Topic: Is the risks of space travel worth the benefits? 主题:太空旅行的风险是否值得? Exam structure: 1. Pro Opening Arguments(One Speaker) 2. Con Opening Arguments(One Speaker) 3. Pro Rebuttal(One Speaker) 4. Con Rebuttal(One Speaker) 5. Open Discussion(Anyone in the group may speak)-Groups will be given one overall grade, however, any student who speaks will gain extra points. Exams are scored on clarity and volume of speech, teamwork, and content(did you use sound arguments to make your point. ) 考试结构: 1. 开场辩论(一位发言者) 2. 开场辩论(一名发言者) 3. 赞成反驳(一位发言者) 4. 反驳(一位发言人) 5. 公开讨论(小组中任何人都可以发言)-小组将被给予一个整体等级,然而,任何一个会说话的学生都会 得到额外的分数。考试的清晰度和音量,团队合作和内容(你用正确的论点来表达你的观点)。 Section 1-relevance (40) Full Relevance ;Formed two fully research arguments con or pro Section 2-Speed, Diction, and Voice Control (40) All Requirements exceeded: clear,concise, strong voice control, and good diction 100% of time. Section 3-group work and Individual Contribution(20) Scoring Data: (Points added here for individuals who spoke.) Group worked well together and formed English arguments that were valid and tangible. 第一节:相关性(40) 完全相关;形成两个完整研究的正反方论点 第二节:速度、措辞和语音控制(40) 所有满足要求:清晰,简洁,强大的语音控制,以及良好的措辞,利用 100%的时间。 第三节:小组工作和个人贡献(20) 评分数据:(为发言的人加上分数)。 小组合作得很好,形成了有效且有形的英语论证。 1 题目 Space travel has been possible for some time and some people think space tourism could be developed in the future. To what extent do you think this is a positive or negative development? 本题需要讨论的核心问题是:你赞同还是反对太空旅行(space travel)?这个问题,当然是人见人殊, 没有统一的意见。比如,有些人赞同太空旅行,因为太空旅行能够让我们看到地球人见不到的东西,大大 开阔我们的视野,同时,太空旅行还有助于我们去发现地球之外的适合居住的星球,这个实在太重要了, 因为地球毁灭是迟早的事情。然而,也一定有人反对太空旅行,因为一旦开启太空旅行,人类即将破环宇 宙,从而破坏地球;而且,现在的太空旅行技术还不过关,太空旅行过于危险。当然,就这个题目而言, 考生完全可以做双边讨论,即先讨论太空旅行的好处(比如扩大视野,发现地球之外的新大陆),然后讨 论太空旅行潜在的危险(比如太空污染,技术短板),最后得出自己的结论(如太空旅行的确是有益处的, 但我们一定要注意保护太空生态,同时提高技术,确保太空旅行的安全性)。 本篇学生习作基本按照题目要求完成了论证,作者具有表达思想的基本能力,但在词汇使用和句型使 用方面有不少失当之处,有些地方表达令人费解,因此,其得分被降至 5 分段。如果该学生稍微注意表达 的清晰度和语法的正确性,完全可以达到 6 分甚至更高分数。 修改后全文 As we all know, people are always curious about space and expecting to travel in space. Now, inspired by space technology, some ambitious explorers have extended their eyes beyond the earth. But there are still a few key problems which may prevent space travel from becoming a reality. So I'm holding a negative view on the future of space travel. In modern society, some businessmen have built numerous tourist sites for economic benefits, considering little of the ecological balance, so that a lot of damages have been done to the natural environment. Now, universe, a kind of new resource in some people’s eyes, has great potential benefits especially in terms of space tourism, which will certainly attract many profit-seeking businessmen. Yet if the space travel is developed on a large scale before we have gained a full understanding of the universe, the ecology of the universe will be seriously upset. Then what is at stake will not be one or two tourist sites, but the entire earth. As space tourism has just started recently, the security issues of space flight should also be taken into consideration. In the space travel, the tourists must be able to withstand the unbearable loud