Lesson 61 Trouble with the Hubble
The Hubble telescope was launched into space by NASA on April 20,1990 at a cost of over a billion dollars. Right from the start there was trouble with the Hubble. The pictures it sent us were very disappointing because its main mirror was faulty! NASA is now going to put the telescope right, so it will soon be sending up four astronauts to repair it. The shuttle Endeavour will be taking the astronauts to the Hubble. A robot-arm from the Endeavour will grab the telescope and hold it while the astronauts make the necessary repairs. Of course, the Hubble is above the earth's atmosphere, so it will soon be sending us the clearest pictures of the stars and distant galaxies that we have ever seen. The Hubble will tell us a great deal about the age and size of the universe. By the time you read this, the Hubble's eagle eye will have sent us thousands and thousands of wonderful pictures.
Lesson 62 After the fire
Firemen had been fighting the forest fire for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control. A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the desolate hills. Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well. When the fire had at last been put out, the forest authorities ordered several tons of a special type of grass-seed which would grow quickly. The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes. The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root. In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries, patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.
launch
right from the start
faulty
astronaut
shuttle
endeavour
galaxy
eagle
desolate ˈdesəleɪt] 无人居住的;荒无人烟的
threaten [ˈθretn] 扬言要;威胁;恐吓
destruction [dɪˈstrʌkʃn] 摧毁;毁灭
flood 洪水;水灾;
authority [əˈθɔːrəti] 权威;授权;职权;当权(地位);当局;专家
ton 吨
spray[spreɪ] 喷洒;
quantity [ˈkwɑːntəti] 数量;大量;
had been doing 这是过去完成进行时；表示从过去的某一个时间点开始做某事一直持续到过去的某个时间点并且仍在进行。
patch [pætʃ] 小块土地; 补丁;
In place of 代替,交换
not only... but also... as well 在句末加上as well来加强语气.as well可以省略.
take root（植物）生根，扎根;（思想、信仰或体制）被接受，深入人心
这两篇带有科普性的文章有一定难度，读起来不太顺口，长句多、定语长，有些地方要反复练习才能读顺。加油！
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