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CHAPTER THREE First Stop—Luna
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“I can’t understand why they don’t turn off course!” Lieutenant1 Starky exclaimed. “Their radar2 must have contacted us!”
 
Ted3 watched the blips from the Moonstone slowly nearing the center of the screen. By the time they did reach that center, the Moonstone and the Shooting Star would be occupying the same area in space.
 
Lieutenant Foran came over to the Kentons. “I think you folks had better get back to your suite4. We’re going to be awfully5 busy in here for the next few minutes,” he said.
 
26
Ted could see that the officer was trying to keep the fear out of his voice. They must really be in a bad spot.
 
As they left, they met stout6, red-faced Commander Grissom coming in. His face was redder than usual, and he was so concerned with the Shooting Star’s danger that he barely nodded to Dr. Kenton.
 
As the Kentons returned to their quarters, golden-haired Mrs. Kenton faced her family with stricken eyes.
 
“What’s happening, John?” she asked her husband. “All the crewmen are running around like mad.”
 
“It’s just a little trouble outside,” the scientist said gently. “I’m sure Commander Grissom and his men can handle it.”
 
Mrs. Kenton began pacing restlessly. “This waiting! I wish we knew what’s going on.”
 
“We can,” the scientist said, crossing the room and pressing a button on a wall panel. “I thought it might upset us more to listen in, but I guess it would be better to know what they’re doing.”
 
27
They heard first the voice of Lieutenant Starky coming over the compartment7’s loud-speaker. “The Moonstone has just answered, sir!”
 
“What do they say?” the commander asked urgently.
 
After a few moments’ pause, the Kentons heard the pilot speak again: “They say that they had some electronic trouble and that it’s just now been repaired. Their radio and radar were off because of it.”
 
Ted listened tensely as orders flew back and forth8. Both space ships set their rocket jets to carry each away from the other, but at the speeds they were traveling, only time would tell if they could avoid a crash.
 
The Kentons heard the final miles being slowly called off by Commander Grissom as the two ships hurtled toward one another:
 
“Four hundred—three hundred—two—a hundred and fifty....”
 
28
Ted’s eyes were on the side port. He knew that at the last moment either he would see a large silver shape hurtle past the window or he would feel the might of tons crashing head on. In the final seconds, Dr. Kenton had an arm around his wife and daughter, and Ted’s heart was thumping9 wildly.
 
The light of thousands of stars out there seemed to burn into the boy’s brain. Would the decisive moment never come?
 
Presently Ted saw the blackness of space blurred10 for only the briefest instant as the Moonstone drove past, its rockets streaming tongues of flame! The side jets spurted12 against the hull13 of the Shooting Star, causing it to rock. Ted felt the floor tilting14 beneath him, and he had to grab a wall rail for support. A glimpse he caught of his parents and Jill showed that they were having the same trouble.
 
(uncaptioned)
29
As the ship steadied itself and drove on an even keel again, Ted grinned weakly. “We—we made it,” he managed to say.
 
The faces of Jill and her mother were still chalky with fright, but Dr. Kenton’s was as calm as if he had known the Shooting Star would come through the peril15 all right.
 
They heard the voice of Commander Grissom over the speaker informing the passengers that the danger was past. Dr. Kenton then cut off the speaker.
 
“I never want to go through an experience like that again!” cried Mrs. Kenton, taking a seat.
 
30
“I don’t think we need ever fear this happening again,” Dr. Kenton said. “It’s quite a rare occurrence.”
 
“What about meteors?” Jill asked.
 
“They’re rare too, fortunately,” he answered. “I don’t see why we can’t expect an uneventful trip from now until we reach our home on Mars.”
 
Hearing this confident remark, the children were interested in the space ship again. “We didn’t finish our tour!” Jill burst out.
 
“Would you like to see the garden?” Dr. Kenton asked.
 
“The garden?” Ted asked, puzzled. “What good is a garden on a space ship?”
 
“Come along and you’ll see,” Dr. Kenton said and started for the door. Mrs. Kenton said she preferred to stay in the suite and collect her shattered nerves, but the children, of course, were eager to go.
 
“Haven’t you two wondered how you’re able to breathe in the ship?” their father asked as they walked down the corridor.
 
31
“I know how,” Ted said. “The air is pumped through the ship from compressed-air chambers16.”
 
“What is air?” his father asked.
 
“Mostly oxygen and nitrogen,” Ted answered.
 
“The Shooting Star uses oxygen, with helium instead of nitrogen to dilute17 it,” Dr. Kenton said. “That’s so that, in case a meteor penetrates18 the ship, the rapid decompression won’t cause us to get bubbles in our blood, which is a dangerous condition called ‘the Bends.’”
 
“But what’s that to do with a garden?” Jill asked.
 
“You’ll see in a minute,” came the reply.
 
