72. Saving the World p.498

A student is talking to her teacher.
S: I hear that scientists are planning to study asteroids² and meteors, right?
T: Yes. They want to determine whether Earth is in danger of being struck by such a rock.
S: What if they discover that a big one is coming straight for us?
T: In that case, there are two things they can do. They can launch rockets to push the rock off its course.
S: So that it will miss Earth, right?
T: Right. And if that fails, we can try destroying the rock with nuclear missiles.
S: Wow! I never thought that nuclear weapons could save the world instead of ending it!

save your breath 别浪费唇舌
asteroid¹ 小行星
I (was) determined³ to do = made up my mind  
We are in danger of losing the rice crop if it doesn't rain.
What (will/would happen) if...
You can't miss sb/sth. 你不会错的
intersection⁴ 十字路口
Let's go picnicking tomorrow. = Let's go on a picnic tomorrow.
He swims like a rock. 游泳象旱鸭子

1 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

2 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。