BBC 6分钟英语学习 史上最孤独的人

English from BBC Learning

English. Hello, and welcome to Six minute English from BBC Learning English.

I'm Neil, and I'm Dogina. In this program, we're going to be talking about the astronaut who piloted the command module to take Neil Armstrong and Buzz alderin to walk on the moon.

Michael Collins, who sadly

passed away in 2021 at the age of 90, has been described as the loneliest man in history.

Yes, while Armstrong delivered his famous quote when taking the 1st steps on the lunar surface, and buzz followed soon after columns was left behind a circle the moon, tasked with a huge responsibility of getting the three pioneers, the 1st people, to do something back to Earth.

That's right. And many people over the years have wondered whether he was disappointed not to have walked on the moon.

How would you feel if you went all that way and didn't stand on the moon?

Georgina me personally, I probably be pretty devastated, but I think it depends on personality.

To be honest, I'd probably be too scared to go to the moon Anyway.

Yes, and just think about being in a space module together, trapped for all those hours.

It could create quite the sense of camaraderie, a friendship and trust formed by spending time together.

Or you could just drive each other crazy asking questions, which is what I'm going to do now.

Georgiana, I know how much you love animals.

And the 1st animal that went into space was a Russian dog in 1957.

But what was the dog's name?

A Arena D like her, or c Anastasia?

Well, I think I know this one be like her, and I believe, sadly, she didn't survive.

OK? Georgina will find out if that's right at the end of the program.

But let's talk more about Michael Collins and that famous trip to the moon that captured people's attention around the world.

Yes, I think one thing that has always interested me is the feeling of friendship, or as he said, camaraderie, that must have developed between those three explorers.

But perhaps surprisingly, in an interview with the BBC program hard Talk, colin said the close connection between the astronauts didn't develop until later.

We formed some some very strong bonds, but actually not really during the flight of Apollo Eleven, or even during the preparatory flight of the flight.

It was around the world trip that we took after the flight, when I uh, I came to know Neil better during our training in the 1st place, we had, we had not been a backup crew, as most a primary cruise had been, so we just got to know each other in the six months before the flight, which is a short period of time, so it wasn't really until afterwards that they formed those strong bonds, the connections between them, until on a trip around the world to talk about their experiences.

Six months sounds like a long time, but I suppose when you're preparing to become famous and go down in history, as they did, it doesn't need much time for personal interactions.

One of the sad things to take away is that everyone remembers Armstrong and Aldron, that sometimes Collins is seen as the forgotten man.

Yes, and he did say in the interview that he would have loved to walk on the moon, but he was very proud to be part of the team, as he was one of the trailblazers, a similar word to pioneer.

They most certainly were trailblazers. But imagine how he must have felt circling around the moon all alone.

Yes, a lot of people question columns afterwards, regarding the solitude, about which he had this to say in the same interview with BBC program Hard Talk.

Well, I when I returned to Earth, I was amazed, because most of the questions to me from the press centered on, you were the loneliest man in the whole lonely orbit around the lonely planet on a lonely evening?

And I felt, on the other hand, quite comfortable in my happy little home inside the command module Columbia.

I had been flying airplanes by myself for a number of years, so the fact I was aloft by myself was not anything new.

So it sounds like he appreciated the peace and quiet, and he felt used to it having been alone on flights.

Yes, while people talk about the two who walked on the moon, he must have experienced an incredible sense of peace while on the dark side of the moon, the 1st person ever to go there.

But now, georgina, let's get the answer to my question.

What was the name of the 1st animal, a dog, to go into space?

I said, like her, which is correct.

Well done. And you were right when you said that she sadly didn't survive the return to Earth.

While, speaking of dogs, I need to free mine soon.

So let's just recap some of the vocabulary we've discussed.

Yes, we had camaraderie, a sense of trust and

friendship after spending a long time together, and the creation of strong bonds or connections.

And if you're the 1st person to do something, you could be called a pioneer or even a trailblazer, which means the same thing.

And if you are the 1st person to do something, you could become famous and go down in history.

And finally, we spoke about the solitude, or state of being alone that Collins must have experienced.

Well, we are out of time for today.

We have plenty more six minute English programs to enjoy on our website at BBC learning english dot com.

Good Bye for now. Good Bye.

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