咕咕愛囉唆

新太空競賽The New Space Race

太空旅行不再只是科幻小說 Space tourism is no longer just science fiction

一九六八年的平安夜，繞行月球的太空人為地球拍照。

那張名為「地出」的照片被視為有史以來最重要的照片之一，提供了對地球的一個全新視角。

在當時，除了科幻小說之外很少會看到像「太空港」這類的詞彙；但如今，太空港卻經常出現在主流新聞報導中，因為私營企業已著手開始建造太空港並且將遊客送進太空。

太空競賽原為二十世紀全球超級強國之間的競賽。

不過，現在出現全新太空競賽，少了點政治味，更添商業性；那就是挾帶著極具競爭力之公司、跨足太空產業的億萬富豪企業家之間的較勁。

這些富豪的目標包括在太空建立產業基地以及在火星打造殖民地，野心比他們的銀行帳戶還要龐大。

因此他們競相爭奪建造下一個月球登陸器及租用火箭發射場的合約，當然還有搶著和乘客簽約。

幾乎任何人都能以遊客身分買票參觀太空，如果錢夠的話！

不幸的是，目前太空旅行仍僅限於超級富豪的奢華體驗，因為光是費用就與目的地一樣高－天文數字。

不過，還是可以想像一下以地球為背景的假期自拍！

On Christmas Eve in 1968, astronauts orbiting the moon photographed Earth. That picture, "Earthrise," is considered one of the most important photographs of all time and provided a brand-new perspective on the world. Back then you'd rarely encounter words like "spaceport" outside of science fiction. But these days spaceport routinely appears in mainstream news reports because private companies have started building them and flying tourists into space.

 The original Space Race was a 20^th century competition between global superpowers. But now there's a new space race that is less political and more commercial.

It's a rivalry between billionaire entrepreneurs who have entered the space industry with competing companies.

 With goals that include building industrial bases in space and colonies on Mars, their ambitions are bigger than their bank accounts. So they are competing for contracts to build the next lunar lander and lease rocket launch sites as well as signing up passengers.

 Almost anyone can buy a ticket to visit space as a tourist if they have enough money! Unfortunately, space tourism currently is a luxury experience for the superrich because the cost is as high as the destination – astronomical. But still, imagine taking a vacation selfie with Earth in the background!

 ective（adj.）思考問題的角度或觀點

Elaine feels that parents should pay for their kids to go on the class trip, while Pete's perspective is that each kid should earn their own money to go.

When thinking about wars, it is good to have a historical persnective of countries' relationshins. 歷史的觀點

A woman's perspective is completely different from man's when it comes to harassement. 騷擾行為

mainstream（adj.）主流的

The company my brother works for holds beliefs that are considered mainstream in our secietu

Mainstream media really supports that presidential candidate thie year. 主流媒體

Even though some kids are deaf or have learning challenges, they are included in mainstream education in some countries. 常規教育

the eve of ….

orbit vs. rotate

brand-new

spaceport

private company

commercial

launch 火箭發射；積極投入

launch into something

you start saying something with a lot of energy

launch out on something 開始做一件完全不一樣的事情

You can say Dad launched into a speech about his son's lack of discipline in school when he saw his test scores.

Or the customer launched into complaining about the service at the restaurant while he was waiting for his order.

Now you can also launch out on something.

When you launch out on something, you begin doing something that is new and different.

You can say Jen is launching out on a new career.

She was a teacher, and now she is launching into a medical career.

So, friends, can you launch into practicing these phrases today?

Or maybe you are going to launch out on something new that you want to share.

The customer launched into complaining about the service.

Jenn is launching out on a new career.

rivaly（n.）相互較勁

There is an intense rivalry between the two schools in ssports and debate. 在體育和辯論方面相互較勁

Ethnic rivalries were the cause of war in Eastern Europe in the 90s. 種族對抗是引起歐洲戰爭的原因

rival 競爭對手

When Edith became unhappy with her job, she quit and went to work for a rival company.

（to）lease 租借；租用

My friend prefers to lease a car instead of buying one. 寧可租車也不買車

Nate needs to find an apartment to lease before he moves to New York City.

lease 租約；租契

Shirley just signed a two-year lease on an apartment in an eastern suburb of the city.

ambition（n.）／ambitious （adj.）

you have a really, really strong desire and determination to do it.

lunar vs. solar

the superrich

astronomical prices

That’s really, really expensive.

Astronomical also means really high out in space