Biggest full moon in 18 years expected to occur Saturday nig

    LOS ANGELES, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The moon will move closer to Earth than it has been in more than 18 years Saturday night, space. com reported on Friday.
    On Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (1900 MGT) , the "supermoon", as dubbed¹ by some observers（观察者）, will arrive at its closest point to the Earth in 2011: a distance of 221,565 miles ( 356,575 kilometers) away, and only 50 minutes earlier, the moon will officially be full, the report said.
    At its peak, the supermoon may appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than lesser² full moons (when the moon is at its farthest from Earth), weather permitting, said the report.
    Yet to the casual observer, it may be hard to tell the difference, according to the report.
    Scientists say it is a fluke of orbital mechanics that brings the moon closer to Earth.
    The supermoon will not cause natural disasters, such as the Japan earthquake, NASA scientists say.
    In December 2008, there was a near-supermoon when the moon turned full four hours away from its perigee³ - the point in its orbit that is closest to Earth. But this month, the full moon and perigee are just under one hour apart, promising⁴ spectacular views, depending on local conditions, the report said.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

3 perigee   

n.近地点

参考例句：

• The Moon reaches its absolute perigee once a year.月球每年有一次达到它的绝对近地点。
• Once the satellite reaches perigee,it will eject a small probe which enter the planet's atmosphere.当人造卫星达到近地点时，就会发射一根小探针，这根探针将进入行星的大气层。

4 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。