国际空间站宇航员冰茶、火鸡庆感恩节

Astronauts raised plastic cups of iced tea and toasted the Thanksgiving holiday before eating a traditional dinner of smoked turkey, cornbread dressing and candied yams at the international space station.

"To Thanksgiving. Wishing everyone on Earth, and off Earth, a good Thanksgiving," said Endeavour astronaut Donald Pettit, holding iced tea in a makeshift cup he had made from plastic covers of shuttle reference books.

Astronauts normally drink from pouches using straws, to prevent liquids from spilling out in weightlessness, but Pettit wanted to show that they could sip from cups.

The seven Endeavour astronauts and three space station crew members ate their Thanksgiving meal at the joined shuttle space station complex, 350km above Earth. They spent an off-duty morning in which they talked to friends and relatives on the ground or just looked out the window.

"Just that ability to look out the window and look down on this beautiful planet that we live on is a source of thanks that we all have," Endeavour commander Christopher Ferguson said during a series of television interviews.

Differing schedules and chores usually prevent shuttle and station crews to eat together. Crew members took several precautions for the meal - keeping fire extinguishers and gas masks in the dining area, for instance.

Despite the turkey with trimmings, astronaut Robert "Shane" Kimbrough said he still missed being with his family on the holiday.

"I think we're all ready to see our families," Kimbrough said.

感恩节当天，国际空间站里“觥筹交错”，几名宇航员举起塑料杯、共饮冰茶庆祝节日，之后他们还享用了一顿美味的感恩节大餐，菜谱包括熏火鸡、平锅玉米面包和蜜汁洋芋等。

“奋进号”航天飞机宇航员唐纳德．佩提特举起盛有冰茶的塑料杯说：“大家感恩节快乐！祝愿地球上和地球之外的所有人节日快乐！”他们用的塑料杯是唐纳德临时用太空飞船参考书的塑料封皮做的。

为了防止液体在失重的环境下溅出，宇航员通常只能用吸管吮吸装在袋中的饮料，但有了佩提特的这个新发明，宇航员们从此可以用杯子喝水了。

当天，“奋进号”的七名宇航员和国际空间站的三名工作人员在距离地面350公里的连接舱内共享感恩节大餐。当天早上，他们与远在地球的家人和朋友通话，可能还欣赏了一下窗外的美景。

“奋进号”总指挥克利斯多夫．弗古森在电视采访中说：“能有幸在此欣赏窗外的美景和我们美丽的星球，我们心中充满了感激。”

由于作息安排不同，“奋进号”和国际空间站上的人员通常不能一起吃饭。但为了庆祝感恩节，宇航员们采取了一些预防措施，比如将灭火器和防毒面具拿到用餐区。

尽管与同事们共享了火鸡大餐，但宇航员罗伯特．尚．金姆博洛说他还是很想与家人共度感恩节。

他说：“我想我们早就盼望和家人团聚了。”

Vocabulary:

weightlessness:失重