📢本期推荐：Science News-2026-7期👇 莉兹Talk看世界
英文：Is NASA falling out of love with Mars?
中文：NASA对火星失去兴趣了吗？
📰 来源：ScienceNews 📅 日期：2026.7
📝 词数：约360 words ⭐ 难度：★★★★☆
第一段：地球是家，火星却自带主角光环
英文原文
Earth may be our beloved home planet, but Mars exudes main character energy. Earthlings have long yearned to travel to the Red Planet and check whether it harbors any kind of life. In July 1976, we used a robot to start looking: The Viking 1 spacecraft landed that month, followed by Viking 2 in September. The Viking twins started sending back photos and data from experiments designed to seek out life on Mars. One of the first lessons learned was that it's hard to run scientific experiments from 23 million kilometers away.
中文翻译
地球或许是我们挚爱的家园，但火星却散发着十足的主角光环。人类长期以来渴望前往那颗红色星球，探查那里是否孕育着任何形式的生命。1976年7月，我们派出了机器人开始搜寻工作：维京一号探测器当月着陆，同年9月维京二号紧随其后。这对"维京双子星"传回了照片和实验数据，这些实验的设计初衷正是为了在火星上寻找生命。人们从中获得的第一个经验教训是：从2300万公里之外操控科学实验绝非易事。
第二段：维京五十周年回顾—失败与成功并存，策略转向先找宜居条件
英文原文
On the 50th anniversary of that historic landing, we look back at the failures and successes of Mars exploration since Viking (Page 40). Senior astronomy writer Lisa Grossman reports on the discoveries and setbacks that have steered the hunt for Martian life, including NASA's revised approach of looking for habitable conditions before directly seeking evidence of life. As Grossman writes, the wealth of information we now have about the Red Planet has reinvigorated scientists' excitement for finishing what Viking started.
中文翻译
值此那次历史性着陆50周年之际，我们回顾自维京任务以来火星探索的成败得失（第40页）。资深天文作家丽莎·格罗斯曼报道了那些推动火星生命探索进程的发现与挫折，包括NASA调整后的策略转变—在直接寻找生命证据之前，先寻找宜居环境。正如格罗斯曼所写，我们现在掌握的大量关于这颗红色星球的信息重新点燃了科学家们完成维京未竟事业的热情。
第三步：下一步带回样本做深度研究，技术已基本就绪
英文原文
The next step would be to bring samples to Earth for proper study. "The technology is either there or very close to there," Grossman told me. "NASA has been landing stuff on Mars now for a very long time, and has gotten very good at it."
中文翻译
下一步是将样本带回地球进行深入研究。"相关技术要么已经成熟，要么已经非常接近成熟了，"格罗斯曼对我说。"NASA在火星着陆方面已经有很长时间的经验积累，而且做得相当出色。"
第四段：现实困境—国会削减预算，项目陷入停滞
英文原文
But Congress cut funding for the Mars Sample Return mission in 2024, leaving the project at a standstill. Most of NASA's efforts are instead being directed toward the Trump administration's focus on sending people back to the moon.
中文翻译
然而，国会在2024年削减了火星样本返回任务的经费，导致该项目陷入停滞状态。NASA的大部分精力如今转而投向特朗普政府的优先事项—将人类送回月球。
第五段：平流层中的极端生命暗示火星生命或比预期更"眼熟"
英文原文
But Grossman notes that continued study of Mars is key to finding out if there really is, or ever was, life there — and to also learn what it would take to someday visit that intriguing red neighbor in person. In this issue, we also explore life in the extreme environment of Earth's stratosphere (Page 30). The big news: Not only do microbes live 30 kilometers up, they shuttle between surface and sky and include common plant pathogens. Life on Mars, should it exist, might end up being a lot more familiar-looking than we expected.
中文翻译
但格罗斯曼指出，持续研究火星是弄清那里是否真的存在过生命的关键—也是了解有朝一日亲自造访那位迷人的红色邻居需要付出什么代价的关键所在。本期杂志中，我们还探讨了地球平流层这一极端环境中的生命现象（第30页）。重大发现是：微生物不仅能在30公里高空生存，还能在地面与天空之间来回穿梭，其中甚至包含常见的植物病原体。如果火星上真的存在生命，其面貌可能最终会让我们感到远比预想中熟悉得多。
📚 词汇词组
1. exude /ɪɡˈzjuːd/ v.
① 散发（气味、品质、情感等） ② 渗出，流出（液体）
例句：Despite its harsh conditions, Mars exudes an irresistible allure that keeps drawing scientists and dreamers back.
2. yearn /jɜːrn/ v.
① 渴望，向往 ② 思念，怀念
例句：For decades, humanity has yearned to uncover the mysteries hidden beneath the dusty surface of the Red Planet.
3. harbor /ˈhɑːrbər/ v./n.
① （动词）隐匿，怀揣（想法、情感） ② （动词）为……提供庇护所 ③ （名词）港口，避风港
例句：Scientists have debated for years whether Mars's subsurface ice could harbor microbial life.
4. reinvigorate /ˌriːɪnˈvɪɡəreɪt/ v.
