From the earth to the moon《从地球到月球》精讲之五

Alan Bean: Maybe we weren't dignified enough to be heroes. It wouldn't matter. 'Cause we were the second mission to land on the moon. History's ultimate anticlimax. But somehow, I fit right in. in fact, flying with Pete and Dick was the sweetest thing about the mission for me. We were a true team. At one point, I even kind of saved the day. I didn't know what to expect. I was a complete rookie, remember. Sure we’d done countless simulated launches so I did the same things I did during all of those.

Alan Bean: Roger, STC. Main bus tie bat B/C switch, on, up.

Alan Bean: I kept busy checking the console, making sure my end of our command module, Yankee Clipper, was ready to go.

Pete Conrad: Looks like this launch is gonna be a wet one.

Richard Gordon: No big deal for an all-Navy crew. We can handle it.

Alan Bean: The rain was considered a bother, but nothing to worry about.

Mission control: Apollo 12, you are go for launch. Go for launch.

Pete Conrad: Roger. SDC Go for launch.

Alan Bean: Me and my best buddies were ready for the adventure of a lifetime.

Pete Conrad: Al Bean, you are going to the moon.

Alan Bean: Y'all can come along if you like.

Mission control: 13, 12, 11, ten, nine--We have ignition sequence start. The engines are on. Four, three, two, one, zero.

Alan Bean: The first few moments after liftoff, you're vibrating pretty good.

Pete Conrad: The clock is running.

Alan Bean: Then you really start to move.

Mission control: Clear the tower.

Pete Conrad: Roger. Clear the tower. I got a pitch-and-roll program, and this baby is really going. Roll complete.

Mission control: Mark one bravo.

Pete Conrad: Got you on that.

Alan Bean: This thing moves, doesn't it?

Pete Conrad: Baby!

Alan Bean: We had just over half a minute of trouble-free launch and then all hell busted loose.

Pete Conrad: What the hell was that? I just lost a whole bunch of stuff.

Richard Gordon: We just had a whole bunch of buses drop out. What have we got here? A/C bus 1 light, all the fuel cells.

Pete Conrad: Okay, Houston, now, we just lost the platform, gang. I don't know what happened. We had everything drop out. I got three fuel cell lights, an A/C bus light, a fuel cell disconnect, A/C bus overload 1 and 2, main bus A and B out. We had some big glitch here.

Alan Bean: I got A/C.

Pete Conrad: Got A/C? Yes maybe it's the indicator. What's on the main bus?

Alan Bean: 24 volts. That's low.

Pete Conrad: We've got a short of some kind, but I can't believe that's accurate.

Mission control: Flight, EECOM.

Gerry Griffin: Go, EECOM.

John Aaron: I think it's a fuel cell bus failure. They've been thrown off-line somehow. That must be why we're getting garbage here. Can they try SCE to aux?

Alan Bean: Gerry Griffin had never heard that command before. I’m pretty sure most of the people in Mission Control hadn't.

Gerry Griffin: Tell them.

Mission control: Apollo 12, Houston. Try SCE to auxiliary. Over.

Pete Conrad: FCE to auxiliary? What the hell is that?

Alan Bean: I'm not sure even Pete knew what that was, but one person did.

Alan Bean: I know what that is. SCE to aux.

Mission control: We're getting good telemetry from you guys again. Try to reset your fuel cells.

Alan Bean: Reset fuel cells.

Richard Gordon: Wait for staging.

Pete Conrad: Wait for staging. Yes. Hang on. Okay, Houston. GDC is good. We got a good S-2, gang.

Mission control: We copy that, Pete. You're looking good.

Alan Bean: Poor Gerry Griffin. We were his first mission as flight director and he had dealt along with more malfunctions than anybody had ever seen.

Pete Conrad: Ok, now we'll straighten out our problems here.

Richard Gordon: I don't know what happened. I'm not sure we didn't get hit by lightning.

Alan Bean: That's exactly what had happened. Before even our first stage had finished doing its job, observers back on the ground later reported that not just one but two bolts of lightning rode our exhaust contrail all the way back down to the pad and hit the tower.

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. Save the day

这个片语的意思是“阻止/防止不幸，扭转败局”，例如：They had forgotten the knife to cut the wedding cake, but Elizabeth arrived with one and saved the day.

2. Bus

这里的bus 可不是指公共汽车，而是指计算机的“数据传送总线”，是联结计算机主要部件的一组平行导线，使得电脉冲得以在相联部件之间传输。

3. Drop out

这个片语的本意是“退出参加；隐退”，例如：He couldn't afford the membership dues and had to drop out.

这里则表示那些数据线“失灵，不工作”。