54 本周四将出现本世纪首次日蚀

 

Thursday's Solar Eclipse Should Provide Dramatic View

David McAlary

Washington

20 Jun 2001 02:44 UTC

 

The first 1)solar eclipse of the new millenium occurs Thursday, June 21. It will give millions of people in southern Africa and Madagascar a 2)rare opportunity to see the total 3)convergence of the moon and the sun. Solar scientists will also be paying attention.

Much of the southern hemisphere will be in the moon's shadow, as the moon passes between the sun and Earth, 4)blocking all solar light except the bright outer 5)atmosphere, or 6)corona².

Astronomer³ Fred Espanak, of the U.S. space agency, NASA, says the darkness will sweep across the southern Atlantic, southern Africa, Madagascar, and the Indian Ocean. "The moon shadow starts rising above the 7)horizon and heading toward you like an 8)impending 9)thunderstorm," he said. "The sky drops from a bright daytime sky to an eerie⁴ 10)twilight. It's a breathtaking event that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up."

Thousands of avid¹ eclipse watchers have traveled to southern Africa to 11)witness this dramatic 12)phenomenon. Most are arriving in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, a city that lies entirely⁵ within the moon shadow's path.

But the eclipse is more than a spectacle for the 13)multitudes. Because it is an excellent opportunity to solve some of the sun's mysteries, many astronomers⁶ are also in Lusaka.

One of them, Jay Pasachoff of Williams College in Massachusetts, says an eclipse offers a unique chance for ground observers to complement⁷ the findings of satellites that 14)observe the sun full time.

"That is a unique time when we can study the sun's outer atmosphere from the earth and the only time when we can make certain kinds of scientific observations that enable us to try to understand it," he said. "It is always there, but it is behind the blue sky and we can not study it from the Earth very well because the blue sky is just so bright." The sun's atmosphere is important to life on Earth. NASA's Fred Espanak says it is the site of explosions 15)propelling tons of high-speed 16)atomic particles that bathe Earth - sometimes in such quantity and force that they have a troubling impact.

"Some of these mass ejections can have certain effects on Earth, like causing circuitry on 17)spacecraft to freeze," he said. "It can knock out power 18)grids on the surface of the Earth. It can have long-term effects on climate and meteorology on the Earth. So an understanding of the sun actually helps us understand the Earth environment better."

This eclipse is particularly important because it comes at the end of the 11-year solar cycle when the most intense coronal activity occurs. One of Jay Pasachoff's experiments seeks the reason that the atmosphere reaches a temperature of two million degrees Celsius⁸, much hotter than the relatively⁹ cool 6,000-degree sun. "So why is the corona hotter than the surface under it? It is as though when you went away from a 19)stove, you get hotter instead of cooler," he said. "Well, there must be some other way of energy getting out of the sun besides just radiation. There must be some wave, in particular, in the 20)magnetic field, and we are studying the waves in the magnetic field to see them."

The Williams College scientist follows eclipses professionally as they appear in various parts of the globe every 18 months or so. But Fred Espanak says they can be 21)addicting even to the non-scientist.

"To see an eclipse is one of the most 22)spectacular natural phenomena¹⁰ anyone could possible experience," he said. "The danger is that once you've seen one total eclipse, you'll want to see another one."

 

 

(1)      solar eclipse日蚀

(2)      rare[reE(r)]adj.稀罕的, 杰出的, 珍贵的adv.非常

(3)      convergence[ kEn`v:dVEns ]n.集中, 收敛

(4)      block[blCk]n.石块,街区，阻滞, (一)批vt.防碍, 阻塞

(5)      atmosphere[5AtmEsfIE(r)]n.大气, 空气, 气氛

(6)      corona[kE5rEJnE]n.冠壮物,王冠, 光环

(7)      horizon[hE5raIz(E)n]n.地平线n.地平(线),(知识,思想等的)范围,视野

(8)      impending[Im5pendIN]n.迫近

(9)      thunderstorm[5WQndEstC:m]n.[气]雷暴

(10)      twilight[5twaIlaIt]n.黎明, 微光adj.微明的, 模糊的

(11)      witness[5wItnIs]vt.目击, 为...作证, 证明vi.作证, 成为证据

(12)      phenomenon[fI5nRmInEn; (?@) -nRn-]n.现象

(13)      multitude[5mQltItju:d; (?@) -tu:d]n.多数, 群众

(14)      observe[Eb5z:v]vt.观察, 观测, 遵守, 评述, 说

(15)      propel[prE5pel]vt.推进, 驱使

(16)      atomic[E5tRmIk]adj.原子的, 原子能的, 微粒子的

(17)      spacecraft[5speIskrB:ft]n.太空船

(18)      grid[^rId]n.格子, 栅格

(19)      stove[stEJv]n.炉

(20)      magnetic field n.磁场

(21)      addict[E5dIkt]vt.使沉溺, 使上瘾n.入迷的人, 有瘾的人

(22)      spectacular[spek5tAkjJlE(r)]adj.引人入胜的, 壮观的

 

 

1 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

2 corona   

n.日冕

参考例句：

• The corona gains and loses energy continuously.日冕总是不断地获得能量和损失能量。
• The corona is a brilliant,pearly white,filmy light,about as bright as the full moon.光环带是一种灿烂的珠白色朦胧光，几乎像满月一样明亮。

3 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。

4 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 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》

7 complement   

n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足

参考例句：

• The two suggestions complement each other.这两条建议相互补充。
• They oppose each other also complement each other.它们相辅相成。

8 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。