Sputnik moment
/ˈspʊtnɪk ˈməʊmənt//ˈspʊtnɪk ˈmoʊmənt/
词源说明
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.
释义
名词noun
- 1The 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.