新世纪研究生公共英语教材阅读及翻译第一单元

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1、专业好文档Keys to Exercises:. Comprehension Checki l.D 2.D 3.D 4.B 5.C 6.A 7.C 8.B 9.B l0.Dii (略)iii (略). Vocabulary Study l. permanent 2. had assembled 3. discharging 4. meekly5. apprentice 6. partiality 7. obscure 8. exalted9. intruding l0. cordially 11. ambition l2. gallantly l. transient 2. faded out

2、 3. blew up 4. ruthless5. trivial 6. in a twinkling 7. under way 8. tranquil9. gorgeous l0. for the time being l1. conspicuous 12. exaltedNounVerbAdjectiveAdverb1permanencepermanentpermanently2ambitionambitiousambitiously3drowsedrowsedrowsydrowsily4cordialitycordialcordially5gallantrygallantgallantl

3、y6obscurityobscureobscurely7intrusionintrudeintrusiveintrusively8eminenceeminenteminently9generositygenerousgenerously10tranquilitytranquilizetranquiltranquilly11conspicuousnessconspicuousconspicuously12offenceoffendoffensiveoffensively. Clozel.B 2.D 3.C 4.A 5.B 6.A 7.D 8.A 9.B l0.Bll. D l2.B l3. D

4、l4. A l5. A l6. C l7.C l8. D l9. C 20.B. Translationl. His dream of becoming a football star faded out as time went by.2. A Boeing 747 aircraft didnt gain enough height to clear the mountain. In a twinkling, it crashed into the mountain and blew up. No one survived the accident.3. Students have easy

5、 access to the resources in the library, so they are supposed to make the best of it.4. Titanic, the most luxurious ship in the world at that time, hit an iceberg when she was under way to the US. Consequently, the ship sank into the Atlantic Ocean and thousands of people died in this shipwreck.5. E

6、very summer, all the tourists pour into this famous beach. They lie packed like sardines on the beach to enjoy the sunbathing.6. They have been to St. Louis once and have a vague general knowledge of its wonders, but the day of their glory is over now. They lapse into a humble silence and learn to d

7、isappear when the ruthless engineer approaches. Writing Practicel. Standing in the doorway, I witnessed a humorous scene.2. The voters found several reasons for supporting the candidate.3. The space shuttle program has made a great deal of progress in the last two years.4. Another way to reduce the

8、rate of inflation is to balance the federal budget.5. Another problem for students is finding right courses for their future development.6. Another reason air pollution is hazardous is that it damages the earths ozone layer.7. A final examination is a course which will give a student the initiative

9、to do his or her best work throughout the course.8. One of the biggest problems with athletic scholarships is that more attention is paid to sports than to education. Key to Supplementary ReadingsA l. A 2.B 3. C 4.A 5.B 6.C 7.C 8. CB l.B 2.D 3.C 4.C 5.A 6.A 7.B 8.BProjectsHere is a reference article

10、 concerning the first project.What Exactly Is a Short Story?In a recent class, l was asked “What exactly is an English short story?” Though I have read some English short stories before, l have never thought of this question. Thus, I consulted some books, surfed on the internet, trying to find out a

11、n answer to this question.l found some definitions Of the short story, so now Id like to share them with you. My favorite is Benets: Something that can be read in an hour and remembered for a lifetime. One writer said “The theme of a novel will not fit into the framework of a short story; its like t

12、rying to squeeze a mural into the frame of a miniature. And as in miniature painting, the details need to be sharp.”The short story is an example of one facet of human nature. Often a character undergoes some event and experiences something that offers him or her change. This is why its said that sh

13、ort stories usually “say something”, often a small something, but sometimes delivered with such precision that the effect is exquisite, even a life-moment for some readers, something similar to a religious experience or to witnessing a never-to-be-repeated scene in nature.The perfect short story is

14、written with a poets sensitivity for language, with a poets precision. The shape and sounds and rhythms of the words are more commonly part of the effect than they usually are in the novel. Just as in a poem, the bare words themselves are never the complete meaning. They interact with each other. Th

15、eir sounds do things. How they are placed on the page matters. The poem tries to create a piece of truth, and insight into being meanings long into the night.One reason for the confusion we often have over the definition of short stories is that other word forms, anecdotes, sketches, vignettes. or s

16、lices of life often find their ways into them. These are often pretty and faintly moving, but somehow they leave us with a slightly unsatisfied feeling. The fewer words we use, below a certain point - lets imagine this point is l,500 words the harder it is to have something clearly happen to a chara

