PART 1 Summary

Turning 30 in 2001, Musk began to revisit his entrenched childhood fantasies about rocket ships and space travel. His first move was the resettlement in Los Angeles, the cradle of aeronautics industry. Then his interactions with a string of space enthusiasts fanned his passion for space exploration and interplanetary travel. Musk thereby announced his own organization --- the Life to Mars Foundation --  with a strong desire to revitalize America's soul and bring hope to mankind.

With the help of Jim Cantrell, a former US government agent, Musk set off for Russia to buy a rocket. The trip turned out to be fruitless as the Russians rebuffed Musk's offering for two missiles. On the way back home, it struck Musk that they could build rockets on their own and undercut existing launch companies by building a modest-sized substitute.

While being mocked by the space community and suspected by his cohorts, Elon Musk, as always, didn't flinch. Tom Mueller's participation in the team was a god-sent gift for Musk. With the help of this possessed and experienced genius in rocket engineering and the affluent flow of money made from Paypal, the team began to blaze the trail.

PART 2 Expressions

Musk’s entire life had been about chasing a bigger stage, and Palo Alto seemed more like a stepping-stone than a final destination.

Stepping-stone to/toward(s): sth that helps you progress towards achieving sth

The course will be a stepping stone to another career.

类似表达： Springboard: sth that helps you to start doing sth

The TV soap has been a springboard for a lot of careers.

People with more heart viewed the unexciting job as a springboard to their true calling.

Musk’s first interactions with the aeronautics community were with an eclectic collection of space enthusiasts, members of a nonprofit group called the Mars Society.

[ɪˈklɛktɪk] adj.兼容并蓄的, including a mixture of many different things or people, especially so that you can use the best of all of them  SYN diverse

galleries with an eclectic range of styles and artists

an eclectic mixture of 18th and 19th century furniture

eclecticism (n,)

The eclecticism of the designs means it is difficult to define one overall look.

The collection of talent attending these sessions in 2001 was impressive.

(uncountable) a person or people with a natural ability or skill

Britain’s footballing talent

vs. A natural ability to do sth well (countable)

She showed a talent for acting at an early age.

类似表达： brain （countable）: someone who in intelligent with good ideas and useful skills

Some of our best brains are leaving the country to work in the US.

brain drain

Among other claims to fame, Cantrell had been accused of espionage and placed under house arrest in 1996 by the Russians after a satellite deal went awry.

claim to fame: The reason why someone or something is famous or well-known.

I've heard that name before—what's his claim to fame?

Jeff's big claim to fame is being on that reality show for one episode.

Her claim to fame is that she can recite the entire works of Shakespeare.

They also intimated that he didn’t have the money.

注：这里的读音是 [ˈɪntɪmeɪt], vs. 做adj. 和 n. (密友)时的读音为[ˈɪntɪmət]

to make people understand what you men without saying it directly.

intimate sth to sb/ intimate that...

He intimated, politely but firmly, that we were not welcome.

She had already intimated to me her wish to leave.

Just the year before, Andrew Beal, a real estate and finance whiz in Texas, folded his aerospace company after having poured millions into a massive test site.

(business) fold/ fold up

If an organization folds, it closes because it does not have money to continue

Musk knew he had found someone who really knew the ins and outs of making rockets.

The ins and outs of sth: all the facts and details of sth

The book guides you through the ins and outs of choosing and growing garden flowers.

in 做名词时的另外一层意思 a way of getting the opportunity to do sth or influence sb

The job is pretty boring, but it’s an in to a career in publishing.

PART 3 Thoughts

The next weekend, Mueller invited Musk to his house to continue their discussion. Musk knew he had found someone who really knew the ins and outs of making rockets. After that, Musk introduced Mueller to the rest of his roundtable of space experts and their stealthy meetings. The caliber of the people impressed Mueller, who had turned down past job offers from Beal and other budding space magnates because of their borderline insane ideas. Musk, by contrast, seemed to know what he was doing, weeding out the naysayers meeting by meeting and forming a crew of bright, committed engineers.

有句话叫“宁做鸡头，不做凤尾”，个人其实不太赞同这句话。就像文中的Mueller一样，一个优秀的团队才是最大的吸引力和资源。在一个自己一枝独秀的环境里，虽然能够满足自己的虚荣心和价值感，但是却很难使自己继续成长。相反的，在一个优秀的环境里，即使自己只是其中不起眼的一员，也能被身边的人所感染不断进步。