《中英對照讀新聞》British Scientists Shoot for the Moon 英國科學家挑戰登月

◎胡立宗

BRITAIN is striking out on its own in lunar exploration, with ambitious plans to carry out experiments on the Moon using UK technology.

英國將著手推動登月計畫，並野心勃勃地計畫在月球上以英國科技進行實驗。

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A study conducted for the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council has outlined proposals for two all-British Moon missions.

粒子物理及天文研究會進行的一項研究，規劃了英國未來將獨力展開兩次登月任務。

The first, named Moonlight, could be launched by 2010 and would see four suitcase-sized darts fired on to the Moon’s surface from an orbiting probe.

名為「月光」的第一次任務，可能在2010年之前開始，將利用一艘繞行月球軌道的探測船向月球發射4個手提箱大小的鏢狀物。

The darts, which carry geologically-sensitive equipment, would be shot into craters at 400mph, penetrating to a depth of 6ft, sending back information about possible "moonquakes" and the composition and temperature of the moon’s core.

配備地質探測裝置的鏢狀物，將以時速400英里射進隕石坑、穿透月表6英尺，以傳送月球可能的地層活動，及月球核心的組成成份和溫度的相關資訊。

If successful, the mission could be followed by another called Moonraker, after the James Bond film. This would land a spacecraft on Moon and carry out physical geological studies that could be used in the search for suitable sites for manned bases.

如果任務成功，接下來將是「耙月」任務，（英文）名稱來自於007電影「太空城」。這次任務將有太空船降落在月球上，執行實際地質探勘，以尋找適合興建駐人基地的地點。

It is estimated that the Moonlight project alone would cost between GBP 50 million and GBP 100 million.

僅「月光」任務預計就要花費5000萬到1億英鎊之間。

新聞辭典

shoot：動詞，發射、開槍、注射；shoot for，爭取、為…努力。to shoot for budget，爭取預算。

outline：名詞，輪廓、大綱；動詞，描繪…輪廓，概略描述。Politicians always outline a beautiful future, that they always fail to realize.（政客很會畫大餅，但從來做不到。）

carry out：片語，執行、實現。to carry out a promise，實踐諾言。