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Article with Chinese Guide and Exercises for Lecture 5

One Small Step back to Where We Started

Mark Mason

From The Times July 20, 2009

1 The Apollo missions were supposed to reveal the truth about the Moon. In fact, they taught us about the Earth – and ourselves.

2 In July 1969, soon after their return from the moon, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were shown footage1 of the world’s reaction to the lunar landing. They saw the US newscaster Walter Cronkite wiping away his tears; people gathered around televisions from China to Brazil; pavements outside TV shops crammed as people watched in awe. Aldrin turned to Armstrong. “Neil,” he said, “we missed the whole thing”.

3 That comment (reminiscent2 of George Harrison’s complaint that the Beatles felt left out because “We were the only people who never got to see the Beatles”) reveals the surprising truth about the Apollo missions: they weren’t about the Moon. They were about the Earth.

4 The clues had been there from the start, when the crew of Apollo 8 became the first humans to leave their home planet’s orbit. Orbiting the Moon on Christmas Eve 1968, fulfilling dreams as old as mankind itself, their real wonder was not at the dead grey planet beneath them, but at the vibrant blue globe in the distance. The first three men to see the Moon up close soon realised — with a much deeper sense of reverence — that they were the first three men to see the Earth from a distance. Witnessing an earthrise made them feel humble. They read the opening chapters of Genesis3 to a worldwide audience of millions, signing off with, “Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.”

5 Over the next four years, Apollo taught us what it means to be human: in a word, restless. Curiosity is never satisfied, it merely finds new targets. Quite how quickly the shift can occur was learnt by Pete Conrad, the third man to walk on the Moon (and the first to fall over on it). Once Armstrong and Aldrin had claimed the prize, no one was interested in Apollo 12. Conrad later appeared in an American Express advert of famous Americans nobody recognised. (Others included Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny.) Yet in many ways Conrad’s was the most interesting Apollo mission of all. His fellow moonwalker, Al Bean, never the most naturally gifted astronaut, compensated with sheer hard work. Finally standing on the lunar surface, he threw his silver Nasa badge into the distance, knowing that the moonwalk had earned him a gold one. But as they flew back to Earth, he turned to Conrad and admitted disappointment in the Moon itself: “It’s kind of like the song Is That All There Is?” Another timeless truth: achievements themselves aren’t what count, it’s the fact that you worked for them.

1 2

footage ['f?t?d?] n. 连续镜头，录影画面

reminiscent [rem?'n?s(?)nt] adj. 让人回想起...的 3

Genesis ['d?en?s?s] n. 《圣经·创世纪》

6 When Bean returned to Earth he would sit in shopping malls, simply to marvel at the variety of human life. And he has never again complained about the weather: “I’m just glad there is weather.” As so often, a journey into the unknown had revealed more about the traveller’s home than about the destination.

7 Virtually every Apollo astronaut came back with a deep sense of the Earth’s fragility. Ed Mitchell, Moonwalker No 6: “When we see ourselves in this bigger perspective — call it the ET point of view, the God point of view — a shift takes place in your perception and you start to think quite differently.” Apollo 16’s Charlie Duke describes Earth as “hanging in space like a jewel”. “People are always asking what we discovered when we went to the Moon,” says Dick Gordon, of Apollo 12. “What we discovered was the Earth.”

8 The discovery gave a big boost to the nascent Green movement. Sir Jonathon Porritt cites the “deep and lasting effect” that Apollo had on “many environmentalists — including me”. Friends of the Earth was founded in the same year that man first walked on the Moon. The inaugural Earth Day happened a year later. Everyone seemed to agree with Michael Collins’s thought as he splashed back down into the Pacific with Armstrong and Aldrin: “Nice ocean you got here, planet Earth.”

9 Politically, too, there was a shift. The Earth from space looks just like a map — except without the national borders. Collins remembers people of every nation saying to him, “‘We did it’ — it was a wonderful thing.” Ed Mitchell, on his way back from the Moon, realised that “the molecules of my body and of the spacecraft and of my partners were manufactured in some ancient generation of stars — and that was an overwhelming sense of oneness and connectedness”. Inspired by the landings, René Dubos coined the p hrase “Think globally, act locally”. T minus zero for Apollo was T plus one for globalisation.

10 Yet despite the astronauts’ protestations that the Moon itself was a letdown, which of us, given the chance, wouldn’t want to go there? The Chinese are planning missions of their own, and the commercial investment being ploughed into space tourism proves just how much we yearn for new experiences. So much so that we resent anyone who dampens our excitement.

