去往火星的单程车票 One-way ticket to Mars

Hello I’m Callum and this is 6 Minute English. With me today is Jennifer, hello Jennifer.
大家好，我是Callum，这里是六分钟英语。今天我的搭档是Jennifer，你好Jennifer。
Hello Callum.
你好Callum。
Do you like to travel?
你喜不喜欢旅行？
Oh yes, I love going to new and interesting places.
哦，当然，我喜欢去新鲜，有趣的地方。
What do you think of the idea of travelling to another planet?
那你觉得去另一个星球旅行怎么样？
Erm, not quite so keen on the idea of going to another planet.
呃，我对这个想法可能不太感兴趣。
What about a one-way trip to Mars?
那如果是去火星的单程旅行呢？
You do mean the planet Mars? Go to Mars and never come back?
你是说那个真的火星吗？去了就再也不回来了？
Yes.
对。
What are you saying? Are you trying to get rid of me?
你说什么呢？你想摆脱我吗？
No, no, not at all. But this is what is being planned at the moment by a company in the Netherlands. They are planning to send people to Mars and the people who go would never be able to come back to Earth.
不不不，一点也不是这个意思。不过这正是荷兰一家公司目前正在筹划的一个项目。他们正计划着把人们送到火星上去，而那些被送过去的人就再也回不到地球上了。
Sounds like quite a trip!
听起来还真像一趟旅行！
Well before we learn more about it, here’s a question for you, about the planet Mars. How big is Mars compared to Earth? Is it bigger, about the same size or smaller than Earth?
在我们继续讨论之前，有个关于火星的问题要问你。火星与地球相比那个更大一些呢？是火星更大，还是一样大，还是火星要比地球小呢？
I think I can remember this from school. I’m going to say it’s smaller than the Earth.
我记得在学校里学过，火星应该比地球小。
OK. We’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the programme. But now, let’s hear about this scheme.What is interesting about it is the idea that this would be a one-way trip.Bas Lansdorp is head of the Mars-One project and he explains why this will be a one-way trip. What reason does he give?
好的，我们将在节目最后揭晓答案。现在，我们来看一看这个计划。这个想法有趣的地方就是这是一次单程旅行。Bas Lansdorp是这次火星单程旅行的主要负责人，他向我们解释了为什么这是一次单程旅行，他给出的原因又是什么呢?
On this world we have all the technology we need to get humans to Mars and keep them alive there.What we don’t have is the technology to get people from Mars back to Earth. The people who will be going to Mars in our missions will be settling on Mars permanently. They’ll be doing it for the rest of their lives.
我们拥有这个世界上让人类登上月球并让他们在那里存活的所有技术。而我们所没有的技术就是怎么让人们从火星上回到地球。那些我们派到火星的人将长期定居在火星上。他们的余生都将在那里度过。
Jennifer, why is this a one-way trip?
Jennifer，为什么这是一次单程旅行呢？
He says it’s about technology. Although we do have the knowledge and technology to get people to Mars, we can’t get them back – so any trip would be permanent, would be forever.
他说这是技术的问题。尽管我们有知识和技术能把人送到火星上，但我们没办法吧他们弄回来--所以每一次旅行就成了永久的。
That’s a big commitment, isn’t it? But I imagine there will be people who will jump at the opportunity.
那可真是个巨大的牺牲，不是吗？不过我想肯定会有人抓住这次机会的。
I’m sure there will be, but what kind of person are they going to recruit for this ‘trip of a lifetime’?
可定会有，但他们的这次‘终身旅行’要招募什么样的人呢？
Well here’s Bas again, talking about just that. What three qualities does he mention?
让我们再来听听Bas的回答，他提到的三个特质都是什么？
We need the best of the best. We need first of all, of course, smart people, healthy people. They need to be mentally very stable.
我们需要最优秀的。首先当然是聪明健康的人。他们还要有非常稳定的心理素质。
So he needs the best of the best, but what are the three particular qualities he mentions the best of the best need to have?
他需要最优秀的，不过最优秀的所包含的具体的三个特质是什么呢？
He wants smart people, which means clever, intelligent people.As well as that, they need to be healthy both physically and mentally. As well as that, I guess he’s going to need people with very specific skills.
他需要聪明的人，也就是很机灵，并且有智慧的人。此外，他们还需要身心健康的人。除了这些，我想他还需要具有某种特殊技能的人。
You would think so, but Bas thinks there is something more important. What’s that?
你是这么认为的，不过Bas认为还有更重要的，那是什么呢？
What I initially thought is that they would be doctors, pilots, engineers.But this is actually not the case. The thing that’s important, the most important quality for our candidates is character.You need to be the kind of person who other people want to be stranded with on an uninhabited island.