① 使恢复活力，使重振旗鼓 ② 使焕然一新，注入新能量
例句：New data from the Perseverance rover has reinvigorated public interest in the search for ancient life on Mars.
5. standstill /ˈstændstɪl/ n.
① 停滞，停顿 ② 完全静止的状态
例句：Budget disputes left several major space exploration projects at a standstill for over two years.
6. intriguing /ɪnˈtriːɡɪŋ/ adj.
① 引人入胜的，令人着迷的 ② 有趣的，神秘的
例句：Mars remains one of the most intriguing destinations in our solar system because so much about it is still unknown.
7. shuttle /ˈʃʌtl/ v./n.
① （动词）频繁往返于两地之间 ② （名词）航天飞机；穿梭巴士
例句：Some microorganisms in the stratosphere can shuttle between ground level and high altitudes using air currents.
8. stratosphere /ˈstrætəsfɪr/ n.
① 平流层（大气层中距地表约10-50公里的区域） ② 极高层，顶尖领域（比喻用法）
例句：The stratosphere contains the ozone layer that protects Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
✍️ 写作句总结
原句
Earth may be our beloved home planet, but Mars exudes main character energy.
结构抽象
X may be our beloved [身份], but Y exudes [抽象名词] energy.
造句示范
Tokyo may be my beloved hometown, but New York exudes main character energy — every street corner feels like the opening scene of a movie.
长难句分析
Earth may be our beloved home planet, but Mars exudes main character energy.
主干：Earth may be...but Mars exudes... 并列复合句，由 but 连接两个分句形成强烈对比 前分句 = 地球是挚爱的家园（承认事实） 后分句 = 火星散发主角光环（制造反差）
语法要点：may be 表示委婉让步语气，"地球固然是……"，但不否定后半句的价值判断
表达亮点：main character energy 是当代流行语（slang），本义指某人自带"主角气场"、走到哪里都是焦点；作者将其用于描述一颗行星，属于拟人化的幽默修辞手法，既生动又接地气，体现了科普写作向大众化、年轻化靠拢的趋势
仿写建议：此句型适用于任何"A虽好，B更有魅力"的对比场景，尤其在开头段制造阅读兴趣时效果极佳
📝 阅读理解
题目：According to the passage, why did Congress cut funding for the Mars Sample Return mission?
A. The technology required for the mission was not yet ready B. The Trump administration redirected NASA's priorities toward lunar exploration C. Scientists lost interest after finding no evidence of life on Mars D. The Viking experiments had already proven that no life exists on Mars
答案解析
✅ 正确答案：B
✅ 选项B：正确。文章明确指出，国会削减经费后，"Most of NASA's efforts are instead being directed toward the Trump administration's focus on sending people back to the moon." ——说明资金转向月球任务是根本原因。
❌ 选项A：错误。恰恰相反，格罗斯曼明确表示"The technology is either there or very close to there"——技术已基本就绪。
❌ 选项C：错误。文章强调科学家们因积累了大量数据而"reinvigorated excitement"（热情被重新点燃），并非失去兴趣。
❌ 选项D：错误。维京实验从未证明火星不存在生命，只是证明远程操控实验难度极高；且文章明确提到寻找火星生命的工作仍在继续。
📖 全文概括
中文段落大意
第一段：开篇引入—人类对火星的痴迷由来已久，1976年维京双探测器开启机器探测时代，2300万公里外的科学实验困难重重。
第二段：维京五十周年回顾—火星探索历经成败曲折，策略已调整为"先找宜居条件再找生命"，海量新数据令科学家们重燃热情。
第三段：下一步计划—将火星岩石样本带回地球进行实验室级分析，着陆技术已非常成熟可靠。
第四段：政治现实—2024年国会削减火星样本返回任务预算，项目停滞，资源转向登月计划。
第五段：延伸视角—地球平流层极端环境中发现的高空微生物往返穿梭，暗示若火星真有生命，其形态可能比我们想象的更加"眼熟"。
英文全文总结
This article examines the current state and future prospects of NASA's decades-long quest to find life on Mars, published on the 50th anniversary of the historic Viking landings. It traces the journey from the first robotic explorers in 1976 through evolving scientific strategies—shifting from direct life detection to seeking habitable conditions—and highlights the renewed enthusiasm driven by recent data. A key obstacle discussed is the congressional budget cut to the Mars Sample Return mission in 2024, which stalled the program as funding was redirected toward lunar exploration. The piece concludes with a fascinating comparison: microbes found thriving in Earth's stratosphere suggest that if Martian life exists, it may resemble terrestrial organisms more closely than previously expected, offering both scientific hope and a compelling reason to continue the search despite political headwinds.
🎯 打卡作业
请翻译以下句子：
"Life on Mars, should it exist, might end up being a lot more familiar-looking than we expected."
💬 在评论区留下你的翻译，下期公布参考答案！
📌 上期回顾
上期划线句答案
"Your feet, for the most part, have become slabs of meat, because we don't use them."
参考翻译
从很大程度上说，我们的双脚已经退化成了肉坨子，因为我们根本不好好用它们。
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