VOA慢速英语:Hawking, Zuckerberg to Search for Life in the Universe

短语讲解：

1. The mother ship would release thousands of the nanocraft.

thousands of 数千的
例句：The game drew thousands of spectators.
这场比赛吸引了数千名观众。

2. The space between here and Alpha Centauri is not empty, that it's not just a huge void which you have to cross in order to reach something interesting on the other side.

in order to 为了…
例句：In order to catch up with in time he run very fast.
为了及时赶到他跑得很快。

3. Dyson believes that life is more likely to be found on an asteroid, or space rock, rather than a planet.

rather than （要） …而不…，与其…倒不如…
例句：Often they are experts hired by stakeholders, rather than stakeholders themselves.
他们通常是利益关系人聘请的专家，本身却不是利益关系人。

4. There are still many details to work out about how this project will work, technically.

work out 解决; 作出; 锻炼
例句：I'll work out the schedule.
我来拟定时间表。

5. Future improvements in technology could change the timeline and help speed up the project.

speed up （使） 加速; 开快车; 加紧
例句：We will be able to speed up that day.
我们要促使这一天的来临。