“天宫课堂”正式开讲！这可能是你看到的“网课天花板”

“天宫课堂”正式开讲！这可能是你看到的“网课天花板”

Chinese astronauts conducted a science lecture 400 kilometers above Earth to millions of students on Thursday afternoon, as they orbited in the Tiangong space station.

12月9日下午，神州十三号乘组航天员在离地球400公里的天宫空间站里，为数百万学生开了一堂科学网课。

Major General Zhai Zhigang, Senior Colonel Wang Yaping and Senior Colonel Ye Guangfu, all members of the Shenzhou XIII mission crew, greeted students, teachers and other participants when the lecture started at 3:54 pm. They showed viewers how they live and work inside the space station, which currently consists of a core module, a spacecraft and two robotic cargo spaceships.

15点54分，网课开始，神舟十三号飞行乘组航天员翟志刚、王亚平、叶光富向所有学生、老师和其他参与者问好。航天员展示介绍了在轨工作、生活的场景。天宫空间站目前包括一个核心舱、一艘载人飞船与两艘货运飞船。

The astronauts displayed their exercise equipment and a specially designed space suit, and conducted demonstrations on physical phenomena in microgravity, such as "disappearing buoyancy" and a "water ball". Ye, who is on his first spaceflight, showed how he rotated his body in the weightless environment. The astronauts also answered questions from students during the lecture.

三位航天员展示了他们的运动设备以及特制的“企鹅服”，演示了微重力环境下“浮力消失”、“水成球”等神奇的物理现象。首次航天旅行的航天员叶光富还向大家展示如何在失重状态下转身。三位宇航员还回答了学生们提出的各种问题。

Tens of millions of primary and middle school students across China watched the hourlong televised event hosted by the China Manned Space Agency, the Ministry of Education and other government departments.

“天宫课堂”共66分钟，由中国载人航天局、教育部与其他政府部门主办，全国各地数千万名中小学生参与观看。

A total of 1,420 invited students in Beijing; Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region; Wenchuan, Sichuan province; and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions were present at "ground class venues", with some taking part in video chats with the crew members during the lecture.

北京市的中国科技馆为地面主课堂，有1420名学生受邀参加。此外，在广西南宁、四川汶川、香港、澳门等地设置了地面分课堂，航天员们通过视频通话与地面课堂师生开展实时互动交流。

It was the first lecture of the Tiangong Class, or Heavenly Palace Class, China's first extraterrestrial lecture series to popularize space science.

“天宫课堂”是国内首部太空科普教育系列课程，此次太空授课是“天宫课堂”的第一课。

More lectures will be held based on the country's manned spaceflights and will also be presented by Chinese astronauts, the manned space agency said. Such activities are intended to spread knowledge about manned spaceflights and spark enthusiasm for science among young people, it added.

载人航天局表示，将结合本国载人航天飞行任务，推出多期“天宫课堂”课程，由中国航天员担任“太空教师”，弘扬载人航天知识，激发青年对科学的热情。

Shi Yi, deputy head of teaching and a physics teacher at the Beijing No 101 Middle School, said the space lecture was an eye-opening experience that would ignite students' interest in science.

北京一零一中学物理组教研组长、物理教师史艺表示，“天宫课堂”很有启发性，激发了学生探究科学的兴趣。

Wang Yihan, a fifth-grade student at the Yuxin School Attached to Capital Normal University, said: "The astronauts' experiments really intrigued and surprised me. I have great interest in spaceflight and would like to take part in our country's space exploration program in the future."

来自首都师范大学附属育新学校一位五年级学生说：“航天员做的实验很有趣，好神奇。我觉得太空航天都非常有趣，以后我也想加入中国的太空探索计划。”

Vincent Wong Wai-shing, deputy principal of Hong Kong's Pui Kiu College, said after watching the lecture that the event gave Hong Kong students an opportunity to communicate with the astronauts while stimulating their interest in space and science.

香港培侨书院副校长黄腾达表示，此次活动为香港学生提供了一个与宇航员交流的窗口，也激发了学生对太空和科学的兴趣。

"It also helped to enhance their sense of national identity as they saw the rapid development of our country's space technology," he said.

他补充说，“这也有助于增强学生们的民族认同感，因为他们看到了我国太空技术的飞速发展”。

microgravity

英 [ˈmaɪkrəʊˌɡrævɪtɪ]；美[ˈmaɪkroʊˌɡrævɪtɪ]  

n. 微重力

weightless

英 [ˈweɪtləs]；美[ˈweɪtləs]  

adj. 失重的；无重量的

extraterrestrial

英 [ˌekstrətəˈrestriəl]；美[ˌekstrətəˈrestriəl]  

adj. 外星的；宇宙的；外星球的

n.天外来客，外星生物

intrigue

英 [ˈɪntriːɡ]；美[ˈɪntriːɡ]  

v.激起兴趣；密谋