时差N小时 月球尘埃的危害有多大?(上)

Hey Yael, I was wondering–why don't we hear much about the moon anymore?

嘿，雅伊尔，我在想——为什么我们现在没什么跟月球相关的消息了呢?

What are you mean, Don?

唐，你是什么意思?

It's just that back in the 1960s and '70s, sending astronauts to the moon was a big deal,but nobody talks much about it anymore.

早在二十世纪六七十年代的时候，送宇航员上月球是个天大的事儿，但却没什么人再谈论这件事儿。

Well, actually NASA is planning to send astronauts back to the moon.

事实上,NASA正计划送宇航员重返月球。

Really?

真的吗?

Yep. And this time there's talk of building a lunar base where astronauts can stay for weeksand months at a time to conduct experiments in low gravity.

对呀。这次他们说要建立一个月球基地，宇航员一次可以停留几周或几个月在低重力的条件下进行实验。

Cool.

很棒啊。

But there are a few kinks to work out–like what to do about moon dust.

但还存在几个问题要解决——比如说月球尘埃怎么办。

Wait. Why is moon dust a problem?

等等。为什么月球尘埃会是个问题?

Well, for one thing, it has chemical properties that resemble fresh fractured¹ quartz², which is pretty toxic³.

嗯，一方面，它的化学性质，像断裂的石英，那是有剧毒的。

1 fractured   

adj. 断裂的 动词fracture的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He died in the car collision with his skull fractured. 他在那次撞车事件中因头骨碎裂而死去。
• He fell from a tree and his leg fractured in three places. 他从树上掉下来，腿三处骨折。

2 quartz   

n.石英

参考例句：

• There is a great deal quartz in those mountains.那些山里蕴藏着大量石英。
• The quartz watch keeps good time.石英表走时准。

3 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。