Sputnik moment

名词 n.
中文释义
英 /ˈspʊtnɪk ˈməʊmənt/|/ˈspʌtnɪk ˈməʊmənt/    美 /ˈspʊtnɪk ˈmoʊmənt/|/ˈspʌtnɪk ˈmoʊmənt/

英文释义

名词 n.
  1. The moment when a country or a society realizes that it needs to catch up with apparent technological and scientific developments made by some other country or countries by increasing its investment into education, innovative research and development, etc.
    — Immediately after September 11, 2001, Americans found themselves again facing a Sputnik moment. They realized that they were caught flat-footed, unprepared to confront Al Qaeda terrorists.

词形变化

Sputnik moments plural

词源

A reference to the Soviet Union's launch of the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite Sputnik 1 in 1957 which caught the US unprepared. The event ignited the Space Race during the Cold War, and led to the US successfully launching Explorer 1 into space in 1958.
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