Apollo 11, part II

Source: http://www.ingvip.com

1. The lunar lander, controlled by a computer, dropped toward the airless surface of the moon. One hundred forty meters from the surface, the astronauts took control of the lander from the computer.

2. They moved Eagle forward, away from a very rocky area that might have caused a difficult landing. The voices of Aldrin and Armstrong could be heard in short messages.

3. EDWIN ALDRIN: "Forward. Forward. Good. Forty feet. Down two and a half. Kicking up some dust. Thirty feet. Two and a half down. Faint shadow. Four forward. Four forward. Drifting to the right a little. OK. Down a half.

MISSION CONTROL: "Thirty seconds …" 

NEIL ARMSTRONG: "Forward drift?"

EDWIN ALDRIN: "Contact light. OK. Engine stop. "

Armstrong reported: 

NEIL ARMSTRONG: "Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." 

4. NASA's plan had called for the astronauts to test instruments, eat and then rest for four hours before leaving the Eagle. But Armstrong and Aldrin asked to cancel the four-hour sleep period. They wanted to go out onto the moon as soon as they could get ready. NASA controllers agreed. 

5. It took the astronauts more than three hours to complete the preparations for leaving the lander. It was difficult -- in Eagle's small space -- to get into space suits that would protect them on the moon's surface.

6. Finally, Armstrong and Aldrin were ready. They opened the door. Armstrong went out first and moved slowly down the ladder. At two hours fifty-six Greenwich Mean Time on July twentieth, nineteen sixty-nine, Neil Armstrong put his foot on the moon.

NEIL ARMSTRONG: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

7. The world could see the history-making event on television. But the man who was closest to what was happening, Michael Collins, could only listen. He was orbiting the moon in the command module Columbia. It did not have a television receiver.

8. Armstrong moved carefully away from the Eagle. He left the cold, black shadow of the lander and stepped into the blinding white light of the sun. On Earth, all was quiet. No sound came from televisions or radios. No one felt able to talk about what was happening. 

9. Armstrong began to describe what he saw: "The surface appears to be very, very fine grain, like a powder. I can kick it loosely with my toes. I can see footprints of my boots in the small, fine particles. Notrouble to walk around."

10. Aldrin appeared on the ladder. Down he came, very slowly. Soon, both men were busy placing experiments to be left behind on the moon. They collected more than thirty kilograms of rock and soil totake back to Earth. They moved easily and quickly, because the moon's gravity is six times less than Earth's.

11. Hours passed. Too soon, it was time to return to the Eagle. Armstrong and Aldrin re-entered the lander. They rested for a while. Then they began to prepare to launch the lander for the return flight to the orbiting command module.

12. Listeners on Earth heard the countdown from Tranquility Base: "Three, two, one ... first stage engine on ascent. Proceed. Beautiful. Twenty-six ... thirty-six feet per second up. Very smooth, very quiet ride." Eagle was flying. Man had been on the moon for twenty-one and one-half hours.

13. Eagle moved into the orbit of the command module. It connected with Columbia. Armstrong and Aldrin rejoined Collins in the command ship. They separated from Eagle and said good-bye to it. The lander had done its job well.

14. Eight days after it started its voyage to the moon, Apollo Eleven splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Left behind on the moon were the footprints of Armstrong and Aldrin, an American flag and scientific equipment. Also left forever on the moon is a sign with these words:

15. "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the Moon -- July, nineteen sixty-nine A. D. We came in peace for all mankind. "

16. Our program was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano. It was produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Shirley Griffith.

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. We continue the story of the Apollo space flight program. You can find earlier reports about the American space program at our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Vocabulary

1. agreed = concordou
2. airless surface = superfície sem ar
3. ascent = ascensão
4. away from = para longe de
5. before leaving = antes de deixar
6. began = começaram
7. blinding = ofuscante
8. closest = mais perto
9. describe = descrever
10. Drifting = derivando, movimentando
11. dropped = despencou, caiu
12. easily = facilmente
13. Engine = motor
14. Faint = fraco(a)
15. felt = sentia-se
16. flag = bandeira
17. footprints = pegadas
18. for a while = por algum tempo
19. forward = para a frente
20. get ready = estar pronto
21. grain = grão
22. has landed = aterrissou
23. heard = ouvidas
24. job = trabalho
25. Kicking up some dust = levantando um pouco de pó
26. ladder = escada
27. lander = que aterrissa
28. leap = salto
29. left behind = deixados para trás
30. Listeners = ouvintes

31. loosely = livremente
32. mankind = humanidade
33. Mean Time = tempo médio
34. might have caused = poderia ter causado
35. moved carefully away = afastou-se cuidadosamente
36. placing = colocando
37. powder = pó
38. quickly = rapidamente
39. receiver = receptor
40. rejoined = reencontraram
41. reported = relatou
42. rest = descansar
43. ride = trajeto, passeio
44. saw = viu
45. set foot = colocou o pé
46. shadow = sombra
47. ship = nave
48. slowly = lentamente
49. smooth = suave
50. soil = solo
51. Soon = logo, em breve
52. space suits = trajes espaciais
53. splashed down = caiu na água
54. take back = levar de volta
55. toes = dedos do pé
56. took control = assumiram o controle
57. toward = em direção a
58. trouble = problema, dificuldade
59. went out = saiu