17、cter, and have that occurrence change him or her.So, for now, under 10,000 words at the long end of short stories, but how short? Are we saying under l,500 words is not a short story? Greater writers can do in 600 words what a solid writer might manage in 1,l00. Maybe at 500 words, the confinement b

18、egins to create a new form, often very interesting, but more of an intellectual exercise; literary showing of t rather than a natural giving of truth.In the UK, there is an annual competition for stories, complete in exactly 50 words. Here is one Frank believed in his luck. Frank smoked too much but

19、 he knew hed never die of a heart attack or lung-cancel Frank smoked all the time. One day there was a gas leak in Franks kitchen. Frank went to fix it. He didnt die of a heart attack or lung-cancer.Its fun and sort of complete, but it isnt likely to find a place in our hearts and change our outlook

20、 on life. Technically its a story, and short it definitely, but short story, l argue, it is not. There is a degree of unity in a well thought-out short story, one I tend to call its theme. This kind of intensity in a novel would indeed tire the reader. But in the one-sitting contract with the reader

21、 of a short story, it is presumed that he or she will cope. Hence, when the story has quality, often the experience seems profound.OK, so lets form a definition here: A short story is a narrative, rarely over 10,000 words or below 500 words - more commonly l,500 to 5,000 words - a single-sitting rea

22、d, but with enough time and weight to move the reader. It is narrow and focused to produce a singular effect through the story, most commonly through events affecting some change, or denial of change, in an individual. All aspects of a short story are closely integrated and cross-reinforcing; langua

23、ge, point of view, tone and mood, the sounds as well as the meanings of the words, and their rhythm.Writer Isabelle Allende once wrote: Novels are for me adding up details, just work, work, work, then you are done. Short stories are more difficult - they have to be perfect, complete in themselves.课文

24、参考译文 一个小男孩的梦想 马克吐温1. 我小的时候，我们那密西西比河西岸的村镇上，玩伴们都只有一个永恒的志愿。那就是当轮船上的水手我们也有其他种种暂时的愿望，可是那都只是暂时性的、马戏团来到的时候和走了之后，总是使我们大家都燃起火热的希望，想当小丑；第一次到我们那带地方来的黑人游唱团使我们渴望着想试一试那种生活；我们不时还有一种希望，那就是，如果我们活在世上，品行挺好，上帝就会让我们当海盗。这些愿望，一个一个地都先后幻灭了；可是想当轮船上的水手这种志愿却始终保持下来了。2. 一艘简陋而外表华丽的定班轮船从圣路易斯开上来，另一艘从奇阿库克往下游开，每天都要来到这里一次。在这些大事出现之前；这一

25、天使人充满了期望，显得光辉灿烂；这些大事过了之后，时光就变得死气沉沉，空空洞洞了。不仅孩子们有这种感觉，整个村镇都是一样。如今事隔多年，我仍旧能在心中描绘往日的情景，完全像当时那样：夏天早晨，白色的村镇在阳光中打盹；街上是空荡荡的，几乎一个人都没有；水街的杂货铺前面坐着一两个店员，他们把那木条椅面的椅子翘起来，靠在墙上，下巴顶在胸前，帽子垂下遮着脸，打着瞌睡 他们身边有许多削木瓦的碎片，这就说明是什么事情把他们累坏了；一只母猪和一窝猪仔在人行道上闲荡着，痛痛快快地啃着西瓜皮和瓜子；两三个孤零零的小货物堆在“码头”上闲置着；石头铺的起卸码头的坡上有一堆“垫木”，镇上的流浪醉汉就在这木堆近旁酣睡着

26、；码头上端有两三只平底木船；可是那拍打着这些船的小浪的柔和声响，却没有人倾听；伟大的密西西比河，壮丽、辉煌的密西西比河；让它那一英里宽的洪流滚滚奔腾下去，在阳光中放出闪光；河对岸的远处是茂密的森林；村镇上游的“地角”和下游的“地角”截断了河上景色的视线。把它变成了一片海面，而且这海面还是风光明媚、沉寂而幽静的。随后有一股黑烟在远处的一个“地角”上空升腾起来；立刻就有一个以眼睛特别快、嗓子特别响出名的黑人运货马车夫高声喊道：“火 轮 船 来了！”于是情况就变了！镇上那个醉汉翻身起来，那几个店员也醒了；随后就是运货马车的一阵狂暴的响声，每户人家和每个铺子里都涌出一股人流，转瞬之间，这个死气沉沉的村

