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当前位置:首页 -> 12级英语阅读 - > 万物简史 第25期:走进太阳系(3)
万物简史 第25期:走进太阳系(3)
添加时间:2018-04-28 20:13:27 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • One nice touch about Christy's discovery was that it happened in Flagstaff, 克里斯蒂的发现有一点妙处:它发生在弗拉格斯塔夫,

    for it was there in 1930 that Pluto1 had been found in the first place. 冥王星就是1930年在那里首次发现的。

    That seminal2 event in astronomy was largely to the credit of the astronomer3 Percival Lowell.  这个天文学上的重大发现,很大程度上要归功于天文学家珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔。

    Lowell, who came from one of the oldest and wealthiest Boston families  洛厄尔出生于波士顿一个最古老、最富裕的家族

    (the one in the famous ditty about Boston being the home of the bean and the cod4,  (就是那首关于波士顿是豆子和鳕鱼故乡的著名歌谣中提到的家族。

    where Lowells spoke5 only to Cabots, while Cabots spoke only to God),  歌词中说,洛厄尔家族只跟卡伯特家族说话,卡伯特家族只跟上帝说话)。

    endowed the famous observatory6 that bears his name,  他捐赠了以他的名字冠名的著名天文台,

    but is most indelibly remembered for his belief 但人们最不会忘记的是他这样的看法:

    that Mars was covered with canals built by industrious7 Martians 火星上到处是由勤劳的火星人修建的运河,

    for purposes of conveying water from polar regions to the dry but productive lands nearer the equator. 用来积储来自极地的水,以灌溉赤道附近那干旱而又丰产的土地。

    Lowell's other abiding8 conviction was that there existed, somewhere out beyond Neptune9,  洛厄尔另一个令人不忘的看法是:在海王星以远的某个地方,

    an undiscovered ninth planet, dubbed10 Planet X.  存在着未被发现的第九颗行星,他给它起名为行星X。

    Lowell based this belief on irregularities he detected in the orbits of Uranus11 and Neptune,  洛厄尔的这种看法是基于他在天王星和海王星的轨道上发现的不规律的现象。

    and devoted12 the last years of his life to trying to find the gassy giant he was certain was out there.  于是,他把生命的最后几年致力于找到那颗气态巨星。他断定它就在那里。

    Unfortunately, he died suddenly in 1916, at least partly exhausted13 by his quest,  不幸的是,他于1916年突然去世。至少在一定程度上,这是他的探索工作过于疲劳所致。

    and the search fell into abeyance14 while Lowell's heirs squabbled over his estate15.  洛厄尔的继承人为了遗产争吵不休,探索工作暂时搁置下来。

    However, in 1929, partly as a way of deflecting16 attention away from the Mars canal saga17 然而,1929年,某种程度上是为了转移对火星运河传说的注意力

    (which by now had become a serious embarrassment), (到那个时候,它已经成为一件非常令人难堪的事),

    the Lowell Observatory directors decided18 to resume the search and to that end hired a young man from Kansas named Clyde Tombaugh. 洛厄尔天文台的负责人决定恢复探索,并为此从堪萨斯州请来了一位名叫克莱德·汤博的年轻人。

     12级    万物简史 


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    1 Pluto [ˈplu:təʊ] wu0yF   第8级
    n.冥王星
    参考例句:
    • Pluto was thought to be the furthest planet from the sun. 冥王星曾被认为是离太阳最远的行星。
    • Pluto has an elliptic orbit. 冥王星的轨道是椭圆形的。
    2 seminal [ˈsemɪnl] Qzrwo   第12级
    adj.影响深远的;种子的
    参考例句:
    • The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS. 这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
    • The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished. 做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。
    3 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。
    4 cod [kɒd] nwizOF   第9级
    n.鳕鱼;vt.&vi.愚弄;哄骗
    参考例句:
    • They salt down cod for winter use. 他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
    • Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea. 北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。
    5 spoke [spəʊk] XryyC   第11级
    n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
    参考例句:
    • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company. 他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
    • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre. 辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
    6 observatory [əbˈzɜ:vətri] hRgzP   第8级
    n.天文台,气象台,瞭望台,观测台
    参考例句:
    • Guy's house was close to the observatory. 盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
    • Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day. 格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。
    7 industrious [ɪnˈdʌstriəs] a7Axr   第7级
    adj.勤劳的,刻苦的,奋发的
    参考例句:
    • If the tiller is industrious, the farmland is productive. 人勤地不懒。
    • She was an industrious and willing worker. 她是个勤劳肯干的员工。
    8 abiding [əˈbaɪdɪŋ] uzMzxC   第10级
    adj.永久的,持久的,不变的
    参考例句:
    • He had an abiding love of the English countryside. 他永远热爱英国的乡村。
    • He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft. 他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。
    9 Neptune [ˈneptju:n] LNezw   第8级
    n.海王星
    参考例句:
    • Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
    • Neptune turned out to be a dynamic, stormy world. 海王星原来是个有生气、多风暴的世界。
    10 dubbed ['dʌbd] dubbed   第8级
    v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 );把…称为;配音;复制
    参考例句:
    • Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
    • Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的? 来自《简明英汉词典》
    11 Uranus [ˈjʊərənəs] 3pZyA   第8级
    n.天王星
    参考例句:
    • Uranus is unusual because it is tilted. 天王星非常特殊,因为它是倾斜的。
    • Uranus represents sudden change and rebellion. 天王星代表突然性的改变和反叛。
    12 devoted [dɪˈvəʊtɪd] xu9zka   第8级
    adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
    参考例句:
    • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland. 他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
    • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic. 我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
    13 exhausted [ɪgˈzɔ:stɪd] 7taz4r   第8级
    adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
    参考例句:
    • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted. 搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
    • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life. 珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
    14 abeyance [əˈbeɪəns] vI5y6   第10级
    n.搁置,缓办,中止,产权未定
    参考例句:
    • The question is in abeyance until we know more about it. 问题暂时搁置,直到我们了解更多有关情况再行研究。
    • The law was held in abeyance for well over twenty years. 这项法律被搁置了二十多年。
    15 estate [ɪˈsteɪt] InSxv   第7级
    n.所有地,地产,庄园;住宅区;财产,资产
    参考例句:
    • My estate lies within a mile. 我的地产离那有一英里。
    • The great real estate brokers do far more than this. 而优秀的房地产经纪人做得可比这多得多。
    16 deflecting [diˈflektɪŋ] 53909b980ea168975caea537d27c6cb4   第9级
    (使)偏斜, (使)偏离, (使)转向( deflect的现在分词 )
    参考例句:
    • A variety of mechanical surfaces have been employed for deflecting the exhaust jets of solid-propellant rockets. 人们已经用过各种类型的机械控制面来偏转固体推进剂火箭的排气流。
    • If she made a leading statement, he was expert deflecting her into more impersonal channels. 只要她一开口,他就会巧妙地把她的话题转到与个人无关的问题上去。
    17 saga [ˈsɑ:gə] aCez4   第9级
    n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事,英雄传奇
    参考例句:
    • The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle. 飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
    • The novel depicts the saga of a family. 小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。
    18 decided [dɪˈsaɪdɪd] lvqzZd   第7级
    adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
    参考例句:
    • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents. 这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
    • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting. 英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

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