Dialogue

JACK, ARNOLD, YOLANDA, and MOLLY are sitting in a cafe having a cup of coffee together.)

YOLANDA: Where did you and Jack meet, Arnold?

ARNOLD: We were classmates at City University, but I dropped out¹ a year ago to play music.

YOLANDA: When are you going to finish your degree, Jack?

JACK: In two years.

YOLANDA: Astronomy is an unusual field. What are you going to do with your degree – teach?

JACK: Yes, I think so.

MOLLY: I think astronomy is fascinating. I guess you know a lot about the space program too. You know, I can never forget the Challenger accident². Did you follow all the news on it the way I did? Wasn't that a terrible tragedy?

JACK: It sure was. The Challenger blew up, and with it we lost seven astronauts and a lot of our confidence in the space program.

YOLANDA: You're right. I guess everybody watched and read every piece of news on the Challenger. The news showed the explosion over and over again.

MOLLY: Tell me something, Jack. I know the old stereotype about how men aren't supposed to cry. Were your eyes dry when you watched the news, or did you cry too? I know my eyes sure weren't dry.

JACK: Yeah, I cried. I felt really bad for the family and the students of that schoolteacher who was on board.

ARNOLD: She wasn't even an astronaut.

MOLLY: When did they start allowing nonastronauts on the shuttle?

JACK: I don't know when exactly, but I know that a senator³ and a congressman⁴ went on previous trips.

YOLANDA: What exactly was the cause of the explosion? Was something the matter with the rocket boosters?⁵

¹ Drop out means «to leave school before graduation».

² The Challenger accident: The space shuttle Challenger exploded on January 29, 1986.

³ A senator is a member of the U.S. Congress; each state elects two senators to the Senate.

⁴ A congressman is a member of the U.S. Congress: each state elects representatives to the House of Representatives. States with larger populations have more representatives.

⁵ Rocket boosters are rockets used to launch the space shuttle.

JACK: Yes. The O-ring seals⁶ on the rocket boosters didn'twork right because the weather was colder than usual. Some hot gases escaped and caused the explosion.

ARNOLD: Well, that sure was a terrible setback⁷, but the space program got back on its feet fairly soon.⁸ NASA⁹ was much more careful with the next space shuttle, Discovery.

MOLLY: You know it! Much, much more.