27、镇就热闹起来了、活动起来了。3. 运货马车和大车，男子汉和孩子，都从四面八方连忙赶到一个大家聚集的中心地点 码头上去。大家在那里集合之后，就把眼睛盯住那条开来的船，好像是注视他们第一次看到的一个稀奇东西一般。那条船也的确是相当美观。它又长又尖，收拾得又整洁、又漂亮。船上有两个高高的烟囱；顶上有些别致的花样 两个烟囱之间挂着一个金色的东西；还有一间别致的驾驶室；全是玻璃的，外表挺好看，其实并不值钱；驾凌后面的上层甲板之上；明轮罩也华丽非凡，那上面绘着图画，还在船名之上绘了一些金色的光带；锅炉甲板、顶层甲板和上层甲板周围都配置着干净的白栏杆；船头旗杆上神奇十足地飘着一面旗子；上炉的门是开着的；里面

28、的火放射出熊熊的光来；上面的两层甲板黑压压地挤满了乘客；船长站在大钟旁边，神态镇静，挺有气派，他是大家羡慕的人物；大股大股的极黑的浓烟从烟囱里滚滚升腾起来 这是快到村镇之前，在火炉里添了一点多脂，特意造成的一种所费无几的威严气派；全体水手聚集在船头甲板上；宽阔的踏板在船头的舱门上面伸出船边很远，有一个令人羡慕的水手神气十足地站在它的尽头，手里拿着一卷绳子；憋住的蒸汽从活嘴里迸出尖叫的声音；船长举起手来。一口钟发出响声，机轮就停住了；然后机轮又向后转动，搅得河水冒出许多泡沫，于是轮船就不动了。接着是乱得一团糟，大家争先恐后，有的抢着上船，有的抢着上岸，有的要上货，有的要卸货，都在这同一时刻里抢着

29、干。大副们为了催大家赶快，拼命地嚷，拼命地骂，那一阵叫骂声真是凶得要命！十分钟之后，轮船又开走了，船头旗杆上再也没有旗子；烟囱里再也不冒黑烟了。再过10分钟，这个小镇上又是死气沉沉；镇上那个醉汉又回到那堆垫木旁边去睡着了。4. 我父亲是个治安法官，我以为他对一切的人都操着生杀之权，无论谁得罪了他；他都可以处以绞刑。一般来说，这么大的威风原是足以使我满意的；然而想到轮船上当水手的愿望却是仍旧不断地闯进我脑子里来、起初我想当一个船舱里的茶房，为的是能够系着白色的腰围出来；在船边上抖一抖餐桌布，好让我所有的老玩伴们看得见；后来我又想到，还不如做那个手里拿着一卷绳子、站在踏板尽头的水手，因为他是特别惹

30、人注目的。但是这些念头都只是白日梦而已 要想把它们当成真有可能的事情来作打算，那却未免太高不可攀了。过了不久，我们那些孩子当中有一个跑掉了。他走了很久还没有消息。后来他终于以一艘轮船上的见习机匠或是“锤手”的身份突然出现。这件事情全盘推翻了我所受的主日学校的一切的教训。那孩子向来是个有名的俗气鬼，而我却恰恰相反；结果他居然高升到这种大出风头的地位，而我却无声无息，处境很惨。这家伙出头之后，气量一点也不大。他那艘轮船停靠在我们镇上的时候，他老是要故意找个锈了的铁栓来擦，而且他老是坐在靠岸的这边栏杆上面干；叫我们大家都能看得见他，又羡慕、又讨厌他。每逢他那艘轮船停得久一些的时候。他就一定回家来，穿

31、着那满身油泥、黑得要命的衣服，到镇上各处出风头，叫每个人都不能不想起他是个轮船上的水手；他谈起话来，还爱用轮船上各种各样的术语，好像他是说惯了那一套，忘记别人听不懂似的。他竟至谈到一匹马也说什么“左舷”，说得那么若无其事、自自然然；简直使人恨之入骨、他常常谈到“圣路易斯”；仿佛他是那儿的老住户似的；还信口提起一些过去的事情，说他“顺着四马路分走”呀，“路过场主饭店”呀；或者说有一次着了火，他在大密苏里号轮上亲手按了灭火机呀；然后他接着胡扯一阵，说是有多少个像我们这个镇那么大的村镇在那一天烧毁了。我们那些孩子当中有两三个早就受着大家的重视；因为他们曾经到圣路易斯去过一次，对于那里的新奇食物稍微知

