VOA慢速英语2016 美国新卫星有望改善天气预报

Weather Predictions Expected to Improve with New U.S. Satellite 美国新卫星有望改善天气预报

A new American weather satellite could save more lives by better predicting extreme weather conditions.

一颗新的美国气象卫星能够通过更好地预测极端天气来挽救更多生命。

The satellite was launched from Cape¹ Canaveral, in the state of Florida, on November 19. It will be in orbit some 36,000 kilometers above Earth's surface.

这颗卫星于11月19日在佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角发射升空，它将停留在距离地球表面大约3.6万公里的轨道上。

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric² Administration, also known as NOAA, has been working with the National Aeronautics³ and Space Administration (NASA) on the project.

美国国家海洋和大气管理局(简称NOAA)一直在和美国国家航空航天局合作开展该项目。

NOAA officials are calling the new satellite GOES-R. That is short for a much longer name -- the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – R Series.

国家海洋和大气管理局官员把这颗新卫星命名为GOES-R，这是地球静止轨道环境业务卫星R系列的缩写。

NOAA said GOES-R could improve the nation's ability to observe weather conditions and make weather predictions. It said the satellite's deployment⁵ would lead to more exact and timely weather forecasts, watches and warnings.

国家海洋和大气管理局表示，GOES-R卫星能够提高美国观察气象和预报天气的能力。该局表示，这颗卫星的部署将会带来更加准确和及时的天气预报、观测和预警。

The government agency said the satellite will require testing of its six instruments and will be ready to work "within a year."

这家政府机构表示，这颗卫星需要测试其配备的六种仪器，并将在一年内做好工作准备。

Next generation of weather satellites

下一代气象卫星

"The next generation of weather satellites is finally here," said NOAA Administrator⁶ Kathryn Sullivan. She described GOES-R as one of the most sophisticated Earth-observing machines ever created.

国家海洋和大气管理局局长凯瑟琳·苏利文(Kathryn Sullivan)表示，“这颗下一代卫星终于来了。”她称GOES-R卫星是美国曾经制造的最为先进的地球观测设备之一。

Sullivan said its instruments will be able to study Earth five times faster and with four times more detail than any other NOAA satellite currently in operation. She believes this will make the United States an even stronger, more "Weather-Ready" nation.

苏利文表示，和该局当前运作的其它卫星相比，这颗卫星上的仪器能够以5倍的速度和4倍的详尽来研究地球。她认为这将使得美国成为一个更加强大、更加做好气象准备的国家。

A NOAA statement said the greater detail will help improve the agency's study of ocean storms, as well as "the prediction and warnings of severe weather." In addition, GOES-R will be able to provide improved rainfall estimates, which will lead to more timely and detailed⁷ flood warnings.

国家海洋和大气管理局发布的一份声明表示，更详尽信息将有助于提高该机构对“海洋风暴”以及“恶劣天气预报和示警”的研究。此外，GOES-R卫星还能提供更好的降雨估算，这将带来更及时和详尽的洪水预警。

The statement also said that GOES-R will give better estimates of wind strength, as well as better measurement of fog, ice or lightning strikes.

声明还表示，GOES-R卫星能够对风力强度进行更好的估算，还能对雾、冰以及雷击进行更好的测算。

One of the six instruments on the satellite is designed to help scientists study lightning strikes and map them. This, NOAA says, will help the agency follow the movement of severe storms and provide more detailed warnings.

该卫星上的六种仪器之一旨在帮助科学家研究雷击并绘制地图。国家海洋和大气管理局表示，这将有助于该机构跟踪强暴风雨的运动，并提供更详尽的预警。

Craig Fugate serves as administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He says that the GOES-R satellite will improve the ability of people and organizations across America to prepare for, and react to, weather-related disasters.

克雷格·福格特(Craig Fugate)担任美国联邦应急管理署署长。他说，GOES-R卫星将提高美国各地群众和组织准备和应对天气灾害的能力。

Fugate feels that better understanding of the world around us will lead to better results. These include knowing where to best position supplies before a storm hits and providing more targeted information to local officials. That information could help the officials decide when to order civilians⁸ to leave an area because of bad weather.

福格特认为，更好地了解我们周边的环境能够带来更好的结果。这些包括在暴风雨来临之前知道哪里最适合储存物资，并向地方官员提供更有针对性的信息。这些信息可以帮助官员决定何时命令平民因为恶劣天气转移。

In addition to weather forecasting, GOES-R will be part of an international search and rescue network. It will have a "special transponder" that will be able to find signals from emergency beacons¹⁰.

除了天气预报，GOES-R卫星还是国际搜救网络的一部分。它将配备一个“特制应答机”，能够发现应急信标的信号。

Words in This Story

beacon⁹ – n. a radio signal that is broadcast to help guide ships, airplanes, etc.

forecast – n. to say that (something) will happen in the future

geostationary – adj. moving in orbit in space along the equator, so that it remains¹¹ stationary⁴ to a fixed¹² point on the surface

sophisticated – adj. highly developed and complex

transponder – n. a device that receives a radio signal and sends out a signal in response and that is used especially to show the location of something

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

3 aeronautics   

n.航空术，航空学

参考例句：

• National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
• He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。

4 stationary   

adj.固定的，静止不动的

参考例句：

• A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
• Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。

5 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

6 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

10 beacons   

灯塔( beacon的名词复数 )； 烽火； 指路明灯； 无线电台或发射台

参考例句：

• A chain of beacons was lit across the region. 整个地区点起了一系列灯塔。
• Lighthouse and beacons flash at night. 晚上灯塔与信号台闪着光。

11 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。

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。