課題文_77_「ISS接続に成功、民間初」
【今週の英文記事】
課題文_77_「ISS接続に成功、民間初」
スペースXの宇宙船がISS接続に成功、民間初 上級
SpaceX makes history, ferrying NASA astronauts to International Space Station
SpaceX delivered two astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on May 31, following up a historic liftoff with an equally smooth docking in yet another first for Elon Musk’s company.
With test pilots Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken poised to take over manual control if necessary, the SpaceX Dragon capsule pulled up to the station and docked automatically, no assistance needed. The hatches swung open a few hours later, and the two astronauts floated into the orbiting lab and embraced the three station residents.
Unlike the SpaceX and NASA flight control rooms, where everyone was spaced well apart, there was no social distancing or masks needed in orbit.
“The whole world saw this mission, and we are so, so proud of everything you have done for our country and, in fact, to inspire the world,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a call from Mission Control in Houston.
It was the first time a privately built and owned spacecraft has carried astronauts to the ISS in its more than 20 years. (AP)
(185 words) 55秒で200英単語/分 (alpha: 2020.6.12, World news)
【英英辞典クイズ from 課題文_75_「UAE の火星探査機」】
【英英辞典クイズ from 課題文_75_「UAE の火星探査機」】
英英辞典で以下の説明文が表示される単語／熟語は、何でしょう？
1. to send a weapon or spacecraft into the sky or into space
2. someone who travels through an unknown area to find out about it
3. a machine that has been sent into space and goes around the Earth, Moon, etc., used for radio, television, and other electronic communication
4. to travel in a curved path around a much larger object such as the Earth, the Sun, etc.
5. its light cannot be seen by people, but is responsible for making your skin darker when you are in the sun
課題文_75_「UAE の火星探査機」
UAE 建国50年を記念する火星探査機 7月に打ち上げへ、三菱重工が受注
Mitsubishi Heavy to launch UAE-built explorer for research mission on Mars
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said on May 18 it will launch a rocket to Mars.
The H2A rocket will lift off at 5:51 a.m. on July 15 from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture. It will carry “Hope,” an explorer vehicle developed by the United Arab Emirates.
The spacecraft is expected to arrive on Mars in 2021, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Middle East country.
Mitsubishi Heavy has launched three foreign satellites, but this will be the first time for the company to launch an explorer that does not orbit the Earth.
The Hope explorer will take images and use ultraviolet rays and infrared rays to study the atmosphere and climate of the Red Planet. It was brought to Tanegashima Island in April.
The United States and China are also planning to send explorers to Mars. (Kyodo)
(151 words) 45秒で200英単語/分
(The Japan Times alpha: Easy Reading、初級、May 29, 2020)
【英英辞典クイズ from 課題文_74_「「催涙ガス味」アイスクリーム」】
【英英辞典クイズ from 課題文_74_「「催涙ガス味」アイスクリーム」】
英英辞典で以下の説明文が表示される単語／熟語は、何でしょう？
1. one of the foods that you use to make a particular food or dish
2. something that makes you notice, remember, or think about something
3. having a strong taste or smell
4. a scene in a film, play, book, etc. that shows something that happened before that point in the story
5. when other people do not know who you are or what your name is
6. the effects of an action or event, especially bad effects that continue for some time
