Section_ⅠIntroduction & Reading - Pre­reading

　　[原文呈现]

　　Space: the Final Frontier

　　Part 1

　　Ever since Neil Armstrong first set foot on① the Moon back on 21st July, 1969②， people have become accustomed③ to the idea of space travel. Millions of④ people watched that first moon landing on television, their hearts in their mouths, aware⑤ of how difficult and dangerous an adventure it was, and what risks⑥ had to be taken. With Armstrong's now famous words："That's one small step for man, one giant⑦ leap for mankind"， a dream was achieved. All three astronauts made it safely back to Earth, using a spaceship computer that was much less powerful than the ones used by the average school students today⑧.

　　There were several more journeys into space over the next few years but the single spaceships were very expensive ⑨as they could not take off⑩ more than once⑪. People were no longer so enthusiastic about⑫ a space travel programme that was costing the United States $10 million a day⑬. That was until the arrival of the space shuttle⑭ - a spacecraft that could be used for several journeys⑮. The first shuttle flight into space was the Columbia - launched from the Kennedy Space Centre on 12th April, 1981⑯. The aim of this flight was to test the new shuttle system, to go safely up into orbit and to return⑰ to the Earth for a safe landing. It was a success and a little more than a decade after Apollo 11's historic⑱ voyage, the Columbia made a safe, controlled, aeroplane­style landing in California. This was the start of a new age⑲ of space travel.

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　　①set foot on/in 踏上，进入/进到(某处)

　　②Ever since ...是时间状语从句，主句通常用现在完成时。

　　③accustomed/ə'kʌstəmd/adj.习惯的

　　become/be accustomed to 习惯于(注意to为介词)

　　④millions of 数以百万计的(表泛指)

　　如果million 前面有具体数字表示确指，则million不能用复数，后面也不加of。

⑤aware adj.意识到的；知道的