VOA慢速英语2021 土耳其湖泊助力科学家研究火星古生命

The American space agency NASA recently landed its robotic explorer Perseverance¹ on the surface of Mars. Now, scientists are using information gathered at a lake in southwest Turkey to help them search for signs of ancient life on the distant planet.

美国宇航局最近在火星表面着陆了其恒心号探测器。而现在，科学家们正利用在土耳其西南部一个湖泊收集到的信息来帮助他们寻找这颗遥远星球上的古生命迹象。

NASA says the minerals and rock sediments³ at Lake Salda are the closest match on Earth to those around Jezero Crater⁴ on Mars. The spacecraft landed in Jezero Crater and it is believed to have once been flooded with water.

美国宇航局表示，萨尔达湖的矿物和岩石沉积物是地球上最接近火星耶泽罗火山口的物质。恒心号探测器降落在耶罗泽火山口，据信这里曾经被水淹没。

Information gathered from Lake Salda may help the scientists as they search for signs of ancient microorganisms in sediment² around the crater.

从萨尔达湖收集到的信息可能对科学家在耶罗泽火山口周围的沉积物中寻找古微生物迹象有帮助。

A team of American and Turkish scientists carried out research in 2019 around the edges of the lake. Scientists believe that the sediments around the lake came from large deposits formed with the help of microorganisms known as microbialites.

由美国和土耳其科学家组成的团队于2019年在湖边进行了研究。科学家们认为，湖周围的沉积物来自于在微生物的帮助下形成的大型矿床。

The team supporting the Perseverance spacecraft wants to find out whether there are microbialites in Jezero Crater.

恒心号飞船的支持团队希望找出耶罗泽火山口是否存在微生物。

They will compare the sediments from Lake Salda with carbonate minerals discovered on the edges of Jezero Crater. Carbonate minerals are made from carbon dioxide and water, two important elements of life.

他们将萨尔达湖的沉积物与耶罗泽火山口边缘发现的碳酸盐矿物进行了对比。这些碳酸盐矿物是由二氧化碳和水组成的，这两者是组成生命的重要元素。

Thomas Zurbuchen is the associate administrator⁵ of NASA. He told Reuters, "When we find something at Perseverance we can go back to look at Lake Salda to really look at both processes, (looking at) similarities but equally importantly differences that are really between Perseverance and Lake Salda."

托马斯·祖布臣是美国宇航局副局长。他对路透社表示，“当恒心号发现一些东西时，我们可以回顾萨尔达湖，着眼于它们的相似性来真正研究这两个过程，但是同样重要的是，恒心号和萨尔达湖之间的实际区别也很重要。”

"So we are really glad we have that lake, just because I think it will be with us for a long time," he added.

他还表示：“因此，我们很高兴有这么一个湖，因为我认为它会跟我们相伴很长一段时间。”

1 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

2 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

3 sediments   

沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 )； 沉积物

参考例句：

• When deposited, 70-80% of the volume of muddy sediments may be water. 泥质沉积物沉积后，体积的70-80％是水。
• Oligocene erosion had truncated the sediments draped over the dome. 覆盖于穹丘上的沉积岩为渐新世侵蚀所截削。

4 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

5 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。