An attendant showed them through the “garden.” There was not much to see. There were merely rows and rows of broad-leaved plants covered with plastic and a network of tubes.
 
“Some garden,” Ted murmured, when the attendant had walked off to answer a call. “The plants aren’t pretty and they don’t seem to have fruit or vegetables either.”
 
“They yield something even more precious, though,” his father said. “Oxygen.”
 
“Huh?” Ted asked in surprise.
 
32
Dr. Kenton smiled at the puzzled looks on their faces. “Plants and people are well suited to one another,” he said. “Plants breathe out oxygen into our Earth’s atmosphere, and in gratitude19 we give them back carbon dioxide which, as you know, we breathe out.”
 
“So that’s it!” Jill said.
 
“It’s really quite simple,” the scientist went on. “These plants keep our oxygen tanks filled, and the air exhaled20 by us is pumped back to them so that they can keep alive.”
 
“Will our home on Mars have a garden producing air?” Ted asked.
 
“No, we’ll use air cartridges21 there because they’re more efficient in small places.”
 
Just then the attendant returned. “The commander has ordered all passengers back to their suites22 to prepare for emergency landing,” he told them. “Jet fire from the Moonstone damaged our hull, and we’ve got to lay over on Luna for repairs.”
 
“Goody!” Jill exclaimed. “We’ll get to land on the Moon!”
 
33
They returned to the main compartment of their suite, and Dr. Kenton switched on the wall speaker so that he could hear the order from the commander to “strap down.”
 
As they waited, they stood before the big window looking out on the rugged23 globe of Luna. Dr. Kenton pressed a button on the sill that slid a darkening filter over the window. In this way, the blinding glare of the full moon was cut down considerably24.
 
“Those big craters25 look just like eyes!” Ted exclaimed.
 
“It’s all so terribly rough-looking down there, I don’t see where we can land!” Mrs. Kenton said.
 
The scientist pointed26. “See that large gray plain down there?” he said. “It’s the Sea of Serenity27, and the Moon colony is located on one edge of it. We’re too far away yet to see it.”
 
“Hey, we’re turning around!” Ted exclaimed, as he saw the stars beginning to blur11 before his eyes.
 
“That’s so that we can use our rear jets to brake our landing,” the scientist said.
 
34
The order to pull down couches and “strap down” came over the speaker a few minutes later. Each of the Kentons opened a door in the wall and pulled down his foam-rubber cot. The couches were fastened securely to the floor with catches. The family stretched out on the soft mattresses28. They pulled up the plastic straps29 from the sides and tightened30 them across their bodies.
 
Presently a crewman stuck his head in the door to make sure they were ready for the strain of landing.
 
Some time later, when he had the sensation of going down in a suddenly dropping elevator, Ted knew the moment of deceleration had begun.
 
In his mind’s eye he could picture what was going on. He imagined the long sleekness31 of the Shooting Star plunging32 toward the moon’s rough surface. From the ship’s rocket tubes, streams of fire were pouring out to slow the terrific speed of the ship. If those fire streams should fail, or not hold back the craft enough, the rocket would be dashed to bits on Luna.
 
35
As the ship slackened its speed, Ted felt steadily33 worse. It was as if his chest were being crushed. He knew that he and the others could stand any top speed the rocket would go; that it was only a change in speed that was so grueling.
 
He twisted his head and saw the other members of his family buried deeply in their couches. He knew they were suffering as badly as he. He remembered the danger of the Shooting Star and Moonstone approaching one another in the heavens. Then he thought what a frightful34 crash it would have been had they met.
 