32、道一个大概，可是现在他们的光荣时代已成过去了。他们从此自知没趣，再也不说话了，而且每逢这个毫不留情的机匠“崽子”走过来的时候，他们就知道赶快躲开。这家伙还有钱，头上抹发油。还有一只不中用的银壳表和一根看似很好的黄铜表链子。他系着一根皮腰带，而不用背带。假如有一个年轻小伙子一方面被人真心地羡慕，同时又遭人恨，那就是这个家伙。姑娘们没有一个能够抵挡他那股魔力。他把镇上所有的小伙子都“赛过”了。后来他那条船终于爆炸了，这个消息在我们当中就散布了一种幸灾乐祸的情绪，那是我们有好几个月不曾感觉过的。但是下一个星期他居然活着回家了，并且还出了名，浑身带伤、绑着绷带在礼拜堂出现，成了个出风头的英雄；人人都注

33、视着他，对他感到惊异，这时候我们就觉得老天对一个毫无价值的坏蛋的偏爱似乎是达到了一种应受批评的地步了。5. 这个家伙的走运只能产生一种结果，而且这种结果很快就出现了。孩子们一个又一个都想方设法到河上去。牧师的儿子也成了机匠、医生和邮政局的儿子都成了“排泥手”； 批发酒店老板的儿子成了一条船上酒巴间的掌柜；最大的商人的四个儿子和县里的法官的两个儿子都成了领航员。领航员是所有职位中最神气的一种、即便在当时那种工资微薄的年代，领航员的薪金也是特别高的 每月从150元到250元，还不花伙食钱。他两个月的薪金就够一个牧师一年的薪金了。这时候我们当中有些人都郁郁不乐的。我们不能到河上去干活 至少是我们的父

34、母不让我们去。6. 于是我不久就跑掉了。我说非到我当了领航员、能够得意荣归的时候，永远也不回家。可是不知怎么的，我却办不到。圣路易斯那个很长的码头上有许多船像沙丁鱼似挤在一起停靠着，我胆怯地走到几条船上去，低声下气地探寻船上的领航员，可是大副和职员们都对我摆出爱理不理的样子，几句话就把我打发了。我对他们这种态度，暂时只好极力容忍；可是我对将来却做着聊以自慰的白日梦，满心希望日后自己成为一个伟大的、受人尊敬的领航员，能有许多的钱；可以把这些大副和职员杀掉几个，出钱偿命了事。马克吐温的写作风格在哈克贝利费恩历险记中的表现 马克吐温是美国伟大的文学巨匠，是个多产的作家，专家和一般读者们都认为幽默和讽

35、刺是他的写作特点。而1884年发表的哈克贝利费恩历险记被公认为是他最优秀的作品。本文主要通过语言特色和人物思想变化的描写两个方面来阐述马克吐温的写作风格。马克吐温（Mark Twain，18351910）是美国著名的小说家，一生著述颇丰。他擅长使用幽默和讽刺，针砭时弊时一针见血，毫不留情，其创作将现实主义的刻画和浪漫主义的抒情和谐地统一。哈克贝利费恩历险记是马克吐温的代表作，也是美国文学史上一部影响深远的作品。小说的中心情节是讲白人孩子哈克和黑奴吉姆如何结下深厚友谊的故事。哈克为了逃避酒鬼父亲的虐待，逃到一个小岛上，巧遇逃奴吉姆，两人结伴而行，企图从密西西比河上逃往北方的自由州。哈克起先受反动

36、教育影响，觉得不应该帮逃奴的忙，后来在日日夜夜的漂流生活中，逐渐被吉姆的善良无私的性格所感动，表示宁肯冒着下地狱的危险，也要帮助吉姆得到自由。他们一路上历尽艰险，遭遇追捕、骗子的虐待以及各种自然灾害。在两人的同心协力下，所有艰险均被化解。最终，哈克在好朋友汤姆的帮助下救出了被骗子卖掉的吉姆，并得知女主人在遗嘱中已宣布解除吉姆的奴隶身份。从语言的特色方面来看：在哈克贝利费恩历险记中，哈克的历险途中遇到了两个人，一个自称“公爵”，另一个自称“国王”。他们用各自可怜的身世博得了吉姆和哈克的同情与尊敬。值得注意的是，当那个年轻的人让吉姆和哈克称他为勃里奇华特公爵时，和他称为伙伴的老头子却不知是有意还是

