原版英文故事与诗歌：The Birth of a Star

 　　June 5th 2006

 

　　Henry looks carefully into the telescope¹ which lets him see far, far away, as far away as the distant nebulae on the far edges² of the Milky³ Way. Henry is an astronomer⁴. He looks at the sky, and at stars in particular. Even though he spends much of his time looking at detailed⁵ computer reports, which are just lists and lists of numbers, his favourite thing about his job is looking through the telescope. And today he is very excited. He isn’t sure yet, but he thinks he has seen a dense⁶ cloud which might be the beginning of a new star.

 

　　July 5th 2006

 

　　Henry is still looking for a tiny point of light in the sky. He checks the lists and lists of numbers that his computer produces, and tries to make sense of them. He tries to turn the basic data into an image, a picture of the star he hopes to see, but it is not yet possible.

 

　　He arrives home feeling tired. His wife Anna sits down next to him. “I’ve got some news…” she says.

 

　　August 5th 2006

 

　　Henry is so excited about being a father that he has forgotten about his star. Anna is feeling sick and tired. Henry is no longer thinking about nebulae and clouds and gases. He is thinking about pushchairs and nappies.

 

　　September 5th 2006

 

　　Anna and Henry go to the doctor. Anna has an ultrasound scan⁷. Henry is used to seeing distant images of planets⁸ and stars and clouds, and now he looks at this image. It almost looks like a cloud, but it is much clearer. He can see the outline⁹ of a head, the features of a face. And he realises that this means¹⁰ much more to him than the distant stars he is used to looking at.

 

　　October 5th 2006

 

　　Anna finally starts to get fatter. Henry is feeling terrified¹¹. For the first time now, he realises exactly what it means. In a few months time, he will be a father.

 

　　November 5th 2006

 

　　Anna looks at her tummy and now starts to feel that there is another living person inside her. She thinks about Henry’s job, and remembers how excited Henry was a few months ago when he thought that he could see a new star.

 

　　December 5th 2006

 

　　Henry thinks that Anna looks a bit like a whale, but that she is very beautiful anyway. He thinks that next Christmas everything will be very, very different

 

　　January 5th 2007

 

　　Anna feels like she wants to sleep all the time. She feels like the baby already wants to come out. The baby is kicking her from inside. She feels like a football. She can’t wait to become a mother. Henry calls her ten times a day on her mobile¹² phone.

 

　　February 5th 2007

 

　　It can take as long as ten million years for a star to form, but Henry doesn’t care about seeing his star any more. He knows that although he may be the first person to see a new star, it is impossible for him to see the birth of a star, from its beginning to its appearance¹³. But he doesn’t care because a new star has just entered his life.

 

　　“But we haven’t thought of a name!” says Anna, holding the tiny baby in her arms.

 

　　“I have” says Henry. “I’ve got a beautiful name for her.”

 

　　“What is it?”

 

　　“Stella. Let’s call her Stella.”

1 telescope   

n.望远镜

参考例句：

• I looked through a telescope.我用望远镜看东西。
• Many stars are invisible without a telescope.许多星辰不用望远镜便看不见。

2 edges   

n.边( edge的名词复数 )；优势；（悬崖、峭壁的）边缘；锋利

参考例句：

• Blood began to coagulate around the edges of the wound. 血液开始在伤口的边缘凝固。
• a surface with rounded edges 带圆边的面

3 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

4 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。

5 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。

6 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

7 scan   

n.审视，浏览，扫描，押韵，细查；vt.细看，浏览，扫描，详细调查，信件扫描（指BBS处理直递邮件或会议邮件时，对所有或特定信区做检查的动作）

参考例句：

• The first scan was bad, so I had to do it again.第一次扫描不好，所以我得重做。
• A scan determines the position of the baby in the womb.扫描可以确定胎儿在子宮中的位置。

8 planets   

行星( planet的名词复数 )； 地球（尤指环境）

参考例句：

• Does life exist on other planets? 其他行星上有生命吗？
• the planets of our solar system 太阳系的行星

9 outline   

n.大纲，轮廓，概要，要点；v.描画轮廓，描述要点

参考例句：

• Make an outline before trying to write a composition.写作文之前先写个提纲。
• Draw an outline before you fill in the details.先画个轮廓，再画细部。

10 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

11 terrified   

adj.很害怕的，极度惊慌的，吓坏了的v.使恐怖，使惊吓，恐吓( terrify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the crying of terrified children 小孩受了惊吓的哭声
• I'm terrified of flying. 我十分害怕坐飞机。

12 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

13 appearance   

n.出现，露面；容貌

参考例句：

• In appearance, he was a little like his father.他看起来有点像他的父亲。
• She was a young woman of good appearance.她是一位年轻貌美的女子。