It made him wonder, now, if the Shooting Star could check its downward plunge35 in time, or if it would be dashed to atoms on the hard gray soil of Luna.
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 lieutenant X3GyG     
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员
参考例句:
  • He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
  • He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官,递上了一张简短的便条进去。
2 radar kTUxx     
n.雷达,无线电探测器
参考例句:
  • They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
  • Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。
3 ted 9gazhs     
vt.翻晒,撒,撒开
参考例句:
  • The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
  • She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
4 suite MsMwB     
n.一套(家具);套房;随从人员
参考例句:
  • She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
  • That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。
5 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
7 compartment dOFz6     
n.卧车包房,隔间;分隔的空间
参考例句:
  • We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴,整个客车隔间由我们独享。
  • The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。
8 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
9 thumping hgUzBs     
adj.重大的,巨大的;重击的;尺码大的;极好的adv.极端地;非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词);狠打;怦怦地跳;全力支持
参考例句:
  • Her heart was thumping with emotion. 她激动得心怦怦直跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He was thumping the keys of the piano. 他用力弹钢琴。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
10 blurred blurred     
v.(使)变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 );(使)难以区分;模模糊糊;迷离
参考例句:
  • She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
  • Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 blur JtgzC     
n.模糊不清的事物;vt.使模糊,使看不清楚
参考例句:
  • The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
  • If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了,图像就会变得模糊不清。
12 spurted bdaf82c28db295715c49389b8ce69a92     
(液体,火焰等)喷出,(使)涌出( spurt的过去式和过去分词 ); (短暂地)加速前进,冲刺
参考例句:
  • Water spurted out of the hole. 水从小孔中喷出来。
  • Their guns spurted fire. 他们的枪喷射出火焰。
13 hull 8c8xO     
n.船身;(果、实等的)外壳;vt.去(谷物等)壳
参考例句:
  • The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
  • The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。
14 tilting f68c899ac9ba435686dcb0f12e2bbb17     
倾斜,倾卸
参考例句:
  • For some reason he thinks everyone is out to get him, but he's really just tilting at windmills. 不知为什么他觉得每个人都想害他,但其实他不过是在庸人自扰。
  • So let us stop bickering within our ranks.Stop tilting at windmills. 所以,让我们结束内部间的争吵吧!再也不要去做同风车作战的蠢事了。
15 peril l3Dz6     
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物
参考例句:
  • The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
  • The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。
16 chambers c053984cd45eab1984d2c4776373c4fe     
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅
参考例句:
  • The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间:Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网
17 dilute FmBya     
vt.稀释,冲淡;adj.稀释的,冲淡的
参考例句:
  • The water will dilute the wine.水能使酒变淡。
  • Zinc displaces the hydrogen of dilute acids.锌置换了稀酸中的氢。
18 penetrates 6e705c7f6e3a55a0a85919c8773759e9     
v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 );刺入;了解;渗透
参考例句:
  • This is a telescope that penetrates to the remote parts of the universe. 这是一架能看到宇宙中遥远地方的望远镜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The dust is so fine that it easily penetrates all the buildings. 尘土极细,能极轻易地钻入一切建筑物。 来自辞典例句
19 gratitude p6wyS     
adj.感激,感谢
参考例句:
  • I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
  • She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。
20 exhaled 8e9b6351819daaa316dd7ab045d3176d     
v.呼出,发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 );吐出(肺中的空气、烟等),呼气
参考例句:
  • He sat back and exhaled deeply. 他仰坐着深深地呼气。
  • He stamped his feet and exhaled a long, white breath. 跺了跺脚,他吐了口长气,很长很白。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
21 cartridges 17207f2193d1e05c4c15f2938c82898d     
子弹( cartridge的名词复数 ); (打印机的)墨盒; 录音带盒; (唱机的)唱头
参考例句:
  • computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材
  • My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。
22 suites 8017cd5fe5ca97b1cce12171f0797500     
n.套( suite的名词复数 );一套房间;一套家具;一套公寓
参考例句:
  • First he called upon all the Foreign Ministers in their hotel suites. 他首先到所有外交部长住的旅馆套间去拜访。 来自辞典例句
  • All four doors to the two reserved suites were open. 预定的两个套房的四扇门都敞开着。 来自辞典例句
23 rugged yXVxX     
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的
参考例句:
  • Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
  • The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。
24 considerably 0YWyQ     
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上
参考例句:
  • The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
  • The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。
25 craters 1f8461e3895b38f51c992255a1c86823     
n.火山口( crater的名词复数 );弹坑等
参考例句:
  • Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The battlefield was full of craters made by exploding shells. 战场上布满弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
26 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
27 serenity fEzzz     
n.宁静,沉着,晴朗
参考例句:
  • Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤,但仍使人感觉安详。
  • She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。
28 mattresses 985a5c9b3722b68c7f8529dc80173637     
褥垫,床垫( mattress的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
  • The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。
29 straps 1412cf4c15adaea5261be8ae3e7edf8e     
n.带子( strap的名词复数 );挎带;肩带;背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 );用皮带抽打;包扎;给…打绷带
参考例句:
  • the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
  • The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。
30 tightened bd3d8363419d9ff838bae0ba51722ee9     
收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 ); (使)变紧; (使)绷紧; 加紧
参考例句:
  • The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
  • His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机,然后又松开了。
31 sleekness f75b4d07e063e96c6a6b7b25f1a9cd4e     
油滑; 油光发亮; 时髦阔气; 线条明快
参考例句:
  • The sleekness of his appearance reminded me of his financial successes. 他着装的光鲜告诉我他财大气粗。
  • Urban sleekness and traditional quaintness highlight the contrasts of Hong Kong. 城市的优美造型和传统的古雅情趣突出了香港的种种反差。
32 plunging 5fe12477bea00d74cd494313d62da074     
adj.跳进的,突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
参考例句:
  • War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发,生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
34 frightful Ghmxw     
adj.可怕的;讨厌的
参考例句:
  • How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊!
  • We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。
35 plunge 228zO     
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲
参考例句:
  • Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
  • That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。


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