37、无意的称他为毕奇华特公爵。而对人物思想变化方面的描写，马克吐温更是将他高超的写作技巧和鲜明的写作风格表现到最好。首先，作者从哈克对黑奴即同情又戏弄写起。在一次意外的惊涛骇浪中，冲散了吉姆与哈克。哈克历经了被迷雾笼罩的恐惧；被急流掀翻的险境；时时听到吉姆的呼喊，却不见人的踪影当这场暴风雨拨云见日的时候，没有读者想象中的劫后余生的感人场面，而以哈克的戏谑取而代之。这也许正符合哈克的本性，同时也对吉姆的真情流露和哈克的追悔莫及做了铺垫。当吉姆明白哈克在戏弄他时说了这样一番话： “这个事情指的是什么吗？我要对你说的。我使劲的划，使劲喊你，累的没得命了。睡的时候，因为丢失了你，我心都碎了，对自己，对木筏

38、子，我也不放在心上了。一觉醒来，发现你可回来了，一切平安无事，我禁不住流出了眼泪，为了谢天谢地，我恨不得双膝跪下，吻你的脚。可是呀，你心里想的只是怎样编一个谎言来糊弄老吉姆” 吉姆的真情打动了哈克，他的内心也开始了反思：“我只觉得自己那么卑鄙，简直想伏下身来亲他的脚，求他收回刚才说的话。足足经过了十五分钟，我才鼓起勇气，在一个黑奴面前低头认错不过我总算认了错，并且从此以后，对此从没后悔过。” 这是哈克的内心表白过程。“太卑鄙了，恨不得用嘴亲亲他的脚”是作者运用了夸张的艺术手法产生的喜剧效果来描述哈克后悔时的心情。随后运用“足足”、“鼓足了”、“向一个黑奴”等这样的字眼来说明一个白人向黑人道歉是

39、一件多么困难的事，从而暴露出当时的美国种族歧视是如此的根深蒂固。即使一个白人家的穷孩子也认为向黑人道歉是一件不光彩的事，可见作者的用词是如此的尖锐。 “我的良心从我的心里煽起的火正越煽越旺，到后来，我对我自己的良心说：别在怪罪我吧还来得及呢一见灯光，我就划过去，上岸，去告发他于是我马上觉得满心舒坦，很高兴，身子轻得像一根羽毛似的。我所有的烦恼也都烟消云散了。” 在这一段对话中作者引用了如“越煽越旺”、“满心舒坦”、“羽毛似的”、“烟消云散”，一系列的词语，表达哈克此时的兴奋心理。哈克真的会因为出卖了吉姆而高兴吗？答案是否定的。作者之所以这样写，是利用正反颠倒的艺术手法产生强烈的喜剧效果，来讽刺

40、蓄奴制的根深蒂固所带来的影响。当危险真正到来的时候，哈克善良的天性重新占据他的思想，以船上躺有一个患天花的病人为由，骗走了一支捉拿奴隶的巡逻队。哈克的最终的选择也是其思想觉悟的再一次升华！ 最后，随着故事情节的推进，黑奴吉姆被拐卖到西拉斯-费尔贝斯，吉姆的逃亡生活似乎要终结了。当哈克得知这个消息后，思前想后，下定决心，写好了向吉姆主人华珍小姐告发的一封信，还觉得自己写了信后不在负罪了。就在哈克为自己迷途知返、改邪归正而感到庆幸的同时，吉姆的种种好处又显现在眼前。想起他们在一起唱歌、说笑、漂流的美好时光，哈克的思想又一次发生了变化。“我把纸捡了起来，拿在手里。我在发抖。因为我得在两条路中选择一条

41、，而且永远不能反悔。这是我深深知道的。我认真考虑了一分钟，并且几乎屏住了气考虑的，随后我对自己说：“那好吧，就让我去下地狱吧。这一段可以说是马克吐温的名篇中的名段。在看过的诸多的书目中，这一段历来是研究与评论的焦点之一。从全书的构思来看，也可以说是高潮所在。其人物的思想变化最为明显，颇具戏剧性。尤其那句“那好吧，就让我去下地狱吧。”让人深思。救人总归是件好事，无论那个人是奴隶还是凡人。当然也就更谈不到要下地狱之说。作者用这种幽默、不切实际的口吻生动的描写了哈克高尚情操的最终胜利。从上面的分析中我们可以看出哈克贝利费恩历险记是马克吐温现实主义创作中的一座高峰，他用毕生的经历为美国文坛和世界文坛留

