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当前位置:首页 -> 9级英语阅读 - > 日本企业将为富人打造人工流星雨
日本企业将为富人打造人工流星雨
添加时间:2018-03-29 17:18:21 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • To glimpse a meteor shower, sometimes you've got to wake up in the middle of the night, bundle up against frigid1 cold, and wait many minutes or hours. All to see a streak2 of light, a piece of space that crosses briefly3 into our world.

    为了看一场流星雨,有时候你得在深更半夜起床,忍受着刺骨的寒冷,等待数十分钟甚至数小时。这一切都只是为了看一道光,看一块和地球不期而遇的太空碎片。

    Soon, though, all you may need is enough cash.

    不过,在不久的以后,看流星所需的可能只是足够的钱。

    A Japanese "space entertainment firm" called Astro Live Experiences (ALE) says it will launch its first satellite in 2019 to create artificial meteor showers on demand, for large events or at the whim4 of the wealthiest among us.

    日本一家名为天文直播体验(缩写为ALE)的“太空娱乐公司”称,它将在2019年发射首颗能够按需制造人工流星雨的人造卫星。这些流星雨可能是为大型活动制造,也可能为了某个富豪的一个念头。

    Though ALE hasn't named a specific price per event, BuzzFeed News suggests each ALE meteor shower will likely cost several million dollars.

    尽管ALE公司还没有给人造流星雨定价,但BuzzFeed新闻网站指出,ALE制造的每一场流星雨可能将耗资数百万美元。

    According to cnn, ALE "meteors" will be small metallic5 pellets made of a proprietary6 composition that glows orange, blue, or green as they burn up in the atmosphere.

    据cnn报道,ALE公司的“流星”将会是用独家成分制造的小金属球,在大气中燃烧时会发出橙色、蓝色或绿色的光。

    Yet unlike ordinary meteors, which are usually around the size of a sand grain, ALE's fake shooting stars will be substantially bigger - around two centimeters in diameter (smaller than a ping-pong ball, but slightly larger than a marble) - and released in a cloud.

    不过,不同的是,普通流星一般是沙粒那么大,而ALE的人造流星将会大得多——直径约为2厘米(比乒乓球小,但比弹珠略大些),而且是在云层中释放。

    Experts have raised concerns that this could threaten low-orbiting spacecraft7.

    专家指出,这可能会威胁低轨道航天器的安全。这一论述引发了人们的担忧。

    "I salute8 them for cleverness and for their technical expertise9, but from an orbital debris10 standpoint, it's not a great idea," University of Michigan astronomer11 Patrick Seitzer told BuzzFeed.

    密歇根大学的天文学家帕特里克·赛策尔告诉BuzzFeed网站说:“我欣赏他们的机智和专业技术,但从轨道碎片的角度看,这不是个好主意。”

    Moving at high speeds brought on by Earth's gravity, a 2 centimeter-wide object is more than enough to shoot right through a metal spacecraft - and leave devastation12 in its wake.

    当一个2厘米宽的物体在地球引力作用下高速运转时,产生的力量足以射穿一个金属太空飞船,并留下破坏性后果。

    ALE seems to be taking steps to ensure this would be an unlikely event.

    ALE公司似乎正在采取行动预防这种情况的发生。

    ALE's satellite would likely orbit just below the International Space Station to avoid collisions; any pellet that ALE's satellite releases will go from an altitude of 220 miles (354 km) to about 37 miles (59.5 km) above the surface before burning up.

    ALE的人造卫星会在国际空间站下方绕轨道运行以避免相撞;ALE的人造卫星所释放的任何金属球都会从地表以上220英里(354千米)的高度下降到37英里(59.5千米)的高度才会开始燃烧。

    Rodenbaugh told BuzzFeed that only 40 other satellites orbit below 220 miles, and that the company would call off any event that would put their artificial meteors close to a tracked satellite.

    罗登堡告诉BuzzFeed网站,只有40颗其他人造卫星在220英里以下的高度绕轨道运行,如果人造流星雨的位置离可追踪卫星太近,公司会取消流星雨计划。

    Yet fake meteor showers could still impact spy satellites, which are not tracked and can dip as low as 158 miles.

    尽管如此,人造流星雨仍然会对间谍卫星产生影响,因为这些卫星无法追踪,而且会在低至158英里(254千米)的高度运行。

    Low-earth orbit (that is, anything under 2,000 km from the Earth's surface) is also slated13 to become a lot busier in the coming years, Seitzer told Buzzfeed.

    赛策尔告诉BuzzFeed网站说,近地轨道(距离地表2000千米以内)在未来也将变得更加繁忙。

    Indeed, there are plans in the works that suggest low-earth orbit is about to become a lot more crowded. SpaceX and other companies plan to send up a number of satellites to establish satellite-based internet services; SpaceX alone plans to put over 4,000 of them between 700 and 900 miles (1,100 and 1,400 kilometers).

