BBC英语口语:Neil Armstrong's Words 尼尔阿姆斯特朗的话

Background: 尼尔·阿姆斯特郎 (Neil Armstrong) 是 1969 年第一位登上月球的宇航员。当时有无数人听到了他从月球上发回的的广播讲话录音。其中就包括了下面这句话 It’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind. 这句话成为了名言，不过有些人说，句子有语法错误。现在一项新的研究对此进行了重新考证。

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Neil Armstrong's Words

Neil Armstrong:
"It's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."
Or should that have been, "One small step for a man"?

Neil Armstrong has always said that he thought that that's what he said and maybe the vital 'a' got lost in a crackle of static.

Now researchers analysing recently released digitally-enhanced recordings of the entire Apollo 11 mission have confirmed that he did not say the word 'a'.

But a linguistic analysis of the way in which he spoke suggested that he intended to say 'a' and that the first words spoken on the moon were spontaneous and not memorised from a written script.

The researchers also argue that although the expression was not strictly correct its rhythm and symmetry poetically capture the sense and mood of one of humanity's most epic moments.