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      2020考研英语阅读水平想要提升较快，并不容易!需要2020考研者每天有良好的英语阅读习惯，久而久之慢慢进步!接下来，北京文都考研网为助力学子们备考英语，分享了考研英语双语经济学人:太空探索步入新时代，供考生参考。

2020考研英语双语经济学人:太空探索步入新时代

The moment when, 50 years ago, Neil Armstrong planted his foot on the surface of the Moon inspired awe, pride and wonder around the world.

50年前，当尼尔·阿姆斯特朗踏上月球表面的那一刻，全世界为之敬佩、自豪和惊叹。

This newspaper argued that “man, from this day on, can go wheresoever in the universe his mind wills and his ingenuity contrives…to the planets, sooner rather than later, man is now certain to go.” But no.

本刊当时曾写道：“从今天起，人类可以凭借意志和才智到达宇宙中任何他们想去的地方……事不宜迟，人类现在就能登上各个星球。”但实际并非如此。

The Moon landing was an aberration, a goal achieved not as an end in itself but as a means of signalling America’s extraordinary capabilities. That point, once made, required no remaking. Only 571 people have been into orbit; and since 1972 no one has ventured much farther into space than Des Moines is from Chicago.

美国登月行动是一次非常规行动，为的是展现美国强大的实力、而非为了登月本身。一旦实力得以证明，就无需再去重复证明。迄今为止，只有571人前往过太空;自1972年以来，人类太空探索的深入距离还不足从芝加哥到得梅因的距离。

The next 50 years will look very different. Falling costs, new technologies, Chinese and Indian ambitions, and a new generation of entrepreneurs promise a bold era of space development.

未来50年将会大不一样。成本的下降、新技术的涌现、中国和印度的勃勃雄心以及新生代企业家的出现，都预示着一个激进的太空发展新时代的到来。

It will almost certainly involve tourism for the rich and better communications networks for all; in the long run it might involve mineral exploitation and even mass transportation.

几乎可以肯定的是，富人将能够享受到太空旅行服务，普通人也能够体验到更好的通讯网络;从长远来看，它还将促进采矿业、甚至是公共交通运输业的发展。

Space will become ever more like an extension of Earth—an arena for firms and private individuals, not just governments. But for this promise to be fulfilled the world needs to create a system of laws to govern the heavens—both in peacetime and, should it come to that, in war.

太空将越来越像是地球的延伸，它不仅仅是各国政府的竞技场，还将是各大公司和个人的角逐地。但为了实现这一愿景，全球需要建立一套无论在和平年代还是战争时期都适用的管理太空的法律体系。

The development of space thus far has been focused on facilitating activity down below—mainly satellite communications for broadcasting and navigation. Now two things are changing.

迄今为止，太空发展的侧重点一直在于服务地球上的人类活动——主要是基于无线电通信的广播和导航。如今有两件事正在发生变化。

First, geopolitics is stoking a new push to send humans beyond the shallows of low-Earth orbit. China plans to land people on the Moon by 2035. President Donald Trump’s administration wants Americans to be back there by 2024.

首先，地缘政治正在推动着人类发展能够飞离近地轨道的载人飞船。中国计划到2035年实现载人登月。特朗普政府则希望美国到2024年能够再次登月。

Falling costs make this showing off more affordable than before. Apollo cost hundreds of billions of dollars (in today’s money). Now tens of billions are the ticket price.

成本的下降使得这种实力的炫耀不再像以前那样难以负担。阿波罗计划耗资数千亿美元(折算到现今的价值)。如今只需数百亿便可完成。

Second, the private sector has come of age. Between 1958 and 2009 almost all of the spending in space was by state agencies, mainly NASA and the Pentagon. In the past decade private investment has risen to an annual average of $2bn a year, or 15% of the total, and it is set to increase further.

其次，私人企业已经成长起来了。从1958年到2009年，太空领域的几乎所有费用都是由国家机构(主要是美国国家航空和宇宙航行局和五角大楼)承担的。但在过去的十年间，太空领域的私人投资已经上升至年均20亿美元的水平，总占比15%，并且这一比例还将继续增长。

 

【重难点词汇】

ingenuity [,ɪndʒə'nuəti] n. 心灵手巧，独创性，足智多谋;精巧的装置

aberration ['æbə'reʃən] n. 反常现象，异常行为;偏离;行为异常的人;精神失常;畸变;像差;光行差

venture ['vɛntʃɚ] n. 冒险旅行 v. 敢于冒险;小心地说;冒着失去……的风险

facilitate [fə'sɪlə'tet] vt. 促进;帮助;使容易

      以上是北京文都考研网给出的“2020考研英语双语经济学人:太空探索步入新时代”，希望2020考研学子们，每天都能坚持抽出时间看经济学人文章，相信大家越努力，越幸运，加油!

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