China to Help Europe Develop GPS1 Rival
China is to contribute to a new global satellite navigation system being developed by European nations. The Galileo satellite system2 ____1____ a more accurate civilian alternative3 to the Global Positioning System (GPS)， operated by the US military. China will provide 230m Euros (USD 259m)4 in ___2___and will cooperate with technical， manufacturing and market development. “China will help Galileo to ____3_____ the major world infrastructure for the growing market for location services，” said Loyola de Palacio， EU transport commissioner.
A new center that will coordinate co-operation was also announced __4___ the European Commission5， the European Space Agency (ESA)6 and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology not long ____5____. The China-Europe Global Navigation Satellite System Technical Training and Cooperation Center will be ___6____ at Beijing University. China has a substantial satellite launch industry and could potentially help launch the Galileo satellites.
The US has claimed that Galileo could interfere____7____ the US ability to downgrade the GPS service during military conflicts. European officials say this is unfounded and counter that US opposition ____8___ the commercial challenge Galileo would present to GPS. Galileo will be precise to within a meter， while the civilian GPS service is accurate to around 10 meters.
The Galileo satellite constellation7 will ____9____ 27 operational and three reserve satellites orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 23，600 km. The satellites will be strung8 along three medium-Earth orbits at 56 degrees inclination to the equator and will provide global coverage. The system should be operational by 2008 and the entire project is expected to ___10___ around 3.2 billion Euros (USD 3.6 billion)。
The European Commission has said Galileo will primarily be used for transportation technology， scientific research， land management and disaster monitoring.
Galileo will provide two signals; a standard civilian one and an encrypted， wide-band signal ___11___ the Public Regulated Service (PRS)9. This second signal is designed to withstand localized jamming and will be used by police and military services in Europe. European Commission ____12_____ have said China will not be given access to the PRS10.
The first Galileo satellite is scheduled to launch late in 2004. Clocks on board11 the _____13____ will be synchronized12 through 20 ground sensors stations， two command centers and 15 uplink stations.
Receivers on the ground will use time signals from the satellites to precisely calculate their ____14____. A “search and rescue” function will also ____15____ distress signals13 be relayed through the constellation of satellites.
词汇：
infrastructure n.基础结构，基础设施
encrypt v.轨把……编码
withstand v.抵挡；经受住
downgrade v.使降级
jam v.(信号)干扰
unfounded adj.无事实根据的
sensor n. 传感器；敏感元件
constellation n. (卫星)群集
uplink n.(从地球到通讯卫星的)上行线路，向上传输
inclination n.倾斜
注释：
1. GPS： Global Positioning System全球定位系统
2.the Galileo satellite system：伽利略人造卫星系统。指以意大利物理学家和天文学家伽利略(1564一1642)命名的人造卫星系统。
3.A more accurate civilian alternative：一种更精确的民用系统。alternative：另一种选择。这里是相对美国军用卫星导航系统而言的民用系统。alternative可以与to连用，又如：1 wanted to go out，but I had no money. I had no alternative to staying at home.我想出去，可是没钱：只能呆在家里。
4. 230m Euros(USD 259m)：230 million Euros(USD 259 million)：二亿三千万欧元(二亿五千九百万美元)。Euro欧元。USD美元。
5.the European Commission：欧洲贸易委员会6.European Space Agency (ESA)：欧洲航天局7.the Galileo satellite constellation：伽利略人造卫星群8.strung： string的过去分词形式，意思是：to arrange in a string or series使排成一行或一系列。
9.the Public Regulated Service (PRS)：公共调控服务系统10. China will not be given access to the PRS：中国无权使用公共调控服务系统。access to：有权使用11. on board：在船上，在公共交通工具内(in or on a ship or public vehicle)。又如：We went on board the ship.我们登上了轮船。
12. Clocks…will be synchronized： 钟表将与……时间同步
13. distress signals：遇难信号
练习：
1. A) offer B) offered C) will offer D) has offered
2. A) funding B) providing C) paying D) charging
3. A) build B) use C) become D) do
4. A) in B) at C) on D) by
5. A) before B) ago C) after D) later
6. A) found B) produced C) positioned D) located
7. A) with B) for C) about D) above
8. A) results in B) gives rise to C) is due to D) causes
9. A) be made from B) consist of C) consist in D) be consisted of
10. A) spend B) gain C) give D) cost
11. A) offered B) called C) used D) turned
12. A) officials B) countries C) organization D) agreement
13. A) / B) the satellite C) the satellites D) satellites
14. A) speed B) direction C) distance D) location
15. A) send B) let C) allow D) transmit