万物简史 第272期:砰!(7)

 　　By the early 1900s, it had often become impossible to know whether an asteroid¹ that popped into view was new  到20世纪初，往往分不清哪颗小行星是刚刚出现的，

　　or simply one that had been noted² earlier and then lost track of. 哪颗小行星只是以前发现过而后来又消失了的。

　　By this time, too, astrophysics had moved on so much that few astronomers³ wanted to devote their lives to anything as mundane⁵ as rocky planetoids. 而且，到那个时候，天文物理学已经发展到那种程度，很少有天文学家愿意把自己的时间用来研究岩质类星体这类普通的玩意儿。

　　Only a few astronomers, notably⁶ Gerard Kuiper, the Dutch-born astronomer⁴ for whom the Kuiper belt of comets is named, took any interest in the solar system at all. 只有几个人对太阳系还有点兴趣，其中引人注目的有荷兰出生的天文学家赫拉德·柯伊伯，柯伊伯彗星带就是以他的名字命名的。

　　Thanks to his work at the McDonald Observatory⁷ in Texas, 多亏他在得克萨斯州麦克唐纳天文台的工作，

　　followed later by work done by others at the Minor⁸ Planet Center in Cincinnati and the Spacewatch project in Arizona, 以及随后别人在俄亥俄州辛辛那提“小行星中心”和在亚利桑那州“太空观测项目”的工作，

　　a long list of lost asteroids⁹ was gradually whittled¹⁰ down 一长串失踪的小行星渐渐被清理出来。

　　until by the close of the twentieth century only one known asteroid was unaccounted for—an object called 719 Albert. 到20世纪末，只有一颗已知的小行星──一颗被称之为艾伯特719号的物体──去向不明。

　　Last seen in October 1911, it was finally tracked down in 2000 after being missing for eighty-nine years. 它上一次出现是在1911年10月；2000年，在失踪89年以后，它终于被找到了。

　　So from the point of view of asteroid research the twentieth century was essentially¹¹ just a long exercise in bookkeeping. 因此，从小行星研究的角度来看，20世纪主要做了大量的统计工作。

　　It is really only in the last few years that astronomers have begun to count and keep an eye on the rest of the asteroid community. 实际上，只是到了最后几年，天文学家才开始计算和监视其他的小行星。

　　As of July 2001, twenty-six thousand asteroids had been named and identified—half in just the previous two years. 2001年7月以来，26000颗小行星得到命名和确认──其中半数都是在之前两年里完成的。

　　With up to a billion to identify, the count obviously has barely begun. 面对多达10亿颗小行星需要确认的任务，统计工作显然才刚刚开始。

1 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 astronomer   

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。

5 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

6 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

7 observatory   

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。

8 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

9 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。

10 whittled   

v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He whittled a simple toy from the piece of wood. 他把那块木头削成了一个简易的玩具。
• The government's majority has been whittled down to eight. 政府多数票减少到了八票。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。