mənt/
an occasion when something gets better or when you make it better
改進，改善
i.e. We’ve gone over budget this month but that’s understandable considering the major home improvements we’ve made.
這個月我們已經超出了預算，但考慮到我們做了重大的居家改善，這是可以理解的。

eventually
KK /ɪˋvɛntʃʊəlɪ/ IPA /ɪˈven.tʃu.ə.li/
in the end, especially after a long time or a lot of effort, problems, etc.
最終，終於
i.e. We may eventually reach the point where computers are capable of doing everything we need them to.
我們最終可能會達到電腦能夠完成我們需要它們做的所有事情的程度。



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

Does Russia stand to gain more by way of conflict with Ukraine than it stands to lose from western sanctions? Where is the line between diplomacy and posturing?

If the ISS is a reminder of the spaceship that all of humanity inhabits, what new inventions and solutions lie in wait in the future of space exploration and research?

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

Not all of these inventions were created for space exploration, but they all saw improvements under space programs that eventually made their way to store shelves flash forward a few decades.

開工大吉 Wordle 234 5/6

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⬜⭐⭐⬜⭐
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⭐⭐❎⬜⭐
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Not all of these inventions were created for space exploration, but they all saw improvements under space programs that eventually made their way to store shelves flash forward a few decades.

Not all of these inventions were created for space exploration, but they all saw improvements under space programs that eventually made their way to store shelves flash forward a few decades.
並非所有這些發明都是為太空探索而創造的，但它們都在太空計劃下看到了改進，並最終進入了商店的貨架，時間向前推了幾十年。
句子選自此影片： 【CNN10】太空材料新展望 | 2022年1月25日 (Lessons From Space | January 25, 2022)
學習重點
1. invention 發明，創造

invention
[ɪnˋvɛnʃən] (n.)
發明，創造

2. improvement 改進，改善

improvement
[ɪmˋpruvmənt] (n.)
改進，改善

3. eventually 最終，終於

eventually
[ɪˋvɛntʃʊəlɪ] (adv.)
最終，終於
2022/02/08

#405

Not all of these inventions were created for space exploration, but they all saw improvements under space programs that eventually made their way to store shelves flash forward a few decades.

Not all of these inventions were created for space exploration, but they all saw improvements under space programs that eventually made their way to store shelves flash forward a few decades.
並非所有這些發明都是為太空探索而創造的，但它們都在太空計劃下看到了改進，並最終進入了商店的貨架，時間向前推了幾十年。