美語情景對話 第1156期:Going to Mars 去火星

Sarah: So do you think we should sent people to Mars or Moon to spend all this money on space travel?

薩拉：你認爲我們應該花費大筆金錢把人類送上火星或月球進行太空旅行嗎？

John: Well, I think we should. Space travel can give people hope for the future, and space travel can unite people from different countries for a common goal.

約翰：我認爲應該。太空旅行可以讓人類對未來充滿希望，也可以用共同的目標讓不同國家的人團結起來。

Sarah: But do any countries work together to travel in space?

薩拉：可是各國有在太空旅行上展開合作嗎？

John: Oh certainly. The International Space station has astronauts from different countries working together. And I think that a joint effort is the best way to do space missions. I think that we could go back to the Moon and learn much more by going there than we can learn if we don't go there.

約翰：哦當然有了。來自不同國家的宇航員在國際空間站一起工作。我認爲共同努力是進行太空任務的最佳方法。我們可以回到月球，我認爲與不去月球相比，去月球可以學到更多東西。

Sarah: I see what you mean, but I think we could learn more and we could improve more if we can help the people on Earth. Think of everything we could learn from the children that can't get an education these days. Maybe the next Einstein is a poor little girl who doesn't have the money to go to school. If we spent more money on school or clean water and vaccines, maybe we could learn more from ourselves than from going to space and going to Mars.

薩拉：我明白你的意思，不過我認爲幫助地球上的人能使我們學到更多、提高更多。想想我們在無法接受教育的孩子身上了解到的情況。也許下一個愛因斯坦就是沒有錢上學的貧窮女孩。如果我們在學校、清潔飲用水和疫苗上投入更多資金，也許相比去太空和去火星，我們可以從自己身上學到更多。

John: I agree with you that more should be spent on education, but we don't need the next Einstein if were not doing space travel. The problem is what are people with money willing to spend it on. I think that it would be nice if we could have all the rich countries spend money on education for poor people, but if you look at the numbers, the cost of one space mission is much cheaper than the things we spend money on now.

約翰：我同意你的觀點，我們應該加大對教育的投入，但是如果我們不進行太空旅行，那我們不需要另一個愛因斯坦。問題是富有的人想將錢花在哪裏。我認爲如果所有富有國家都可以增加教育經費，解決窮人上學問題，那是件好事，但是如果看金額的話，你會發現一次太空任務的費用遠低於我們現在在其他事情上的花費。

Sarah: Like what?

薩拉：比如哪些花費？

John: Well, the first example that comes to mind is war. One day of war is so expensive for all the governments and the militaries that are involved. One day of war costs more money than one space mission. But war goes on and on for days.

約翰：我首先想到的是戰爭。對所有牽涉戰事中的國家政府和軍隊來說，一日軍費非常昂貴。一日軍費比太空任務的費用要多得多。但是戰爭會持續很長時間。

Sarah: Yeah, and years.

薩拉：對，可能持續數年。

John: So, if you think about money in terms of ... sorry ... so the money for a space mission is expensive by itself, but when you compare it to other things it's actually kind of cheap.

約翰：所以，如果你想想那些花費……抱歉，一次太空任務的花費的確很多，但是當和其他花費相比時，你會發現其實太空任務並不昂貴。

Sarah: I see what you're saying. You're comparing the cost of space travel to war, but I would compare the cost of space travel to the cost of, for example, getting rid of malaria. I think we could get rid of a terrible disease like malaria for as much as we would spend on a trip to Mars.

薩拉：我明白你的觀點。你將太空旅行的花費和戰爭花費相比，但是我會將太空旅行的花費和消除瘧疾相比。有去火星旅行的那筆費用，我們可以消除瘧疾等可怕的疾病。

John: Getting rid of malaria or going to Mars? Well, of course I would also choose that we get rid of malaria.

約翰：消除瘧疾還是去火星？當然我也會選擇消除瘧疾。

Sarah: Maybe we'll have to agree to disagree.

薩拉：也許我們可以保留不同意見。

John: We might have to disagree this time.

約翰：這次我們可以保留不同意見。

Sarah: OK.

薩拉：好。

譯文屬僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載

重點講解：
1. come to mind 突然想起；(想法)一下子冒出來；
例句：For most people, only two options come to mind.
對大多數人來說,只有兩個選擇浮現腦海。
2. compare to 比較；對比；
例句：Cultural life in the country cannot compare to that of a large city.
農村的文化生活不能與大城市的相比擬。
3. get rid of 去除；消除；
例句：We have an extractor fan in the kitchen to get rid of the smell of cooking.
我們的廚房裏有臺排氣扇，用來消除油煙。
4. agree to disagree 擱置爭議；同意各自保留不同意見；
例句：You and I are going to have to agree to disagree then.
那你我只能各自保留不同意見了。