太阳科普 第9期

 Plasmas I always like to think of as being like naughty children.  我一直觉得电浆就像调皮的小孩

They're full of energy and they are,  充满了能量，随时随地都想捣蛋

want to misbehave and it's ourjob to try  我们的工作就是

and control that misbehaviour.  试着控制它们的行为

For the particles to fuse on Earth  要让粒子在地球上融合

the temperatures need to be raised to 10 times  温度必须提高至

those found at the heart of the sun.  太阳核心的十倍

Bombarding the gas with a stream of fast neutrons²  用高速中子束撞击气体

raises the temperature to over 100 million degrees.  能让温度飙高至一亿度以上

Only then can the energy of nuclear fusion³ be released.  只有这时才能释放出核融合的能量

After years of learning to control the plasma¹,  在苦心研究控制电浆多年之后

scientists now believe they are  科学家相信

within sight of harnessing the sun's power.  利用太阳能的时刻指日可待

The aim of it is to be able to produce cheap,  我们的目标是

clean and effectively an inexhaustible supply  为后代子孙制造廉价

of electricity for future generations.  清净和用之不竭的电力

This is only small experimental reactor⁴.  这只是个小型的实验反应炉

It can only run for a few seconds  它只能运作数秒钟

and sucks up more energy than it creates.  而且消耗的能量高过于制造的能量

But the next generation of bigger reactors⁵  但是新一代的更大的反应炉

is already being built.  已经问世

When operational they will produce 10 times  一旦开始运作之后，它们可以制造十倍于

more power energy than they use.  它们消耗的能源

They will be stars on Earth.  它们将成为地球上的恒星

Power stations that won't deplete⁶ natural resources  是不会消耗自然资源

or produce dangerous waste products.  或产生危险废弃物的发电厂

It sounds great.  听来十分美好

But recreating the sun isn't easy  但重现太阳并不容易

and it may be another 50 years  而且核融合发电厂的落实

before the fusion power station becomes reality.  可能还得再等50年

Until then we'll just have to make do  在那之前，我们只好将就

with the real thing.  利用真正的太阳

But that's not so bad.  其实这也不赖

Just seeing sunlight is enough to cheer us up.  光是看到阳光，就能让人精神一振

Well many people think it's the warmth of the sun  很多人认为阳光的热度

that is associated with us feeling good  让我们身心舒畅

and of course that's true.  这话说得当然没错

But in fact research has shown that it's not really  但研究结果显示

the warmth it's actually the light that's important.  最重要的不是热度，而是光线

Sunlight controls our daily cycle  阳光控制着我们的日常生活

making sure we wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night.  让我们黎明即起，日落而眠

When there's not enough light those patterns get disturbed  如果光线不够，我们的生活模式便会受到干扰

with miserable⁷ effect.  产生不幸的后果

It's a clinical fact that depression is more common in winter  临床研究结果显示，忧忧症在冬天较为常见

because of the lack of sunlight  其原因就是日照不足

they call it SAD seasonal⁸ affective disorder⁹.  这是简称为SAD的季节性情绪失调

Seasonal affective disorder is a depressive illness  季节性情绪失调是一种忧忧症

that starts during the autumn and early winter.  它在秋天和初冬发生

And usually goes away completely during the spring and early summer.  通常到了春天和初夏就不药而愈

 

1 plasma   

n.血浆，细胞质，乳清

参考例句：

• Keep some blood plasma back for the serious cases.留一些血浆给重病号。
• The plasma is the liquid portion of blood that is free of cells .血浆是血液的液体部分，不包含各种细胞。

2 neutrons   

n.中子( neutron的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The neutrons and protons form the core of the atom. 中子和质子构成了原子核。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When an atom of U235 is split,several neutrons are set free. 一个铀235原子分裂时，释放出几个中子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

4 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

5 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

6 deplete   

v.弄空，排除，减轻，减少...体液，放去...的血

参考例句：

• Most native mammal species have been severely depleted.大多数本地哺乳动物的数量都已经大大减少了。
• Elastic collisions deplete very little of the electron's energy.弹性碰撞中电子减少的能量非常少。

7 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

8 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

9 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。