2015-06-12 BBC:星光七纪元-42

 Even for NASA nebulae are too far away to visit, so they've built one of their own here on earth, 40 years ago scientists peered into the clouds of dust and gas created from the remains¹ of stars, and to their surprise, found not just elements but organic molecules².I think it really is a shift in people's thinking about this, 50, 60 years ago people didn't think space had any of this kind of molecular³ complexity⁴, now we know it does, many of these molecules are organic molecules, many of them maybe complex and in fact some of them are likely to be the kinds of molecules you like to have around if you want to have life get started.

Dr Scott Sanford is at the cutting edge of research at NASA where they're trying to answer an extraordinary question of our stars, just how many steps towards life can be made in the nebulae that are the stellar nurseries and graveyards⁵ of outer space.

So what we have right now is a nice little simulation of an interstellar dense⁶ molecular cloud, so this is a star formation region in a jar basically, and now we just need to let it cook for 24 hours and then we will be ready to pull the sample out and see what we've made.

When Scott and other scientists have analyzed⁷ their results, what they found is that as the nebulae create stars, they make the building blocks of living things on earth.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• 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。

3 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

4 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

5 graveyards   

墓地( graveyard的名词复数 )； 垃圾场； 废物堆积处； 收容所

参考例句：

• He takes a macabre interest in graveyards. 他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。
• "And northward there lie, in five graveyards, Calm forever under dewy green grass," 五陵北原上，万古青蒙蒙。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

6 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

7 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》