    目前正在实施的计划显示,近地轨道确实将变得更拥挤。SpaceX和其他公司计划发送多颗人造卫星来建立基于卫星的网络服务;SpaceX公司还计划将4000多颗卫星放在700至900英里间的高度(1100到1400千米之间)。

    There are also the high-speed rockets and space planes that companies plan to fill with tourists, and low-altitude spacecraft that the military wants to use to deliver yet more satellites.

    多个公司还计划让游客乘坐高速火箭和航天飞机上天,军方则希望通过低空飞行器运送更多卫星。

    Add thousands of falling metal pellets to the 500,000 pieces of man-made debris we already know circle our planet, and the risk for any of these spacecraft becomes significantly higher.

    在已知环绕地球的50万个人造碎片之外,再添加数千个坠落的金属球,将会大大增加所有这些航天器所面临的风险。

    Call us purists, but artificially creating shooting stars also overlooks what makes meteor showers so incredible in the first place: that you never know exactly when you're going to see them.

    叫我们纯粹主义者也罢,但是人造流星的创造者们忽视了流星雨如此可贵的最初原因:那就是你永远不能确切地知道你什么时候能看见它们。

    Paying for a manufactured one doesn't exactly have the same thrill. (May we humbly14 suggest you instead use your considerable wealth to address the problem of light pollution, so that more people could see natural shooting stars?)

    付钱让人制造一场流星雨并不能引发同样的震撼。(容我们建议,你还不如用你的巨额财产来解决光污染问题,好让更多人能看到自然的流星。)

    Creating a space hazard simply to provide a cheap imitation of a natural wonder seems to be missing the point.

    给太空制造安全隐患,只为了蹩脚地模仿自然奇观,似乎完全抓错了重点。

     9级    英语新闻 


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    1 frigid [ˈfrɪdʒɪd] TfBzl   第9级
    adj.寒冷的,凛冽的;冷淡的;拘禁的
    参考例句:
    • The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long. 水冰冷彻骨,他在下面呆不了太长时间。
    • She returned his smile with a frigid glance. 对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。
    2 streak [stri:k] UGgzL   第7级
    n.条理,斑纹,倾向,少许,痕迹;v.加条纹,变成条纹,奔驰,快速移动
    参考例句:
    • The Indians used to streak their faces with paint. 印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
    • Why did you streak the tree? 你为什么在树上刻条纹?
    3 briefly [ˈbri:fli] 9Styo   第8级
    adv.简单地,简短地
    参考例句:
    • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem. 我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
    • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group. 他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
    4 whim [wɪm] 2gywE   第9级
    n.一时的兴致,突然的念头;奇想,幻想
    参考例句:
    • I bought the encyclopedia on a whim. 我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
    • He had a sudden whim to go sailing today. 今天他突然想要去航海。
    5 metallic [məˈtælɪk] LCuxO   第7级
    adj.金属的;金属制的;含金属的;产金属的;像金属的
    参考例句:
    • A sharp metallic note coming from the outside frightened me. 外面传来尖锐铿锵的声音吓了我一跳。
    • He picked up a metallic ring last night. 昨夜他捡了一个金属戒指。
    6 proprietary [prəˈpraɪətri] PiZyG   第9级
    n.所有权,所有的;独占的;业主
    参考例句:
    • We had to take action to protect the proprietary technology. 我们必须采取措施保护专利技术。
    • Proprietary right is the foundation of jus rerem. 所有权是物权法之根基。
    7 spacecraft [ˈspeɪskrɑ:ft] TwowV   第7级
    n.太空船,宇宙飞船
    参考例句:
    • There're three astronauts in the spacecraft. 在这艘宇宙飞船里有三名宇航员。
    • The spacecraft rounded the moon. 宇宙飞船环绕月球飞行。
    8 salute [səˈlu:t] rYzx4   第7级
    vi.行礼,致意,问候,放礼炮;vt.向…致意,迎接,赞扬;n.招呼,敬礼,礼炮
    参考例句:
    • Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag. 商船互相点旗致敬。
    • The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome. 这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。
    9 expertise [ˌekspɜ:ˈti:z] fmTx0   第7级
    n.专门知识(或技能等),专长
    参考例句:
    • We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes. 他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
    • You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough. 你真正在专业技术上有了一个全新的突破。
    10 debris [ˈdebri:] debris   第8级
    n.瓦砾堆,废墟,碎片
    参考例句:
    • After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere. 轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
    • Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth, causing decay. 细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上,导致蛀牙。
    11 astronomer [əˈstrɒnəmə(r)] DOEyh   第7级
    n.天文学家
    参考例句:
    • A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer. 新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
    • He is reputed to have been a good astronomer. 他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。
    12 devastation [ˌdevəˈsteɪʃn] ku9zlF   第8级
    n.毁坏;荒废;极度震惊或悲伤
    参考例句:
    • The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
    • There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    13 slated [ˈsleɪtɪd] 87d23790934cf766dc7204830faf2859   第9级
    用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )
    参考例句:
    • Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
    • Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。
    14 humbly ['hʌmblɪ] humbly   第7级
    adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地
    参考例句:
    • We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
    • "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的,先生,”约翰恭顺地说道。

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