常春藤解析英語 43 Space Mysteries　太空搜密

Space Mysteries　太空搜密

by Kevin Lustig

The universe is a big place. In all of that space, humans have discovered many things that both fascinate and mystify us. Tune in to the National Geographic Channel this month to learn about some intriguing Space Mysteries.

When bright objects with long tails flew through the skies over the ancient world, people were often terrified. Now when we see these impressive lights in the sky, we know they aren't omens of disaster, but comets. Of course, comets are more than just beautiful displays in the sky. The water they hold may someday be used to support human space exploration. NASA's Deep Impact project crashed a spacecraft into one of these balls of rock and ice to discover more about the secrets of Comets.

When we look up into the night sky, what we see is just a fraction of all of the bodies in space. It takes powerful telescopes to see much of what's out there. However, even the most powerful telescope can't see black holes. These are dark points in the universe where the gravity is so strong that even light can't escape. By simulating these mysterious objects on computers, scientists are learning about the many ways in which the universe relies on Black Holes.

There is a lot of debate about the existence of aliens. If they are real, the people at the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) will probably know about it first. This group of scientists and amateur astronomers are searching the skies for evidence of alien life. To do it, they're using huge collections of satellite dishes and advanced computing power. Today, this technology continues mankind's decades-old search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.

Think you know a lot about outer space? There may be more going on out there than you think. Let the National Geographic Channel show you some of the most incredible, unexpected parts of our universe in Space Mysteries.

1. According to the article, what is true about the universe?

(A) There are many things about it we don't understand.

(B) It's too big for us to possibly learn about.

(C) We can see that it's filled with black holes.

(D) It doesn't contain any intelligent creatures besides humans.

2. In the ancient world, comets were thought of as ______.

(A) animals with long tails

(B) balls of rock and ice

(C) sources of water in space

(D) signs of bad future events

3. Which of the following is NOT true about black holes?

(A) They are invisible to even powerful telescopes.

(B) Their gravity is too minor to detect from Earth.

(C) Scientists can imitate them on computers.

(D) They are important in the universe's structure.

4. Why will SETI probably find out about alien life first?

(A) They know exactly where aliens can be found.

(B) They have known of their existence for many years.

(C) They are searching for aliens with advanced technology.

(D) They have captured an alien spacecraft.

精解字詞詞組

1. mystify vt. 使迷惑

例: The ancient writing continues to mystify researchers.

(這份古老的文獻仍讓研究人員摸不著頭緒。)

2. tune in to + 頻道　　轉到……頻道

例: Tune in to RockTV for more of your favorite music videos.

(請轉到 RockTV 收看更多你喜歡的音樂錄像帶。)

3. impressive a. 令人印象深刻的

impress vt. 使印象深刻

impression n. 印象

be impressed with...　　對……印象深刻

make a good/bad impression on sb　　給某人留下好∕壞印象

例: The singer's performance was very impressive.

(這位歌手的演出令人印象深刻。)

例: I was impressed with your resume, and I'd like to offer you a job.

(我對你的履歷印象深刻，所以想請你來上班。)

例: Frank really wanted to make a good impression on his girlfriend's parents.

(法蘭克很想給女朋友的雙親留下好印象。)

4. display n. 展示;陳列

on display　　展出中

= on exhibition

例: The world's first airplane is on display at this museum.

(史上第一架飛機正在這座博物館展出。)

5. crash A into B　　使 A 撞上 B

crash into...　　撞上……

例: I crashed my car into a pole when I turned to wave at the pretty girl.

(當我轉頭向那個美眉揮手時，車子撞上了電線桿。)

例: Luckily, nobody was injured when the car crashed into the restaurant.

(還好，車子撞進餐廳時沒有造成任何人員受傷。)

6. a fraction of...　　一點點∕一小部分……

fraction n. 少量，一點點

例: Billy has done only a fraction of his homework.

(比利只完成一小部分的家庭作業(yè)。)

7. simulate vt. 模擬

例: Pilots are trained on computers that simulate real flight.

(飛行員受訓時利用計算機仿真實際飛行。)

8. existence n. 存在

come into existence　　產生;出現

= come into being

例: Our organization came into existence 20 years ago.

(本機構創(chuàng)立于二十年前。)

9. advanced a. 先進的

advance n. 前進

in advance　　預先，事前(= beforehand)

例: Please tell me in advance if you're coming to visit me.

(如果你要來找我，請事先告訴我。)

10. unexpected a. 意想不到的

unexpectedly adv. 意想不到地

例: Ed unexpectedly won the spelling bee even though he didn't practice.

(雖然賽前沒有練習，艾德卻出乎意料拿下拼字比賽的冠軍。)

11. be thought of as...　　被認為(是)……

= be looked upon as...

= be regarded as...

= be viewed as...

= be seen as...