11 Pete Conrad used to say he was prouder of his work on the Skylab missions than his walk on the Moon. “Some people even get mad,” he said. “‘What do you mean, the Moon isn’t the biggest thing in your life?’ I say: ‘Well, it isn’t’. They think, ‘Well, it should be’. I say: ‘Why? I’m the guy that did this’.” Maybe life is one long “wet paint” sign: you don’t believe it until you reach out and touch.

12 Certainly, Dave Scott, of Apollo 15, thought so. Standing on the Moon, he voiced his thoughts to Houston: “I realise there’s a fundamental truth to our nature: man must explore.” Home is never far from our thoughts, though. How many times have you looked forward for months to a holiday, only to find that on day three you’re already dreaming of your own bed? But when you return, the process starts all over again. This idea of life as a perpetual cycle seems particularly comforting in a recession. Even though we’ve overreached (and overborrowed), and been reminded of some

home truths4, we know that one day we’ll reach out once more.

13 When Bean retired from Nasa he became an artist. His paintings of the lunar landscape, which fetch tens of thousands of dollars, bear the lessons of his time as an astronaut. Just as he worked hard to reach the Moon, now he works hard to perfect his painting. “That’s what I tell myself when the colours don’t come out right or it hasn’t worked like I thought it would: ‘That’s why they call it art’.”

14 Another of Bean’s thoughts sums up the very essence of the Apollo missions, indeed of all human travel: that it isn’t about where you’re going, it’s about who you are. “Everybody came back just more like I knew them. I think maybe success doesn’t change you as much as reveal you.”

15 Which is why the greatest reason to celebrate this 40th anniversary isn’t scientific or environmental or political; it’s personal. The next time you go down a footpath just to see where it leads, or when the only thing that will stop your baby crying is taking it for a drive, remember the 12 men who stood on the Moon and looked at Earth. As T. S. Eliot put it:

16 We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.

第五单元 A Small Step back to Where We Started 导读

同学们好，今天我们来学习一个新单元，主题是 Travel，题目为 A Small Step back to Where We Started。这篇文章 2009 年发表在《泰晤士报》（Times）上。2009 年是人类登月 40 周年，所以很多报刊杂志都从科技、政治、经济甚至环境保护的角度来纪念这一人类历史上最为激动人心的事件。而这篇文章的视角比较独特，是从探索人类旅行的终极意义的角度纪念这一事件。的确，登月是迄今为止人类进行过最远距离的旅行。不可否认谈旅行和旅行的意义是考察登月之旅很好的切入点。那么人们从登月之旅发现了什么？又给我们什么样的启迪呢？

一、人类旅行的意义何在？

作者认为登月之旅揭示了所有人类旅行的终极意义。其中包括两点：其一，旅行会让我们更好地认知自我；其二，旅行会让我们更好地了解我们的家园。这篇文章的题目就是 A Small Step back to Where We Started，显然这很好地总结了作者的论点，即我们旅行迈出的每一小步都是向家的方向迈回的每一步。

为了论证这一观点，作者先从考察登月之旅发现了什么谈起。他认为登月之旅本来是为了解月球，可它却让我们更多地了解了人类自身和地球。人类自身就是人性，全人类的家便是地球。这个视角够宏大吧？

4

home truth 令人不愉快的事实；逆耳的忠言

二、登月之旅发现了什么呢？

1. 人性：

既然从登月这么宏大的角度来谈旅行，那自然要落在宏大地方。登月是全人类的事，那么登月所揭示的全人类的自我就是人性。也就说，作者认为登月之旅揭示了人性。Over the next four years, Apollo taught us what it means to be human: in a word, restless.（第五段）人性的侧面和层次很多， 那登月之旅揭示的是人性的哪一侧面呢？ 登月之旅揭示了人类的restlessness。Restless 这个词大家看字面可能会认为是永不休息的意思，但它还有一个意思是 continuously moving，即焦躁不安的/呆不住的/求变的，人性是永不安分的。

作者举了好几个事例来论证一点：

第一个事例：Pete Conrad 是美国先后登上月球的 12 个宇航员之一，可是我们大家都没听说过对吧。美国人也一样，他曾经作为“最不为人所知的名人”之一出现在一则广告之中。One of the famous Americans nobody recognised。为什么呢？作者给出的解释是：Once Armstrong and Aldrin had claimed the prize, no one was interested in Apollo 12. 既然 Armstrong 和 Aldrin 拔得了头筹，那人们就对登月不再感兴趣，人们永远追逐第一，追逐新鲜。所以人性就是永不安分。（第五段）