noise, the 2 overwhelming vibration, the strong radiation, the physiological effect of weightlessness, to mention just a few. However, the current science and technology cannot guarantee everything is without risk. Therefore, space tourism may pose great pressure on people’s health. Moreover, ordinary passengers are not possibly trained as astronauts, so psychologically and physiologically, they may not be suitable to do space travelling. To sum up, space travel is detrimental to the universe environment and may have a lot of risks out of our control, so basically I hold a negative view on its future. I think space travel is possible only when we have a better understanding of the universe and meanwhile a strong technological support. 众所周知,人们总是对空间好奇,期望在太空中旅行。现在,受太空技术的启发,一些雄心勃勃的探 险家们将目光延伸到了地球之外。但仍有一些关键问题可能阻碍太空旅行成为现实。所以我对太空旅行的 未来持否定态度。 在现代社会中,一些商人为了经济利益而建造了无数的旅游景点,很少考虑到生态平衡,从而对自然 环境造成了很大的损害。现在,宇宙作为一种新的资源,在一些人看来,具有巨大的潜在优势,特别是在 空间旅游方面,必将吸引许多营利性商人。然而,如果太空旅行是在我们对宇宙有充分了解之前大规模发 展的,那么宇宙的生态将受到严重的破坏。那么,岌岌可危的将不是一个或两个旅游景点,而是整个地球。 航天旅游刚刚起步,航天安全问题也应予以考虑。在太空旅行中,游客必须能够承受不可忍受的喧嚣、 压倒的振动、强烈的辐射、失重的生理效应,仅举几例。然而,当前的科学技术不能保证一切都没有风险。 因此,太空旅游可能给人们的健康带来巨大的压力。此外,普通乘客不可能被训练为宇航员,因此在心理 和生理上,他们可能不适合做太空旅行。 总而言之,太空旅行对宇宙环境是有害的,并且可能有很多风险超出我们的控制,所以基本上我对它 的未来持否定态度。我认为只有当我们对宇宙有了更好的了解,同时也有强大的技术支持时,太空旅行才 是可能的。 Astronomy helps us understand who we are, where we come from, and where we are going. It’s human nature to wonder about the big questions. It helps giving meaning to our lives. --Dr.Michael West,astronomer 天文学帮助我们了解我们是谁,我们来自何方,以及我们将走向何方。对这些大问题感到好奇是人类 的天性。它有助于赋予我们生命的意义。 3 In January 2018, the British Virgin Galactic consortium spacecraft completed the latest test in which the joint spacecraft successfully separated from the mother ship at 15000 meters and returned to the port by gliding and landing. Virgin Galaxy provides the world's cheapest space flight experience, with a trip of only $250 thousand (1 million 600 thousand yuan). More than 700 people have already booked the service. 2018 年一月,英国维珍银河的联合体太空飞船完成了最新一次的试验,试验中,联合体飞船与母船在 15000 米高空成功分离,并以滑翔降落的方式成功返回母港。维珍银河提供的堪称世界上最便宜太空飞行体 验,一趟行程仅需要 25 万美元(160 万人民币)。目前已经有超过 700 人预订了这一服务, Britain's billionaire Richard Bryson. Virgin Galactic, founded by Bryson, has been promoting the relatively cheap space tour. 250 thousand dollars, Virgin Galactic has sold 680 space tickets. 英国亿万富豪理查德·布莱森。布莱森创立的维珍银河公司,则一直大力推广相对廉价的太空游。25 万美元,维珍银河公司已卖出 680 张太空船票。 Reducing the cost is the key to expanding the space tourism market, and the safety risk of space flight can not be ignored. In response to the high risk of space tourism, the Federal Aviation Administration has introduced the first regulations on space tourism, which has not forced the space tourism company to ensure the safety of passengers. The reason is that space tourism is still in its infancy; in space tourism, the body of tourists must be able to pass through At the same time, it must be able to withstand the conditions of strong radiation, long time weightlessness and so on, and improve the comfort of the vehicle. It is also an important factor for the development of space tourism. 降低费用是扩大太空旅游市场的关键;太空飞行的安全风险依然无法忽视。