我最初想的是他们应该是医生、飞行员、工程师。但其实不是这样的。对于候选人来说最重要的是性格。你需要是那种别人愿意与你在荒岛上一起居住的人。
What does he think is more important than having appropriate technical skills?
他认为比某项技能更重要的是什么？
Character. You need to have the right personality. He compares it to being stranded on an uninhabited island. You have to be someone that other people would want to be stranded with.
性格，你需要有健全的人格。他把这比作被困在一座荒芜的岛屿上。你应该是那种人们愿意与你被困在一起的人。
I think that has to be very important. Can you imagine being stuck on another planet for your whole life with someone you couldn’t stand?
我觉得这非常重要。你能想象在另一个星球上和一个你完全无法忍受的人共度余生吗？
That would be terrible.
那糟糕透了。
As well as having a good character there are some other important qualities they are looking for. Here’s Bas again:
除了健全的人格，他们还需要其他很重要的特质。再来听一听Bas是怎么说的：
You need to be calm and inventive. You need to be someone who is at their best when the situation is at its worst.
你需要冷静并具有创造性。你应该能在最坏的情况下保持最佳的状态。
Jennifer, what other characteristics is he looking for?
Jennifer，他还需要什么样的特质?
He needs people who can still work well when things are bad. People who are calm in a crisis.As he says, people who are best when the situation is worst.
他需要在情况糟糕的时候仍能保持清醒头脑的人和那些在危急时刻能保持镇静的人。正如他所说，在最坏情况下保持最佳状态的人。
So from what you’ve heard, does it sound like the job for you?
所以综上所述，你认为你适合这项工作吗？
Absolutely not. I don’t mind travelling but I think it’s a bit far for me. And what about you?
当然不适合。我喜欢旅行，但我认为这项工作还离我远点。那你觉得呢？
No, no it’s not for me, I have to say. I’m not made of the right stuff. I don’t think I’m the kind of person anyone would want to be stuck with!
不，我也不适合。我不得不承认我还不符合那些要求。我觉得我不是那种每个人都愿意与我一起共度困境的人。
I was wondering how they were going to pay for all of this, after all, it’s not a government programme is it?
我想知道他们如何支付这些费用，毕竟这不是政府的项目，对吗？
A very good question. Here’s Bas:
好问题，让Bas来给你解答：
We plan to finance this by involving the whole world as an audience. You just had the London Olympics right there in Britain.And the Olympics had a revenue of more than three billion US dollars in the three weeks that it lasts.When people land on Mars we expect that even more people will watch this than the London Olympics.And also in the years after that they will watch as the base grows, as people start relations, end relations. Maybe at some point there will be the first Mars baby, this will be a, really the next giant leap of mankind.
我们计划让全世界作为观众来为我们筹资。你们刚刚结束了英国的伦敦奥运会。在奥运会举办的三个星期里，收入了超过30亿美金。当人们登陆火星时，我们希望有更多的人观看，甚至能超过伦敦奥运会的观看人数。还希望随后人们能够继续关注基地的发展，人们开始建立关系、结束关系。或许某一天会诞生第一个火星宝贝，这将成为人类一次真正的巨大飞跃。
So where is the money coming from?
所以，这笔钱从哪来呢？
Television. It sounds like a big reality TV show to me.He mentions that the Olympics raised a lot of money from people watching on television and this will be the same. He thinks there will be a big audience to tune in and watch the mission but also the relationships between the people on the mission and perhaps even the birth of the first Mars baby.
来自电视，这听起来像一个大型的真人秀节目。他提到奥运会通过人们观看电视筹集到了很多钱，这一项目也是如此。他认为会有很多人收听或者观看这个代表团，不关注人们之间的关系，甚至可能看到第一个火星婴儿的出生。
Would you watch it?
你会看吗？
Definitely, yeah, it would be fascinating viewing. How about you?
当然，那一定很好看，你呢？
You know what, I probably would. I’m not usually a fan of reality TV but this is something different. I would probably get bored very easily though.
我可能或看吧。你知道的，通常我不是电视真人秀的爱好者，但这次不太寻常。不过我也很容易厌倦。
Well, that’s all we have time for today. But before we go though, the answer to this week’s question. How big is Mars compared to Earth, Jennifer, you said?
好了，这就是今天的节目。在节目结束之前，我们来回答今天的问题。火星和地球那个更大一些？Jennifer，你的答案是？
I said it was smaller.
我是说火星更小一些。
Well done that is the right answer. Mars is, has about half the diameter of the Earth.Well that’s all from us for this week. Thanks very much Jennifer, goodbye.
很好，回答正确。火星的直径大约是地球的一半。好了，本周的节目就到此结束了。感谢Jennifer的到来，我们下周见。
Goodbye.
再见。