8月2日午间英语新闻：被困太空的美国宇航员返航日期仍未定

> Paris Olympics organizers say they meant no disrespect with 'Last Supper' tableau
巴黎奥组委为开幕式争议节目道歉

Paris Olympics organizers apologized to anyone who was offended by a tableau that evoked Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" during the glamorous opening ceremony, but defended the concept behind it Sunday.

周日（7月28日），巴黎奥组委为开幕式引发争议的还原了达芬奇名作《最后的晚餐》画面的节目道歉，但同时也为其背后的理念进行了辩护。

Religious conservatives from around the world decried the segment, with the French Catholic Church's conference of bishops deploring "scenes of derision" that they said made a mockery of Christianity — a sentiment echoed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. 

这段表演引发了世界各地宗教保守派不满。法国天主教会称，这个表演“包括嘲笑和嘲弄基督教的场景”。俄罗斯外交部发言人玛丽亚·扎哈罗娃也表达了同样的观点。

The Anglican Communion in Egypt expressed its "deep regret" Sunday, saying the ceremony could cause the IOC to "lose its distinctive sporting identity and its humanitarian message."

埃及圣公会对该开幕式的编排“深感遗憾”，称这可能会导致国际奥委会“失去其独特的体育身份和人道主义信息”。

"Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think (with) Thomas Jolly, we really did try to celebrate community tolerance," Anne Descamps said. "Looking at the result of the polls that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense we are, of course, really, really sorry."

巴黎奥运会发言人安娜·德康（Anne Descamps）表示：“很明显，我们从未想过要对任何宗教团体表示不敬。相反，我认为托马斯·若利确实是在努力展现社群的包容性。从我们分享的民意调查结果来看，我们相信这一愿望已经实现。如果有人感到任何冒犯，我们真的很抱歉。”

"My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock," Jolly said. "Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide."

艺术总监兼策划人托马斯·若利称：“我的愿望不是颠覆，也不是嘲笑或震惊。最重要的是，我想传递一种爱的信息，一种包容的信息，而不是分裂。”

重点词汇

1、decry
英/dɪˈkraɪ/
美/dɪˈkraɪ/
vt.责难，谴责；诽谤

2、segment
英/ˈseɡmənt/
美/ˈseɡmənt/
n.部分，片段

3、sentiment
英/ˈsentɪmənt/
美/ˈsentɪmənt/
n.观点，看法，情绪；多愁善感，伤感情绪

4、poll
英/pəʊl/
美/poʊl/
n.民意调查，民意测验

5、subversive
英/səbˈvɜːsɪv/
美/səbˈvɜːrsɪv/
adj.破坏性的；从事颠覆的

> NASA identifies Starliner problems but sets no date for return

被困太空的美国宇航员返航日期仍未确定

After weeks of troubleshooting and recent tests meant to replicate the issues plaguing Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, NASA and Boeing officials still aren't ready to name a return date for the two astronauts piloting the vehicle on its inaugural crewed test flight.

经过数周的故障排除和近期的测试后，美国宇航局和波音公司的官员仍未确定两名搭乘波音“星际客机”前往国际空间站的宇航员的返回日期。

But engineers do finally have some possible answers about what ultimately caused some of the Starliner's problems during the first leg of its trip, which included helium leaks and thrusters that abruptly quit working en route to the International Space Station.

不过，针对是什么导致了“星际客机”在第一段旅程中发生故障，包括氦泄漏和推进器在前往国际空间站的途中突然停止工作等问题，工程师们已经找到了一些可能的答案。

The revelations come after Boeing and NASA spent the past couple of weeks working to understand the problem on the ground and prompted plans for some additional testing this weekend, which should serve as "icing on the cake" for understanding the issues, said Mark Nappi, Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program manager.

波音商业载人航天计划项目经理马克·纳皮说，波音公司和美国国家航空航天局过去几周一直在努力了解问题，并计划在本周末进行一些额外的测试。

The findings also prompted Boeing and NASA to abandon plans to allow the astronauts to manually fly the Starliner spacecraft on the way home. "Some of the manual maneuvering put some extra stress on the thrusters," said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial crew program manager.

通过测试的发现，波音公司和美国国家航空航天局放弃了让宇航员在返航途中手动驾驶“星际客机”的计划。“一些手动操作给推进器带来了额外的压力。”美国国家航空航天局项目经理史蒂夫·施蒂奇说。

重点词汇

1、replicate
英/ˈreplɪkeɪt/
美/ˈreplɪkeɪt/
v.重复，复制；（遗传物质或生物）自我繁殖，自我复制；复证（实验或试验以得出一致的结果）

2、inaugural
英/ɪˈnɔːɡjərəl/
美/ɪˈnɔːɡjərəl/
adj.（演说）就职的，就任的；首次的，初始的
n.（尤指即将就任的美国总统的）就职演说

3、revelation
英/ˌrevəˈleɪʃ(ə)n/
美/ˌrevəˈleɪʃ(ə)n/
n.被揭示的真相，被揭露的内情；揭露，披露；

4、maneuver
英/məˈnuːvə(r)/
美/məˈnuːvər/
v.巧妙地移动；操纵，使花招；部署（军队、船只等）；演习

> Word of the day丨Beijing Central Axis
每日一词丨北京中轴线

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has included the Beijing Central Axis in its world heritage list. The Beijing Central Axis, initially established in the 13th century and formed in the 16th century, runs through the old city of Beijing from north to south. It has become the longest urban axis in the world today, spanning 7.8 km.

联合国教科文组织近日将“北京中轴线”列入《世界遗产名录》。“北京中轴线”纵贯北京老城南北，始建于13世纪，形成于16世纪，此后经不断演进发展，形成今天全长7.8公里、世界上最长的城市轴线。