Upper-Intermediate - The Big Deal about Shenzhou 7 (D1031)

A来来来,快来看电视!翟志刚准备出舱了!
lái lái lái, kuài lái kàn diànshì! Zhái Zhìgāng zhǔnbèi chūcāng le!
Come here, look at the TV! Zhai Zhigang is getting ready to leave the spacecraft!
B那个镜头有什么稀奇的,不是美国、俄罗斯早在几十年前就已经完成了吗?
nàge jìngtóu yǒu shénme xīqí de, bù shì Měiguó, E2luósī zǎo zài jǐshínián qián jiù yǐjīng wánchéng le ma?
What's so great about that? Didn't America and Russia do that decades ago?
A这怎么能混为一谈呢?这是中国的第一次,你作为中国人难道不觉得自豪吗?
zhè zěnme néng hùnwéiyītán ne? zhè shì Zhōngguó de dì yī cì, nǐ zuòwéi Zhōngguó rén nándào bù juédé zìháo ma?
How can you confuse the two things? This is China's first time. Do you mean to say that as a Chinese person you don't feel proud?
B自豪当然是自豪,但就是觉得像我一样的普通老百姓,神州七号太空漫游和我也没什么直接关系啊!
zìháo dāngrán shì zìháo, dàn jiùshì juéde xiàng wǒ yíyàng de pǔtōng lǎobǎixìng, Shénzhōuqīhào tàikōng mànyóu hé wǒ yě méishénme zhíjiē guānxì a!
Of course I'm proud. But I feel like, as a common person, there's really no direct connection between me and Shenzhou VII's travels.
A谁说的!先说国防方面,证明我们已经初步具有太空防卫战的能力,以后就能突破敌人的导弹防御系统。经济方面更不用说了,航天经济带动了几乎所有的传统产业链!
shéi shuō de! xiān shuō guófáng fāngmiàn, zhèngmíng wǒmen yǐjīng chūbù jùyǒu tàikōng fángwèi zhàn de nénglì, yǐhòu jiù néng tūpò dírén de dǎodàn fángyù xìtǒng. jīngjì fāngmiàn gèng bùyòng shuō le, hángtiān jīngjì dàidòng le jīhū suǒyǒu de chuántǒng chǎnyèliàn!
Says who? First let's talk about the national defense aspects. It proves that we already have started acquiring space warfare defense capability. In the future we'll be able to break through our enemies' guided missile defense systems. The economic side is even more obvious. It seems like the aeronautics economy has stimulated all the traditional production chains.
B可是发展航天技术最终也要造福于民啊!今年中国那么多灾难,这神州七号多花钱啊,不就是政府的面子工程,还不如把钱放到教育和健康上!
kěshì fāzhǎn hángtiān jìshù zuìzhōng yě yào zàofúyúmín a! jīnnián Zhōngguó nàme duō zāinàn, zhè Shénzhōuqīhào duō huāqián a, bù jiùshì zhèngfǔ de miànzi gōngchéng, hái bùrú bǎ qián fàng dào jiàoyù hé jiànkāng shàng!
But in the end, the development of aeronautics technology has to benefit the people, too! This year China has had so many disasters. This Shenzhou VII project has spent so much money. Isn't it just for the government's prestige? It would be better to spend the money on education and health.
A看来你还是很爱国的嘛!可你想啊,光靠传统行业,中国只能给外国打工。相反,我们航天技术发展了,可以帮别国发射卫星,甚至还能把别国的宇航员送上太空,那时候挣多少可就是我们说了算!
kànlai nǐ hái shì hěn àiguó de ma! kě nǐ xiǎng a, guāng kào chuántǒng hángyè, Zhōngguó zhǐnéng gěi wàiguó dǎgōng. xiāngfǎn, wǒmen hángtiān jìshù fāzhǎn le, kěyǐ bāng bié guó fāshè wèixīng, shènzhì hái néng bǎ bié guó de yǔhángyuán sòng shàng tàikōng, nà shíhou zhèng duōshao kě jiùshì wǒmen shuō le suàn!
It seems like you're really patriotic, huh! But think about it: relying only on traditional industries, China can only work for foreign countries. But, on the other hand, if we develop our aeronautics industry, we can help other countries launch satellites, and even deliver their astronauts to outer space. Then, when it comes to how much we'll be able to earn, the sky's the limit.
B行,我服了!你还真别说,航天科技转化为民用之后,创造的价值可是巨大的!就说太空漫游吧,那些有钱人都争着去,连麦当娜都报名了,这可是个挣钱的行当啊!
xíng, wǒ fú le! nǐ hái zhēn bié shuō, hángtiān kējì zhuǎnhuà wéi mínyòng zhīhòu, chuàng zào de jiàzhí kěshì jùdà de! jiù shuō tàikōng mànyóu ba, nàxiē yǒuqiánrén dōu zhēng zhe qù, lián Màidāngnà dōu bàomíng le , zhè kě shì ge zhèngqián de hángdang a!
OK, I give up! Say no more. When aeronautical technology gets put to work for the people, it will be incredibly valuable. Just think of space travel-- rich people are all competing to go. Even Madonna has signed up. That is a seriously profitable line of business.
A就是啊!我们可能没机会去太空,但也能间接得到航天科技发展带来的好处!
jiùshì a! wǒmen kěnéng méi jīhuì qù tàikōng, dàn yě néng jiànjiē dédào hángtiān kējì fāzhǎn dàilái de hǎochu!
That's for sure! Maybe we won't get a chance to go to the heavens. We can just wait to indirectly get the benefits from the development of aeronautical technology!

Key Vocabulary

cāngcabin
稀奇xīqíunusual
混为一谈hùnwéiyītánto confuse one thing for another
自豪zìháoproud
神州七号ShénzhōuqīhàoShenzhou VII
太空tàikōngouter space
漫游mànyóuto rove
国防guófángnational defense
初步chūbùto take first steps
防卫fángwèidefensive
突破tūpòto break through
导弹dǎodànguided missile
防御fángyùdefense
系统xìtǒngsystem
航天hángtiānaeronautics
带动dàidòngto spur
产业链chǎnyèliànindustry supply-chain
造福于民zàofúyúmínto benefit
打工dǎgōngto work part-time
发射fāshèto launch
卫星wèixīngsatellite
宇航员yǔhángyuánastronaut
转化zhuǎnhuàto transform
民用mínyòngcivilian use
行当hángdangprofession

Supplementary Vocabulary

宇航服yǔhángfúspace suit
火箭huǒjiànrocket
宇宙飞船yǔzhòufēichuánspacecraft
航天飞机hángtiānfēijīspace shuttle
空间站kōngjiānzhànspace station
大气层dàqìcéngatmosphere
轨道guǐdàotrack