第二个事例：Pete Conrad 的队友 Al Bean 在登月归来的途中表达了对月球的失望，以及结束一段旅程的失落（“Is that all there is?”）。这个事例从另个方面印证了人性永不安分，人们总是在追逐目标，目标达成了反倒会失落，过程重于成就。不安分啊，人性。（第 5 段）

第三个事例：登月回来的宇航员普遍表示了对月球的失望，但是有机会谁不想去一趟呢？ Yet despite the astronauts’ protestations that the Moon itself was a letdown, which of us, given the chance, wouldn’t want to go there? 现在大量商业资本投资太空旅游业就是很好一例证。谁要是泼凉水，人们还很不满意呢。So much so that we resent anyone who dampens our excitement. 如果美国人现在和中国人说，登月挺没意思的，你们中国人就不要再搞嫦娥计划了，中国人肯定不高兴， 对吧？ 人类的本性就是不安分， 永远向往全新的经历（ yearn for new experiences）。（第 10 段）

第四个事例：Pete Conrad 就曾说登月对他来讲不是他最感到自豪的事，人们听了觉得很不开心，不依不饶地觉得怎么会呢，他一定是在装吧？“What do you mean, the Moon isn’t the biggest thing in your life?”“Well, it should be.”这一段的段末，作者小结了一下：生活啊，上面贴着“油漆未干”的标志，人们就是不信，就是非要伸手摸一摸。“油漆未干”是个著名的社会心理学实验，如果在什么东西上面贴上这个标志，走过去的人十有八九都不相信， 都要伸手去摸一摸。(第 11 段)

第五个事例：有一个登月宇航员 Dave Scott 站在月球上对自己的同伴说 “I realise there’s a fundamental truth to our nature: man must explore.” 人啊，一定要 explore，这是基本人性

（fundamental truth to our nature）。然后作者又讲，人们总是工作的时候盼放假，放了假又盼着开工。生活就是这样一个永恒的循坏。Life is such a perpetual cycle。最后一句作者开了个玩笑。因为这篇文章写于 2009 年，正是上一轮欧美经济危机之时，美国因为次贷危机，也就是借钱太多而陷入危机。在这种情况下，“生活就是个 perpetual cycle”这个事实让人感到安慰，因为经济现在不好，早晚会好起来嘛，生活就是个永恒的循环嘛；同样这个事实也让人感到不安，人们不会吸取教训，好起来之后我们还是会接着又再借太多钱花，然后一切再重来一遍。（第 12 段）

好奇也好，渴望新鲜经历也好，不能记取教训也好，都是人类的本性，是人类永不能安分的表现。当然人类的这一本性也不断地让人类进步，追求卓越。

第六个事例：第 13 段以Al Bean 的例子来说明这一点。这个Al Bean 真是个有故事的人， 他从月球回来以后，在购物中心感叹完了人类生活的多样性之后，就开始当起了画家，专门画月球风景画。Just as he worked hard to reach the Moon, now he works hard to perfect his painting. 这是拿出登月精神在不断改进画技，精益求精。（第 13 段）

2. 地球

登月之旅还让我们更好地了解了地球。我们了解了地球的什么呢？ 第一、地球生活的多样性（variety）

月球的光秃单调让人们意识到地球上的多样性是多么宝贵。下次你去逛街，可以坐在 mall 里面什么都不做，就在那里感叹欣赏人类生活的多样性吧。代表人类旅行过最远距离的AlBean 就是这么做的。When Bean returned to Earth he would sit in shopping malls, simply to marvel at the variety of human life. 另外他再也不抱怨天气了。“I am just glad there is weather.” 有天气这一说，他就很高兴了。所以作者总结说“As so often, a journey into the unknown had revealed more about the traveller's home than about the destination”。坐在 mall 里面你或许可以一边欣赏人类生活的多样性，一边听上一曲 Bob Dylan 的 \，听他用沙哑的声线浅声吟唱“how many roads must a man walk down/before they call him a man”。（第 6 段）

第二、地球环境的脆弱性（fragility）

Virtually every Apollo astronaut came back with a deep sense of the Earth’s fragility. （第 7 段） 每个宇航员从月球回来都感觉到地球环境是多么脆弱。这一发现极大地促进了地球上新兴环保运动的发展。The discovery gave a big boost to the nascent Green movement.（第 8 段）

第三、一体性（oneness），全人类、全球甚至全宇宙都是一体的。

这一段（第 9 段）有四个 supporting details 来例证登月之旅促进了人类对一体性 oneness 的认识。

首先，从太空看地球，地球就是一个没有国界的地图。The Earth from space looks just like a map — except without the national borders.这是全球一体。