42、下了一笔巨大而珍贵的文学财富。直到今天，我们依然拜读他的大作，依然能够领略他那善意的幽默和尖锐的讽刺，依然能够感受到他作品中的活力。Editors note: Judson Jones is a meteorologist, journalist and photographer. He has freelanced with CNN for four years, covering severe weather from tornadoes to typhoons. Follow him on Twitter: jnjonesjr (CNN) - I will always wonder w

43、hat it was like to huddle around a shortwave radio and through the crackling static from space hear the faint beeps of the worlds first satellite - Sputnik. I also missed watching Neil Armstrong step foot on the moon and the first space shuttle take off for the stars. Those events were way before my

44、 time.As a kid, I was fascinated with what goes on in the sky, and when NASA pulled the plug on the shuttle program I was heartbroken. Yet the privatized space race has renewed my childhood dreams to reach for the stars.As a meteorologist, Ive still seen many important weather and space events, but

45、right now, if you were sitting next to me, youd hear my foot tapping rapidly under my desk. Im anxious for the next one: a space capsule hanging from a crane in the New Mexico desert.Its like the set for a George Lucas movie floating to the edge of space.You and I will have the chance to watch a man

46、 take a leap into an unimaginable free fall from the edge of space - live.The (lack of) air up there Watch man jump from 96,000 feet Tuesday, I sat at work glued to the live stream of the Red Bull Stratos Mission. I watched the balloons positioned at different altitudes in the sky to test the winds,

47、 knowing that if they would just line up in a vertical straight line we would be go for launch.I feel this mission was created for me because I am also a journalist and a photographer, but above all I live for taking a leap of faith - the feeling of pushing the envelope into uncharted territory.The

48、guy who is going to do this, Felix Baumgartner, must have that same feeling, at a level I will never reach. However, it did not stop me from feeling his pain when a gust of swirling wind kicked up and twisted the partially filled balloon that would take him to the upper end of our atmosphere. As soo

49、n as the 40-acre balloon, with skin no thicker than a dry cleaning bag, scraped the ground I knew it was over.How claustrophobia almost grounded supersonic skydiverWith each twist, you could see the wrinkles of disappointment on the face of the current record holder and capcom (capsule communication

50、s), Col. Joe Kittinger. He hung his head low in mission control as he told Baumgartner the disappointing news: Mission aborted.The supersonic descent could happen as early as Sunday.The weather plays an important role in this mission. Starting at the ground, conditions have to be very calm - winds l

51、ess than 2 mph, with no precipitation or humidity and limited cloud cover. The balloon, with capsule attached, will move through the lower level of the atmosphere (the troposphere) where our day-to-day weather lives. It will climb higher than the tip of Mount Everest (5.5 miles/8.85 kilometers), dri

52、fting even higher than the cruising altitude of commercial airliners (5.6 miles/9.17 kilometers) and into the stratosphere. As he crosses the boundary layer (called the tropopause), he can expect a lot of turbulence.The balloon will slowly drift to the edge of space at 120,000 feet (22.7 miles/36.53

53、 kilometers). Here, Fearless Felix will unclip. He will roll back the door.Then, I would assume, he will slowly step out onto something resembling an Olympic diving platform.Below, the Earth becomes the concrete bottom of a swimming pool that he wants to land on, but not too hard. Still, hell be tra

54、veling fast, so despite the distance, it will not be like diving into the deep end of a pool. It will be like he is diving into the shallow end.Skydiver preps for the big jumpWhen he jumps, he is expected to reach the speed of sound - 690 mph (1,110 kph) - in less than 40 seconds. Like hitting the t

55、op of the water, he will begin to slow as he approaches the more dense air closer to Earth. But this will not be enough to stop him completely.If he goes too fast or spins out of control, he has a stabilization parachute that can be deployed to slow him down. His team hopes its not needed. Instead,

56、he plans to deploy his 270-square-foot (25-square-meter) main chute at an altitude of around 5,000 feet (1,524 meters).In order to deploy this chute successfully, he will have to slow to 172 mph (277 kph). He will have a reserve parachute that will open automatically if he loses consciousness at mac

57、h speeds.Even if everything goes as planned, it wont. Baumgartner still will free fall at a speed that would cause you and me to pass out, and no parachute is guaranteed to work higher than 25,000 feet (7,620 meters).It might not be the moon, but Kittinger free fell from 102,800 feet in 1960 - at the dawn of an infamous space race that captured the hearts of many. Baumgartner will attempt to break that record, a feat that boggles the mind. This is one of those monumental moments I will always remember, because there is no way Id miss this.