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In this way we can build a power station in space, something that will expose a large area of solar cells to sunlight. These will absorb sunlight and turn it into electricity. Electricity can then be turned into microwaves which can be beamed down to Earth. On Earth the microwaves can be turned into electricity again.
用这种办法，我们可以在太空建造一座发电站，那就是把一大块太阳能电池板，曝晒在阳光里，这些电池吸收太阳光，并将其转换为电能。电能再进而转换为可以射向地球的微波，这些微波到了地球上又能重新转换为电能。
In the same way, we can build computerized factories in space. These factories can make use of the properties of space — high and low temperatures, lots of good vacuum and no gravity. We can build laboratories and observatories （气象台）,too.
我们还能用同样的方法，在太空中建造电脑化的工厂。这些工厂可以利用外层空间的各种特性——高温与低温，大量的优质真空，而且一无重力。我们还能建造实验室与观察站。
Most of all we can build large spaceships. Here on Earth, spaceships have to consist mostly of huge fuel tanks. That's because it takes so much fuel to lift the spaceship off the surface of the Earth and through the atmosphere. Out in space, high above the Earth, there is no atmosphere, and Earth's gravitational pull is much weaker. Less fuel will be needed, so a large part of the ship can be used for the crew. These large ships can go to the Moon far more easily and cheaply than the old—fashioned rockets that left from the Earth.
最重要的是，我们能建造大型的宇宙飞船。在地球上，飞船船体大半是让大型的燃料箱占用了。那是因为它要携带那么多的燃料，才能使飞船从地球上升起，并穿越大气层。而在外层空间，在远离地球的上空，没有大气层，地球的引力也微弱得多，因此需要的燃料也就少了，飞船的很大一部分可以供工作人员使用。让这些大型飞船去月球，比用老式火箭飞离地球要容易、便宜得多。
A mining station can be set up on the Moon. The Moon's crust contains all the minerals we will need to build structures. It can be used to manufacture metal, concrete, soil, and glass — all in space. We won't have to use Earth's resources, which will always be badly needed on Earth itself.
在月球上，能建造一座采矿站。月球的地壳内，含有我们建造各类建筑所需要的各种矿物质，可以用来制造金属、混凝土、泥土和玻璃而且全是在太空中制造的。我们将无须使用这些地球本身始终亟需的资源。