例: Around the world, California is thought of as the perfect vacation spot.

(加州被視為全世界最棒的渡假圣地。)

12. be invisible/visible to...　　對……是看不見∕看得見的

例: Bacteria are invisible to us, but they can have a big impact on our lives.

(雖然我們看不見細菌，它們對我們的生活卻影響甚巨。)

單字小鋪

1. universe n. 宇宙

2. intriguing a. 令人好奇的

3. omen n. 預兆

4. comet n. 彗星

5. exploration n. 探索

6. spacecraft n. 宇宙飛船(單復數同形)

= spaceship n.

7. telescope n. 望遠鏡

8. black hole n. 黑洞

9. gravity n. 地心引力

10. escape vi. 逃脫;逃離

11. alien n. 外星人 & a. 外星人的

12. extra-terrestrial n. 外星生物 & a. 地球以外的

13. intelligence n. 智力，智慧

14. amateur a. 業(yè)余的

professional a. 專業(yè)的

15. astronomer n. 天文學家

16. satellite dish n. 碟形衛(wèi)星天線

17. incredible a. 難以置信的

18. imitate vt. 模仿

19. structure n. 結構

20. capture vt. 奪取;捕捉

詞組小鋪

1. rely on...　　仰賴∕依靠……

= depend on...

2. be filled with...　　充滿……

= be full of...

3. know of...　　知曉……;聽說過……

中文翻譯&標準答案

宇宙浩瀚無涯，在這廣大的空間中，人類已經發(fā)現許多既迷人又神秘的事物。請收看本月份的國家地理頻道，一睹令人好奇的《太空搜密》系列節(jié)目。

在古代，當拖著長尾巴的發(fā)光體劃過天際，常引起人們的恐慌。現在看到天空中出現這奪目的光體時，我們知道這是彗星飛過，而不是災難發(fā)生的預兆。當然，彗星不只是空中炫麗的景觀，它們夾帶的水氣也許有一天可以供應人類從事太空探險所需的水源補給。美國航天總署的 Deep Impact 計劃發(fā)射了一艘宇宙飛船，去撞擊一顆巖石和冰所組成的球體以發(fā)現更多關于《彗星》的秘密。

當我們仰望夜空，所窺見的不過是滄海一粟，需要高倍數望鏡才能看得更多。然而，就算是透過最高倍數的望遠鏡，我們也無法看見黑洞。它們是存在宇宙中的黑點，其引力大到連光線都無可避免被吸入。藉由計算機仿真這些謎樣的物體，科學家逐漸了解許多宇宙依賴《黑洞》的地方。

外星人是否存在有諸多爭議。如果真有外星人，SETI(尋找外層空間高等生物計劃)的人應該會最先知道。這個團體由科學家和業(yè)余天文愛好者所組成，他們試圖找出太空中有外星生物的證據，為此，他們運用大量的碟形衛(wèi)星天線和先進的計算機科技。今日，這些科技被用來繼續(xù)人類數十年來尋找《外層空間高等生物》的工作。

你以為自己夠了解外層空間了?也許還有更多你所不知道的等待發(fā)掘。就讓國家地理頻道的《太空搜密》，為你呈現一些宇宙中最令人難以置信且意想不到的部分。

1. 根據本文，下列關于宇宙的敘述何者為真?

(A) 我們對它還有很多不了解的地方。

(B) 宇宙太大，我們不可能了解它。

(C) 我們可以看見宇宙中充滿黑洞。

(D) 除了人類，宇宙中沒有其它有智慧的生物。

題解: 綜觀全文，可知我們對宇宙還有很多不了解的地方，故選 (A)。

2. 在古代，彗星被視為 _____。

(A) 長尾巴的動物

(B) 由巖石和冰組成的球體

(C) 太空中的水源

(D) 即將發(fā)生壞事的前兆

題解: 根據第二段，古代人看見彗星飛過會感到恐慌，因為他們認為那是壞事發(fā)生的預兆，故選 (D)。

3. 下列關于黑洞的敘述何者為非?

(A) 我們用高倍望遠鏡也看不到黑洞。

(B) 他們的引力小到從地球無法偵測。

(C) 科學家可以用計算機仿真黑洞。

(D) 它們是宇宙的重要構造。

題解: 根據第三段，黑洞的引力大到連光線都無可避免被吸進去，故 (B) 的敘述錯誤。

4. 為什么 SETI 可能最先發(fā)現有外星人的存在?

(A) 他們知道究竟哪里可以找到外星人。

(B) 他們知道有外星人存在已經許多年了。

(C) 他們利用高科技尋找外星人。

(D) 他們已經擄獲一艘外星人的宇宙飛船。

題解: 根據第四段，SETI 不斷利用最先進的計算機科技找尋外星人，故選 (C)。

標準答案: 1. (A)　2. (D)　3. (B)　4. (C)