IG听力2019 part4音频

[00:00.07] F: Welcome to Tim Peake who is a European Space Agency astronaut.

[00:06.43] In June 2016 he completed a 186-day mission working on the International Space Station.

[00:14.11] He is here to answer some questions about his amazing and unique experience.(31)

[00:19.96] M: Thank you.

[00:21.26] Just as the Apollo missions in the 1960s took a giant leap for mankind,

[00:27.64] we are now at the start of a new golden age of space exploration.(32)

[00:32.38] In the coming decades we can expect to colonise the Moon,

[00:37.17] to set foot on Mars and to travel deeper into our solar system than ever before.

[00:43.53] Since I returned from the International Space Station,

[00:47.79] I have been amazed by some of the intriguing and searching questions asked by people on every aspect of my mission.

[00:56.03] F: One of the most commonly asked questions we have received for you must be:

[01:01.07] how did going up into space affect your sense of time?

[01:05.32] M: Common questions but very important.

[01:09.31] The human body has a natural perception of time.

[01:12.77] This is called the circadian rhythm.

[01:16.21] It not only dictates when we feel tired and alert but has an effect on how our body works,

[01:22.59] for example, our body temperature, our levels of concentration and how quickly we can learn new things.

[01:29.73] The most common way to confuse this rhythm is to experience a large and rapid shift in time zone – known as jet lag.

[01:39.03] Astronauts undergo a four-week period of training to minimise the effects of jet lag.(33)

[01:45.93] Our body rhythm is very sensitive to light, in order to regulate our perception of time.

[01:54.41] One of the main challenges in adopting good sleeping patterns in space

[01:58.91] is to get used to the frequent day and night cycle, caused by orbiting the Earth 16 times in 24 hours.

[02:07.71] Once aboard the craft, astronauts keep to a strict routine of meal times, rest and exercise which are set to Greenwich Mean Time.(34)

[02:17.55] At first it felt strange having a coffee break when it was pitch black outside and the craft was over China,

[02:25.78] or I am getting ready to go to bed and it could be midday over Europe.

[02:30.82] I discovered that the worst thing I could do prior to bedtime was to look out of the window during daylight.

[02:38.80] The burst of ultraviolet light I got from the Sun stopped my body producing the hormone which made me feel sleepy.

[02:48.36] This upset my natural sleep patterns and stopped me sleeping for hours.

[02:54.46] With regular exercise and sleep patterns the crew, including me,

[02:59.78] quickly became unaffected by the 16-orbit day and night cycle.(35)

[03:04.30] F: Another popular question was on exercise.

[03:08.01] How do you keep fit in space?

[03:10.10] M: Keeping fit in space is really important, not simply to be able to function effectively in weightlessness,

[03:17.55] but in order to cope with gravity once the mission is over and you are back on Earth.(36)

[03:23.12] The human body is extremely good at adapting to a new environment.

[03:28.70] Left to its own devices, the body would morph into the perfect being for living in space.

[03:35.35] This would make the return to Earth, with its gravity, particularly punishing.

[03:40.92] To that end the exercises astronauts do in space focus on trying to decrease

[03:47.56] as much as possible the negative aspects caused by microgravity.

[03:53.93] Lack of gravity causes a reduction in muscle mass and strength,

[03:58.15] bone density and cardiovascular fitness.

[04:01.88] Astronauts use a weight training device which is like a multi-gym,

[04:07.45] a specially adapted treadmill and a bicycle machine.

[04:12.24] This equipment allows us to stimulate all the major muscle groups using a number of different exercises.(37)

[04:19.40] The ‘multi-gym’ is particularly good for the ‘prime mover muscles’ such as biceps, triceps and pectorals.

[04:28.17] The treadmill and bicycle machine help maintain cardiovascular fitness and prevent the heart muscle from deteriorating.

[04:36.41] F: One last question: What are the benefits of research done in space?

[04:41.71] M: When Yuri Gagarin launched into space in 1961, flight surgeons were concerned that the human body would not tolerate weightlessness.(38)

[04:53.14] Since then humans have not only tolerated weightlessness,

[04:57.35] but also have managed to adapt and excel in this new environment for extended periods of time.

[05:04.24] Along the way, a vast amount of scientific information has been learnt.

[05:09.03] Not only about the human body but in almost every field of scientific research.

[05:14.62] The space environment has been particularly helpful in creating new strains of vaccines to fight illnesses.

[05:22.85] Scientists have been able to use microgravity to test the effectiveness

[05:27.87] and strength of vaccines and select the most suitable for use on earth.

[05:32.87] Rapid changes that occur to the human body as it adapts to weightlessness

[05:38.72] can provide a unique model to study what happens to our bodies as we get older.

[05:44.78] New forms of metal which have been created in a weightless environment have been successfully tested on Earth.

[05:52.52] Lighter machinery, such as cars or planes, constructed from these metals

[05:58.11] could lead to reduced fuel consumption and lower exhaust emissions.(39)

[06:02.89] It is not only government–funded research that is being conducted.

[06:07.67] More and more commercial companies are realising the benefits of space-based research

[06:13.78] as the International Space Station grows as a basis for innovation both within the public and private sectors.

[06:22.02] F:The next step?

[06:25.21] M: We have entered an era of international cooperation, exciting opportunities for collaboration and new partnerships.

[06:32.92] It is no longer a question of if we colonise Mars or the Moon but when.(40)